My Very Own

Poetry Collection101 Sight Word Poemsfor Emergent Readers and ESL Students

by Betsy Franco

Teaching Resource Center

For Debbie Diller who has so much energy, creativity, andexpertise and who generously helped me with this book

Thank you to Sheron Brown who knows so much about sight words.

Published byTeaching Resource Center

P.O. Box 82777San Diego, CA 92138

Illustration: Linda StarrEditor: Laura Woodard

©2004 by Teaching Resource CenterAll Rights Reserved.

Permission is granted to individual classroom teachers to reproduce portions of this book for classroom use only.

Printed in the United States of AmericaISBN: 1-56785-068-5

ContentsSCHOOLTo Get to School. . . . . . . . . . . . 43We Have One Pat . . . . . . . . . . 44At School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45I Have?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Teacher Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Not All Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

ANIMALSThe Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Up Jumps the Frog. . . . . . . . . . 50Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51They Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52How About You? . . . . . . . . . . . 53On Top Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . 55

NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITYThe Mailman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56All Cars Have Wheels . . . . . . . 57He Had Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Trucks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59I Go to the Bank . . . . . . . . . . . 60

First 51 Poems

ALL ABOUT MEWhen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26I Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Lunch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28An Orange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29I Have a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Messy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Which One?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32We Can Tell You . . . . . . . . . . . 33Each New Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

FAMILY AND FRIENDSMy Sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Birthday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36A Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37That Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38Up, Up, Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Not All Frogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Pets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Friends Are For . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

1

Library Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Do You Live in a Barn? . . . . . . 62

HOLIDAYSValentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Halloween . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Thanksgiving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Do You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

SCIENCEDinosaurs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67What Hides? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68If. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69When Do Leaves Fall?. . . . . . . 70Leaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . 72

COLORS, NUMBERS, AND SHAPESFish Can Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73The Clown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . 75In the Mud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Second 50 PoemsALL ABOUT MEI Can Read. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77I Know How . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Some Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79My Favorite Hat. . . . . . . . . . . . 80My Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81My Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Teddy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83I Like Noodles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84A Taco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Over My Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

FAMILY AND FRIENDSMany Hugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87I Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88My Pup Likes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Two Cats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Little Matt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91The Very Wet Dog . . . . . . . . . . 92

My Friend. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93If Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

SCHOOLFirst Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95With Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Up We Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97My Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Into the Mitten . . . . . . . . . . . . 99The Hen Makes Bread . . . . . . 100

NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY/HOLIDAYSI Could Ride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Which Way Did My Cat Go? 102Where Have You Been? . . . . . 103Where?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Did You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

SCIENCEAt Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106No Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Most . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108See Where the Cat Was . . . . . 109Who Am I? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110So Many. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Did You Think? . . . . . . . . . . . 112First Comes a Seed. . . . . . . . . 113Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114More and More Snowflakes . 115Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Some People . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117What Do You Find? . . . . . . . . 118Roar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119What Is It Called? . . . . . . . . . 120

MATHWho Has More?. . . . . . . . . . . 121These Are My Feet . . . . . . . . . 122My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123My Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125One More Frog. . . . . . . . . . . . 126

2

Sight WordsFor each sight word, you will find the names of the poems in which they appear. The titles initalics are poems in which the word appears only once. In the other poems, the word is repeateda number of times.

Sight Words forFirst 51 poems1. aI Have a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36A Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37To Get to School . . . . . . . . . . . 43I Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46On Top Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . 55Do You Live in a Barn?. . . . . . 62Valentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Halloween . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64I Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27An Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29How About You? . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Do You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

2. aboutWe Can Tell You . . . . . . . . . . . 33Not All Apples. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48How About You? . . . . . . . . . . . 53Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

3. allWe Can Tell You . . . . . . . . . . . 33Teacher Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47All Cars Have Wheels. . . . . . . 57What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . . 55Library Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Leaves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Do You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66The Clown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

4. anLunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28An Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Not All Frogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Teacher Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5. andThat Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38Friends Are For . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

13. doDo You Live in a Barn?. . . . . . 62Do You See?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66When Do Leaves Fall? . . . . . . 70Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . 72

14. eachEach New Day . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

15. forFriends Are For . . . . . . . . . . . . 42At School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Teacher Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47The Mailman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Valentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . . 75He Had Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

16. fromBirthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36What Hides? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68I Have. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

17. hadPets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41The Mailman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56He Had Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Halloween . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

18. haveLunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28I Have a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31We Have One Pat . . . . . . . . . . 44I Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46All Cars Have Wheels. . . . . . . 57I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . 75Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41They Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

19. heThey Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Up Jumps the Frog . . . . . . . . . 50Valentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63We Can Tell You . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Halloween. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . . 72

6. areWhen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Messy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Not All Frogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Friends Are For . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Leaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . 75On Top Of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

7. asMy Sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . 55In the Mud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

8. atI Have a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31At School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . . 55

9. beFish Can Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

10. butWe Have One Pat . . . . . . . . . . 44Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41The Clown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

11. byTo Get to School . . . . . . . . . . . 43

12. canI Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27We Can Tell You . . . . . . . . . . . 33How About You? . . . . . . . . . . . 53Trucks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Fish Can Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

3

The Mailman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56He Had Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58In the Mud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

20. his Do You See?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

21. howHow About You? . . . . . . . . . . . 53Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36If . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

22. II Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Lunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28I Have a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Each New Day . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 My Sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35To Get to School . . . . . . . . . . . 43I Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46I Go to the Bank . . . . . . . . . . . 60I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . 75They Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Halloween. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . . 72

23. ifIf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69A Turtle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

24. inDo You Live in a Barn?. . . . . . 62In the Mud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

25. isMy Sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35That Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38I Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46The Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Library Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . . 55Do You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66If . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69The Clown?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

26. itIf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69I Have a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

27. notA Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Up Jumps the Frog . . . . . . . . . 50The Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49I Go to the Bank . . . . . . . . . . . 60Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65What Hides? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68The Clown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . 72In the Mud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76A Turtle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37To Get to School . . . . . . . . . . . . 43He Had Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Do You Live in a Barn? . . . . . . . 62Valentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63If . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

35. theirThat Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38

36. thereMessy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30That Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38

37. theyThey Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Trucks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Leaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

38. thisThat Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38The Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

39. toAn Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29I Go to the Bank . . . . . . . . . . . 60A Turtle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37They Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

40. upUp, Up, Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Up Jumps the Frog . . . . . . . . . 50I Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Not All Apples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

41. wasOn Top Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Halloween. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

42. wePets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41We Have One Pat . . . . . . . . . . 44At School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Not All Frogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Not All Apples. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48To Get to School . . . . . . . . . . . . 43The Clown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

28. ofMessy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30On Top Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54He Had Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Up Jumps the Frog . . . . . . . . . . 50Library Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

29. onMessy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30On Top Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Halloween. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Do You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

30. onePets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41We Have One Pat . . . . . . . . . . 44Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51The Mailman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Valentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63The Clown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Which One? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

31. orWhich One? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Do You Live in a Barn? . . . . . . . 62

32. saidThe Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49They Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . 72

33. thatThat Dog and This Dog . . . . . 38I Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Do You See?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . 75Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . . 55Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67If . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69The Clown?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

34. theMessy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Up, Up, Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4

43. wereDinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

44. whatWhat Hides? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68An Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29What Is That Reptile? . . . . . . . . 55

45. whenWhen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26When Do Leaves Fall? . . . . . . 70

46. whichLibrary Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Which One? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

47. willA Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

48. withThe Clown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74I Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

49. youWhen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26We Can Tell You . . . . . . . . . . . 33How About You? . . . . . . . . . . . 53Do You Live in a Barn? . . . . . 62Valentines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Do You See?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Do You Lay Eggs? . . . . . . . . . . 72Which One? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32I Have Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

50. yourTeacher Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Not All Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Library Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Sight Words forSecond 50 Poems

51. afterA Taco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Little Matt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

52. beenWhere Have You Been? . . . . 103

53. calledRoar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119What Is It Called? . . . . . . . . 120

54. couldI Could Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

55. didWhich Way Did My Cat Go? 102Did You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Did You Think?. . . . . . . . . . . 112

56. downI Like Noodles. . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Two Cats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Up We Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97What Do You Find? . . . . . . . 118

57. findWhat Do You Find? . . . . . . . 118

58. firstFirst Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95First Comes a Seed . . . . . . . . 113My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

59. hasMy Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82A Taco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Who Has More? . . . . . . . . . . 121

60. herTeddy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

61. himMy Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

62. intoInto the Mitten . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

63. itsMy Pup Likes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

64. justMy Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81My Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

65. knowI Know How . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78I Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

66. likeMy Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82I Like Noodles. . . . . . . . . . . . . 84My Pup Likes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89My Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Some People . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

67. littleLittle Matt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

68. longWho Am I? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

69. madeThe Hen Makes Bread . . . . . 100My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

70. makeThe Hen Makes Bread . . . . . 100My Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

71. manyMany Hugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87So Many . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

72. maySome Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

73. moreMore and More Snowflakes . 115Who Has More? . . . . . . . . . . 121Eggs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

5

Over My Head . . . . . . . . . . . . 86See Where the Cat Was . . . . 109

82. peopleI Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Some People . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

83. seeDid You See? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105See Where the Cat Was . . . . 109

84. sheMy Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Which Way Did My Cat Go? 102

85. soI Can Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77So Many . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

86. someSome Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Some People . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

87. thanEggs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

88. themI Like Noodles. . . . . . . . . . . . . 84More and More Snowflakes . 115Some People . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

89. thenLittle Matt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116A Taco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

90. theseThese Are My Feet . . . . . . . . 122

91. timeNo Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

92. twoMy Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Two Cats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90These Are My Feet . . . . . . . . 122My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123My Cat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Eggs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

93. useMy Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

94. veryThe Very Wet Dog . . . . . . . . . 92Who Am I? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

95. waterWater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

96. wayWhich Way Did My Cat Go? 102

97. whereWhere Have You Been? . . . . 103Where? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104See Where the Cat Was . . . . 109

98. whoWho Am I? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Who Has More? . . . . . . . . . . 121

99. wordsWith Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

100. wouldIf Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Did You Think?. . . . . . . . . . . 112

My Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123One More Frog . . . . . . . . . . . 126

74. mostMost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

75. myMy Favorite Hat . . . . . . . . . . . 80My Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Teddy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Over My Head . . . . . . . . . . . . 86My Pup Likes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89My Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93My Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Which Way Did My Cat Go? 102Who Am I? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110These Are My Feet . . . . . . . . 122My Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82The Very Wet Dog . . . . . . . . . . 92My Cat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

76. noNo Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

77. nowThe Very Wet Dog . . . . . . . . . 92

78. onlyIf Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

79. otherTwo Cats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

80. outAt Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Roar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

81. overI Like Noodles. . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

6

IntroductionPoetry is such a perfect way to introduce emergent readers to the various stages of literacy. It'sshort. It's fun. It's got rhythm!

The poems in this personal poetry collection have been carefully crafted to meet the specific needsof emergent readers and ESL students who are learning sight words. Patterned, repetitive poetry isused throughout to give confidence to and encourage the emergent reader. The advantage of poet-ry is that children can see the pattern right before their eyes. They don't have to flip the page of abook to see the words repeated, which often interrupts the visual pattern for new readers.

The first 100 sight words are interwoven throughout the collection (see charts on pages 2-5 tofind particular sight words). L e a rning these frequently occurring words by sight will help tounlock the surrounding text for the young reader. The first half of the collection focuses on thefirst 50 sight words. These words are used a number of times throughout the first 51 poems. Thesecond half of the collection highlights sight words 51 through 100, with a nice recycling of thefirst 50 sight words.

Themes and topics used by most kindergarten and first grade teachers are the focus of the book. Inthese sets of poems, the themes include All About Me, Friends and Family, School, Neighborhood andCommunity and Holidays. There are Science poems and Animal poems. Colors, Numbers, and Shapesround out the collection with a group of fun poems about colors and math.

Reading a poem in many forms makes it fun for emergent readers to practice and develop theirliteracy skills. For individual, group, and whole class work, we've provided the tools you need. Foreach poem there is a student poem page with engaging illustrations. Pictures appearing at theends of lines and occasionally at the ends of poems provide important, simple, visual clues. Thestudent poem pages make it easy for children to create their own personal poetry collections. Forgroup and center work we've provided strips that fit into the Desktop Pocket Chart, which will saveyou time. We've also included instructions for enlarging the poems for use as poetry posters.

VersatilityThere are enough poems in the collection to present at least two per week throughout the schoolyear. You can use the poems in order or you can choose according to the themes your class isstudying. You can also focus on poems that enhance a particular math, social studies, or sciencetopic.

The section on math poems includes such topics as counting, shapes, time, money, doubles,adding, comparing, and patterns.

Social studies poems involve community helpers, recycling, homes, transportation, directions,places in the community, and holidays.

7

Science poems present the following topics: dinosaurs, farm animals, predators and prey, eggs,weather, night, habitats, animal tracks, animal behavior, sink or float, water, gardens, and babyanimals.

There are even two familiar stories retold simply in verse: The Mitten and The Little Red H e n.

Author NoteUsually when developing a collection of poems, I make sure none of the rhymes are the same andthat the vocabulary varies. In this collection, I felt it would be beneficial to use the same vocabularyagain and again and to repeat rhyming words. This allows children to build on their previousknowledge of the words. The sight words themselves are also repeated many times to give studentspractice and confidence and to show words being used in different sentences, in different ways.

I made an effort to create poems that are educational and at the same time real p o e t ry, with a sur-prise or a twist to help children see something a little differently than they saw it before.

What You’ve Got• At least two poems for every week of the year• Sets of poems that match the themes you're studying• Suggestions in the introduction for using the poems to teach sight words and emergent reading

skills• Suggestions in the introduction for making the poems personal and interactive and for using

them as creative springboards• Poetry strips and illustrations that fit into the Desktop Pocket Chart

Useful AccessoriesThe following accessories can be useful when extending the poems:

Desktop Pocket ChartMy Very Own Poetry Collection includes strips for each poem that fit into the 12" x 16" DesktopPocket Chart. You can use the poems for intimate group work with the help of this miniaturepocket chart.

Wikki StixMade of waxed yarn, Wikki Stix stick to almost any surface, including the student poem and theDesktop Pocket Chart. They are perfect for underlining or circling words in the poem with the fea-tured phonemic element.

Highlighting TapeThis removable, colorful, transparent tape can be used to highlight key words or phrases on theDesktop Pocket Chart.

Sticky NotesSticky notes are useful for making poems interactive. You can use them to rewrite words on theDesktop Pocket Chart.

Standard Pocket Chart and Sentence Strips (10-pocket and 15-pocket)If you choose to, you can reproduce the poems on standard pocket chart strips for whole class orgroup instruction.

8

How the Book Is OrganizedStudent PoemsFor every week of the year, you have at least two poems, enlarged for easy reading. Make copies ofthese for the students so they can reread and work with the poems. Each child can put together hisor her own personal poetry collection.

The sight words highlighted in each poem are shown at the top left of the student poem. Sightwords that appear only once in the poem are shown at the top right of the student poem. Youmay want to cover these with sticky notes before making copies for the students.

Strips for the Desktop Pocket ChartYou've got all the tools you need for group work. Copy and cut out the enlarged strips (starting onpage 127) on index tag and use them in the Desktop Pocket Chart. That way, you'll have a poemfor many eyes to see. Groups of children can interact with the poem using this intimate yet practi-cal medium.

Poetry PostersYou can enlarge the poems to poster size (11" by 14" @130%) using a copier that allows for this.You may want to ask for assistance at your local copy center.

Suggestions for Going FurtherThis introduction provides an extensive array of activities that will help you get the most from thepoetry. They focus on the sight words, rhyming words, repetitive phrases, and other treasuresburied in the poems. The suggestions also include ideas for making the poems personal and inter-active for the children and for tapping into children's own poetic talents.

How to Use the Elements of the BookThere are many ways you can creatively use the student poems and the poem strips to make themost of this personal poetry collection.

Ways to Use the Student Poems• Photocopy the poem for each child. • Enjoy the poem for the beauty of the words, the rhythm, and the content.• Add blanks to the poem so that children can interact with it and personalize it.• Use the poem to point out sight words, phonograms, rhyming words, and more.• Have each child create a personal poetry collection with a decorated cover.• Enlarge the poem to 11" by 14" and use it as a poem poster in the classroom.• When the collection is complete, send it home to be read with family members.

9

Suggestions for Going Further with the Student Poems

Talk about the title. It can be avery important part of the poem.Let children predict what thepoem will be about.

Have children circle or under-line the sight words in poems.

In this poem in the second halfof the book, children shouldknow many of the sight wordsalready. The new sight word hereis so.

Talk about the words that arenot sight words and may not yetbe decodable to the children.

My Sister

My sister is as tall as I am.

My sister is as fast as I am.

My sister is as old as I am.

My sister ismy twin!

I Can Read

I can read.

So can you.

I can write.

So can you.

I can read this poem to you!

Do You Live in a Barn?

Do you live in a barn?

Do you live in a tree?

Do you live in a hole?

Do you live in the sea?

Or do you live in a home

like me?

A Taco

A taco has lettuce.A taco has lettuce.A taco has lettuce, tomato, and cheese.

A taco has lettuce.A taco has lettuce.A taco has lettuce, tomato, and cheese.

Then add some salsafor a yummy treat!

Where Have You Been? (2 voices)

Where have you been?

To the store.

Where have you been?

To the pool.

Where have you been?

To the zoo.

Next time, can I go with you?

10

Invite children to underline therepetitive words or phrases inthe poem.

Work together to find therhyming words and underlinethem. Emphasize them asyou're reading the poem aloud.

Notice how the endings of therhyming words above are thesame.

There is even a rhyming wordthat is not at the end of a line.

Each New Day

Each new dayI brush, brush, brush.

Each new dayI eat, eat, eat.

Each new dayI play, play, play.

Each new nightI sleep, sleep, sleep.

Many Hugs

Many hugs from Dad.

Many hugs from Mom.

Many hugs from Grandma.

Messy hugs from Tom!

What Hides?

What hides from the frog?

What hides from the bat?

What hides from the duck?

What hides from the cat?

Fly hides from the frog.

Bug hides from the bat.

Snail hides from the duck.

Rat hides from the cat!

So Many

So many frogs on the logs.

So many moles in the holes.

So many ants on the plants.

So many bees in the trees.

Run!

11

Ask the children to explain what happened in the poem, to summarize the story.

Talk about the humor or the twistat the end.

All of these baby animalsare cubs!

Up, Up, Up

Up, up, up.Up go the bubbles.

Up, up, up.Up go the pups.

Pop! Pop! Pop!Pop! Pop! Pop!

No more bubblesup, up, up.

The Very Wet Dog

The dog is very wet.Now the cat is very wet.

The dog is very wet.Now the bird is very wet.

The dog is very wet.Now I am very wet.

I am very wetfrom my very wet pet!

Into the Mitten

Into the mitten went the rabbit.

Into the mitten went the fox.

Into the mitten went the cricket.

The cricket made the mitten pop!

My Sister

My sister is as tall as I am.

My sister is as fast as I am.

My sister is as old as I am.

My sister is my twin!

What Is It Called?

What is a baby lion called?

What is a baby fox called?

What is a baby bear called?

A baby bear is small and bald!

12

Have fun guessing the answers to the riddles.

Give answers for poems that askquestions or imply questions:

What could the greencostume be?

What birds could be all those colors? (toucan, parrot)

Who Am I?

My tongue is long.

My legs are long.

And when I jump my jump is long.

Very, very, very long!

Who am I?

What Is That Reptile?

As thin as a rope.

As hissy as a cat.

No legs at all.

As long as a bat. When?

When are you sad?

When are you mad?

When are you silly?

When are you glad?

Sad, mad, silly, glad!

Halloween

Ana had a cape.

Lee had a hat.

Jen had a wig.

Sal had a bat.

And I was green

on Halloween!

Which One?

Red or blue?

One or two?

Dog or cat?

Mouse or rat?

Rain or sun?

You pick one!

Fish Can Be

Fish can be red.Fish can be black.Fish can be yellow.Birds can, too.

Fish can be red.Fish can be blue.Fish can be yellow.Birds can, too.

13

Have individuals, partners,or groups recite the poem todevelop oral literacy. Ormemorize the poem andrecite it together. Thesepoems are fun to say:

It's fun to clap to this poemwhile it's being recited.

Have children read the poem with an older buddy, taking turnsreading every other line, or divide the class in half and read thepoem in two voices.

Invite children to make a borderfor the poem or an additionalillustration.

My Monster

She has two legs,just like me.She has two arms,just like me.She has two ears,just like me.

But my monster hasthree eyes to see!

I Like Noodles

I like noodles all over town.I slooooop them up.I slooooop them down.

I like noodles white and brown.I slooooop them up.I slooooop them down.

I like noodles.So do my pups.

We slooooop them down.We slooooop them up.

Teacher Day

An apple for your teacher.

An orange for your teacher.

A flower for your teacher,

all day long.

An apple for your teacher.

An orange for your teacher.

A song for your teacher,

all day long!

Up We Go

Up we go.

Down we go.

Up we go.

Down we go.

We like to slide

on the slide outside.

(repeat)

On Top Of

On top of the hillwas a little goat.

On top of the barnwas a little bird.

On top of the cookiewas a little ant.

On top of this poemare three little words.

Where Have You Been? (2 voices)

Where have you been?

To the store.

Where have you been?

To the pool.

Where have you been?

To the zoo.

Next time, can I go with you?

14

Help children write a new versefor the poem. New verses don'thave to rhyme.

Example of new verse

Green or pink?Five or ten?Iguana or snake?Hippo or apeSnow or hail?You pick one!

As a class, write a new poemusing the original as a model.

Under My Feet

Under my feet is a brown worm.Under my feet is brown earth.Under my feet is green grassand a pretty yellow dandelion.

Which One?

Red or blue?

One or two?

Dog or cat?

Mouse or rat?

Rain or sun?

You pick one!

I Can

I can swim.

I can draw.

I can slurrrrrrp with a straw!

I can scooter.I can paint.I can whistle throughmy teeth!

Example of new verse

Over My Head

Over my head is a blue bird.

Over my head is a blue sky.

Over my head is a blue kite

and a pretty yellow butterfly!

15

Have individual childrenwrite poems modeled afterthe poems shown here.

Make an accordion book. Illustrate and frame a poem forFriendship Day on August 1.

If Only

If only I had a pony,I would ride all day.

If only I had a boat,I would sail all day.

If only I had a rocket,I would zoom all day.

But I do have a friend,and we play all day!

Make class books in whicheach child contributes a pagethat mirrors these poems:

Friends are for laughing.Friends are for helping.Friends are for goofing around.Friends are doing things together.

Example

If only I had a dolphin,I would swim with it all day.

If only I had a surfboard,I would surf all day.

If only I had a plane,I would fly all day.

But I do have a friend,and we play all day!

Example

Each New Day

Each new day I brush, brush, brush.

Each new dayI eat, eat, eat.

Each new day I play, play, play.

Each new nightI sleep, sleep, sleep.

Friends Are For

Friends are for rain.

Friends are for sun.

Friends are for good days

and bad days

and fun.

If Only

If only I had a pony,I would ride all day.

If only I had a boat,I would sail all day.

If only I had a rocket,I would zoom all day.

But I do have a friend,and we play all day!

16

After reading this poem, invitechildren to make posters of whatthey may be some day.

Brainstorm lists basedon the poems.

scooterskateboardbiketrainjet

List of forms of transportation:

rockettruckmotorcycletaxicable car

Some Day

I may be a movie star some day.I may be a scientistsome day.I may be a fire fighter some day.

But today I just want torun and play!

I Have a Book

I have a book at school.

I have a book at home.

I have a book at grandma's house.

It has ten little poems.

Stellaluna

Guess How Much I Love You

My Pinkie Finger

The Rainbow Goblins

List of favorite books:

I Could Ride

I could ride on a bus.

I could ride on a train.

I could ride on a boat.

I could ride on a plane.

But I want to stay home

and play in the rain.

17

Make webs based on the poems.

family words

cousin uncle

father mother

grandmother aunt

what youcan write

letter book card

poem e-mail

grocery list story

Act out the poem.

Instead of a mitten, usea blanket.

I Know

I know your mother.I know your father.I know your sister.I know your brother.

I know all the peoplein your family.

And the people in your familyall know me!

With Words

With wordsyou can read.

With wordsyou can sing.

With wordsyou can writeabout anything!

How About You?

Monkeys can hoot.How about you?

Lions can roar.How about you?

Seals Or Or.How about you?

You can sound like a zoo!

Into the Mitten

Into the mitten went the rabbit.

Into the mitten went the fox.

Into the mitten went the cricket.

The cricket made the mitten pop!

18

Make a graph based on the poem.Graph pets owned by the students. Explore the math in the poem.

After reading the poem "IHave," design a quilted pillowusing right triangles and/orsquares. Make a paper designor sew a real pillow.

Make lists of what comes in2s, 3s, 4s.

Use manipulatives to act out the math poems.

Act out the poem using balls orcounters.

Act out this poem using pennies.

Pets We Have at Home

dog cat hamster rat iguana

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

Pets

We had one fish.We had one dog.We had one snake.We had one frog.

We had one bird.We had one cat.But now we haveone baby rat!

I Have Triangles

I have triangles that are red.

I have triangles that are blue.

I have squares that are red.

I have a pillowjust for you!

These Are My Feet

These are my feet.They come in two.These are my arms.They do, too.

There are my ears.They come in two.These are my eyes.They see you!

The Clown

The clown juggles with one ball.

The clown juggles with two balls.

The clown juggles with three balls.

Then all the ballsfall, fall, fall!

Who Has More?

Van has 6 pennies.Jen has 4.Tell me. Tell me.Who has more?

Nat has 3 pennies.Ben has 4.Tell me. Tell me. Who has more?

You have 5 pennies.I have 4.Tell me. Tell me.Who has more?

19

Try out some of the science ideas.

Find dinosaurs that fit into thecategories in the poem.

Make a class book about water. Do an experiment—the woodand pumpkin will float.

Do extension ideas related to the social studies topics:

Let children tell something theypass by on the way to school.

Have children recite theiraddresses.

Write letters to communityhelpers or family members.

Dinosaurs

There were tall ones.

There were small ones.

There were green ones.

There were mean ones.

I just wish that I had seen one!

Water

Water can be cold.Water can be hot.Cold or hot,I like it a lot.

Water can be big.Water can be small.Water can be iceor a waterfall!

Did You Think?

Did you think

the orange would sink?

Did you think

the nail would sink?

Did you think

the wood would sink?

Did you think

the pumpkin would sink?

To Get to School

I run by houses.

I run by a park.

I run by a dog.

Bark, bark, bark.

I run by a flag.

I run by grass.

Yippee!

I am not late to class!

Do You Live in a Barn?

Do you live in a barn?

Do you live in a tree?

Do you live in a hole?

Do you live in the sea?

Or do you live in a home

like me?

The Mailman

He had one for Mom.

He had one for Dee.

He had one for Dad.

He had one for me!

20

Ways to Use the Desktop Pocket Chart

• Copy the poem strips onto index tag.• Cut out the strips.• Reconstruct the poem in the Desktop Pocket Chart. We’ve numbered each line to minimize confusion.

You can keep the numbers or cut them off.• Gather a group of children. Read the poem once or twice for them. • Have children recite the poem with you. • Work with the poem for a week. Read it together about ten times in all.• Place the poem in a center and have children work in pairs. They can read the poem, highlight new

vocabulary, put mixed-up pocket chart strips back in order, and write new verses.

Suggestions for Going Further with the Desktop Pocket Chart

Use non permanent markers, Wikki Stix, or highlighting tape tohighlight the sight words in the poem.

When?

When are you sad?

When are you mad?When are you silly?

When are you glad?Sad, mad, silly, glad!

I KnowI know your mother.

I know your father.I know your sister.

I know your brother.

I know all the peoplein your family.

And the people

in your familyall know me!

Underline the words that arenot sight words or that are hardto decode before reading thepoem together. Use the illustra-tions provided on the strips tohelp figure them out.

Teddy

Her soft tummy,Her soft nose,

Her soft legs,

Her soft toes.

Her soft paws,Her soft ears.

When I go to sleep,

my teddy is near.

21

Highlight the text that is between quota-tion marks in the poems. "They Said," "TheHen Makes Bread," "Which Way," and "AtNight" also have quotation marks.

Encourage children to discoverthe repetitive words or phrasesin the poem. Highlight them.

What is repeated in this poemand what changes? Thechanges are underlined.

Have children find the rhyming wordsand highlight them with Wikki Stix orhighlighter tape. Emphasize them asyou're reading the poem aloud.

The Tree

"This is my house," said the ant.

"This is my house," said the bee."This is my house," said the squirrel.

"This is my tree house," said the girl.

Birthday

A gift from Mom.

A gift from Dad.A gift from Nat.

A gift from Pat.I am six !

How about that?

My Feet

To skip on the street,

I just need my feet.To run on the street

I just need my feet.To keep a beat,

I just need my feet!

Thanksgiving

Thank you, Earth, for the bees.

Thank you, Earth, for the trees.Thank you, Earth, for the sky.

Thank you for the corn

and the pumpkin for the pie.

22

Make lists using word cards.

List of crunchy foods:

List of rhyming words(in the poem and notin the poem):

carrots

celery

chips

apples

crackers

cereal

bop

slop

drop

flop

stop

top

plop

crop

hop

mop

Have fun reading the poem intwo voices, alternating lineswith the class. Explain that"It's my turn, then your turn."The poems below are specifi-cally written for two voices, butother poems can be easilyadapted. "I Like Noodles," "IfOnly," and "Where?" are goodfor two voices as well.

Lunch

I have an apple.

I have a pizza.Crunch, crunch!

Munch, munch!

No Time

No time to bat.No time to hop.

No time to jump. No time to bop.

Here comes the rain!

Drip, drip, drip, drop

Drip, drip, drip, drop

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP DROP!

My Friend (2 voices)

I have a friend.

My friend is you.

I have a friend.My friend is you.

You like me

and I like you.

You like meand I like you.

Which Way Did My Cat Go? (4 voices)

"Which way did she go?""Over there," said the baker.

"Which way did she go?"

"Over there," said the teacher.

"Which way did she go?""Up there," said the vet.

"Meow, meow, meow!" said my pet.

23

Use sticky notes to cover words inthe poem. Let children suggestnew words to write in their places,to personalize or change thepoem. Alternatively, you can useblank word cards made fromheavy paper to cover and replacewords. (Cards should be about 2"long by 1" high.)

Cover phrases in the poem withblank strips and let childreninteract with the poem by rewrit-ing the phrases. Strips should beabout 1" high. The new linesdon't have to rhyme.

This poem is based on thepoem "Not All Frogs."

We Can Tell You

Maria can tell you

all about mice.

Omar can tell you all about robots.

Carlos can tell you

all about baseball,

and I can tell youall about skateboards!

Do You Lay Eggs? (2 voices)

Do you lay eggs?"No," said the sheep.Do you lay eggs?"No," said the lion.Do you lay eggs?""Yes," said the snake."I lay eggs again and again!"

Not All Dogs

Not all dogs are brown.Not all dogs can bark.

Not all dogs are small,like my doggy Shadow!

On Top Of

On top of the hillwas a big coyote.

On top of the barn

was a big bald eagle.

On top of the cookiewas a big brown spider.

On top of this poem

are three little words.

24

Mix up the strips of the poem and have children rearrangethem. Note that this is a fun activity for a literacy center.

Create word cards from sightwords or other sets of wordsin the poem. Let childrenmatch them with the wordson the pocket chart poemstrips. This is also a goodactivity for center work.

we

have

one

but

one theis

little down

two

other

My Sister

my twin!as I am.

My sister is as tall My sister is as fast

My sister is as I am.

as I am.My sister is as old

Where Have You Been? (2 voices)

Where have you been?Where have you been?

Next time, can I go with you?To the store.

To the pool.To the zoo.

Where have you been?

We Have One Pat

We have one Pat.We have one Jin.

We have one Nan.But we have two Dans.

We have one Ana.

We have one Sim.We have one Pam.

But we have three Sams!

Two Cats

One cat is little.

The other cat is big.

One cat is white.The other cat is black.

One cat is down.

The other cat is up.

Two cats hiss.Here comes the pup!

25

Create word cards andmix them up for fun.

Mixed up version:

Have children use letters tobuild sight words or otherwords from the poem. w h e n

One or cat ?

Mouse or sun ?

Red or rain ?

Rat or two ?

Blue or dog ?

You pick one !

Which One?

Red or blue?One or two?

Dog or cat?Mouse or rat?

Rain or sun?You pick one!

26 All About Me

©2004 Teaching Resource Center

When?

When are you sad?

When are you mad?

When are you silly?

When are you glad?

Sad, mad, silly, glad!

when are you