Poetry Break #7 - Poem About Spring

Introduction―
Ahhhh...spring! After a cold winter, there is nothing that compares to walking outside and seeing and smelling the fresh new flowers. Moncure in her poem transcends you quickly into this exciting season. The poem with it’s rhyming verses is a wake-up call for spring. The full-page illustration by Marie Claude Monchaux is beautifully colored with pastels and an attractive spring border outlines the page.

Wake-Up Time
by Jane Belk Moncure

It’s wake-up time for flowers.
I find them every year,
growing in the sunshine,
knowing spring is here
How do they know
it’s time to grow?
They have a way to tell.
You can too.
Here’s what to do.
Just close your eyes
and smell!

Moncure, Jane B. 2000. In Spring. Illus. by Marie-Claude
Monchaux. Child's World Inc.

Extension
For this activity you will need to find poems that deal with spring
or any season. Next you will need 2 milk cartons with the bottoms
cut out to make a cube. Cut the bottoms according to the size
needed and put them inside of each other. Cover with colorful
paper or contact paper.

Each group (4-5 students) will be given a cube with poems written
on all sides. One person will roll the dice to see which poem their
group will be working on. They can then do one of two things to
present their poem to the class. Choral read the poem or act out
in front of the class.

The teacher and students will have fun listening and watching
the presentations of the poems.