Writing Poems with Adverbs

There is a fact that we all have to admit as teachers. Not every lesson or idea was conceived in advance. I think we live with a secret bag of tricks ready to pull at any moment. But then there are those things you come up with "in the moment". How many of those end up as keepers?

Tons, right!

I had one of those last week and decided to share it. Adverbs week. We all have it. We play "Lolly Lolly" for the kids and do various activities to make it meaningful. We were in the midst of Benchmark Testing & were plagued with computer issues that threw my schedule out of wack for the whole week. I needed something on standby and went to my "go to" site. When I need an extra filler or something fresh, I go to SuperTeacherWorksheets.com. It is a great $20 that I spend every year. So, I found this poem activity.

Printed out the sheet and displayed the suggested words on the Elmo. I was ready for something extra....just in case. It was a great review, but I didn't like the sheet once we got started. My mind started racing about how to improve this activity THAT DAY! So, I turned the worksheet into a planning activity and created a template for a cute one to display.

I whipped up a a few choices and sent them to the school printer. Ran the copies during PE and finished up after lunch. They did a super job and turned out precious! I emphasized trying to use adverbs "creatively" and not the obvious choices.

Of course, NOW I am planning how to make this a keeper for next year. Definitely an Anchor Chart to encourage more of the "when" and "where" adverbs. I think I would let them pick seven of their OWN verbs to make each one more unique. I think I will keep my eyes open for more poems like this at http://mrsdbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/live-well-laugh-often-love-much.html to display as inspiration.