Rules for the bus
This is a poem of a rigid bus driver who tells his riders a set of strict rules. One child feels that they have broken a rule but that rule was never mentioned, he had gotten on the bus after he stepped in something unwanted.

My teacher sees right through me
A fun poem of a child trying to give reasons why he didn’t do his homework, he tried many excuses but to no avail, every lie he made the teacher knew the truth because he was his father.

The connection between not only these specific poems, but the other poems in the book, were that they were all school related.

1.write a poem
2- have the class brainstorm different excuses that could be believable but absurd and then make it into a bingo game

Summary: A book of poems that are related to different things children will encounter at school. We read Rules for the Bus and My Teacher Sees Right Through Me.

Personal Reflection: I could remember hearing the same rules when I was riding a school bus. I also remember hearing the teacher talk to another classmate about his homework assignment.

Classroom Extension
1. Use the book to explain rules and to have children think about what rules would apply to riding the bus.

2. Use to teach that what you are having trouble dealing with, many others have gone through the same thing, so you are not alone. More of a one on one with a student.

Summery:
This is a great compilation of poems all about school and what goes on during school!

Personal Reaction:
I really liked this book, I laughed out loud at some of the poems! I really liked the illustrations that went along with the poems!

Classroom Extension:
Read the poem about classroom procedures and as a class come up with classroom procedures and expectations.
Make a list of the classes favorite poems and read one at the end of the day. (if the schedule allows.)

Summary:This is a compilation of poems. They are all school related and very funny. They are basically all short and some would even make great posters.

Personal Reflection: I really liked this book. It would be very fun to read some of the poems out loud to a class to get them more interested in poetry.

Classroom Extensions:
1. This would be great to use to open a section on poetry. The poems in this book would be great examples.
2. These poems would be great to relieve students of stress just before or after a big test or crucial moment in the year.

***Poetry***

Summary:
My Teacher’s in Big Trouble is a book full of poems, written for children. To name a same, I chose “My Teacher Loves Her IPod written by Bruce Lansky himself. This poem talks about a teacher who loves listening to her Ipod. The students notice that when she is listing to her Ipod, she can careless about what is going on around her. One day the principle came and the teacher did not notice him, so he took her to detention.
Another poem I liked is “Looking for Poems” written by Kathy Kenney-Marshall. This poem talks about a little boy who was challenged by his teacher to write a poem. He looks everywhere to try and find one until he realizes that the poem he had been looking for was in his head a long.

Personal Reaction:
Kids get in trouble so much they will think the first poem is funny because a teacher got in trouble. The second poem is perfect for showing students that poetry simply comes from within. The entire book of poems has a theme of school, students and teachers. Kids will certainly be able to relate to these poems because in the poetry are real issues that the kids deal with on a daily basis. The book renders answers to unspoken questions in a humorous way. The book is a keeper!

Extension Ideas:

1.Challenge each student to write a poem about what every they want using what every style if any.

2.Each student will be challenged to create a concrete poem, illustrating the poem’s subject as a picture on the subject of their choice.