It's Raining Pigs and Noodles
By Jack Prelutsky

A Webquest for Fifth Graders

INTRODUCTION | TASK | RESOURCES | CONTENT STANDARDS |

PROCESS | EVALUATION | CONCLUSION | CITATIONS |

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever written a poem? What kinds of poetry do you like? Complete the quest today to read funny poems and discover how to write funny poems on your own!

TASK

After reading the book It's Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky, you will use the computer to learn how to write humorous poetry.

RESOURCES


LANGUAGE ARTS CONTENT STANDARDS

The students will:

  • Make inferences based on implicit information in texts, and provide justifications for those inferences.
  • Identify and understand an author's purpose for writing, including to explain, to entertain or to inform.
  • Summarize stated and implied themes.
  • Produce informal writings (e.g., journals, notes and poems) for various purposes.
  • Compare and contrast information on a single topic or theme across different text and non-text resources.

PROCESS

Follow these steps to complete your poetry quest:

1. As a class read It's Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky.

2. After reading the poetry in It's Raining Pigs and Noodles, go to http://www.bookpage.com/0204bp/children/poetry_roundup.html. Silently read the review of Jack Prelutsky's newest poetry book titled The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders.

On a separate piece of paper, write a review of It's Raining Pigs and Noodles using the format of the example review. Don't forget that a review includes information about the book along with your opinion!

3. Visit http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/capers.htm. Read the poem called "A Menu to Make My Teacher Angry". After reading the poem silently, think about what the author was trying to say through this poem.

4. Go to http://www.kristinegeorge.com/kids_tips_1.htm. Follow the directions to read "Tips for Young Poets". On a piece of writing paper, write down 5 tips for writing poetry.

5. Practice writing your own poetry! Print out the page at http://www.gigglepoetry.com/newfangledfibhd.cfm. Fill in the blanks on the printed poem to write your very own poem!

6. Since you've practiced filling in the blanks, try the next step of writing poetry and write your own poem! Print out the page at http://www.gigglepoetry.com/grabbag.cfm?T=1&P1=24.

Read the "Toes in my Nose" poem silently. Brainstorm some ideas that you would like to write a poem about. If you need some help with writing topic, ask your teacher for help. Once you have picked your topic, write your own funny poem using the same format as "Toes in My Nose" on a separate piece of paper.

EVALUATION

You will be evaluated by your teacher with the following Rubric:

Areas of Evaluation
Excellent
Satisfactory
Needs Improvement
Followed directions
3
2
1
Stayed on task
3
2
1
Wrote a review of the poem using both fact and opinion
3
2
1
Used complete sentences in writing tasks
3
2
1
Completed the fill in the blank poem and wrote a poem on your own.
3
2
1
Demonstrated legible handwriting
3
2
1

CONCLUSION

Congratulations! You have completed your poetry quest! You are now a poet and you know it!

CITATIONS

Children's Book Page. Poetry Reviews. Retrieved April 10, 2002 from http://www.bookpage.com/0204bp/children/poetry_roundup.html

Giggle Poetry. Children's Poetry & Fill-in-the-blank Poems. Retrieved April 10, 2002 from http://gigglepoetry.com/

Hellas Multimedia. Education Clip Art and Images. Retrieved April 10, 2002 from http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/education/default.htm

Kristine George. Children's Poetry. Retrieved April 10, 2002 from http://www.kristinegeorge.com

Poetry Teachers. Poetry Teaching Ideas. Retrieved April 10, 2002 from http://www.poetryteachers.com

Poetry Zone. Children's Poetry. Retrieved April 10, 2002 from http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/capers.htm

Prelutsky, J. (2000). It's Raining Pigs and Noodles. New York, NY: Scholastic Incoporated.

Created by Katie Sears, Spring 2002
Bowling Green State University Graduate Student