Revenge of the Lunch Ladies: The Hilarious Book of School Poetry by Kenn Nesbitt

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Nesbitt, Kenn. 2007. REVENGE OF THE LUNCH LADIES: THE HILARIOUS BOOK OF SCHOOL POETRY. ill. Mike and Carl Gordon. Minnesota: Meadowbrook Press. ISBN 0881665274

SUMMARY:

This compilation of 45 sassy poems guides readers through a school year, from beginning to end, in a humorous manner that will make school seem more fun. From the sadness that summer is over, to the smells in a classroom, students will relate to the poems and the feelings they portray.  

QUALITY & APPEAL:

Age Range:  6-12 years

Grade Level:  1st - 6th Grade

Educators will find the layout of the poems beneficial as lessons are planned for during a full school year. The arrangement is suitable for school use from beginning to end, in a logical order  The book also has a table of contents, an index, and poem titles (headings) for easy access to specific poems.  Educators will also enjoy the tune suggestions for many poems to add sound to the poems as they are shared in the classroom. The poems will provide great breaks in the day for learning.  Great discussions will come from the poems as teachers guide students' learning about a poem's meaning, types of rhythm and rhyming found, various types of figurative language, sensory imagery, and the emotional impact they see and feel.  

Students will connect to the topics and be drawn in by the familiar childhood experiences and interesting topics the poems explore in connection to school.  The tunes will add to the enjoyment as students sing along to newly learned poems and their learning is stimulated.  The basic black and white art work found throughout the book will also be appealing to students, especially those that enjoy doodling.  

SPOTLIGHT POEM:  (Excerpt from page 24)

What I told Mrs. Morris When She Asked How I Was Feeling Today

"Grumbly, grouchy, groggy, grumpy, sleepy, slouchy, 

fussy, frumpy, whiny, wearly, cranky, crazy, 

dingy, dreary, loopy, lazy, dizzy, drowsy, 

crusty, crummy, loony, lousy, scruffy, scummy, 

bleary, batty, shaky, shabby, rusty, ratty, cruddy, crabby.  

That describes it, Mrs. Morris.  

Thank you for the new thesaurus."

CONNECTIONS:

Educators can share this poem with students and discuss all the words the author uses. Students can discuss and brainstorm words that describe how they are feeling under different circumstances (today, birthday, Christmas morning, before a big performance like a play or game, etc.). Once students have identified their "event" and their basic list of adjectives describing how they feel, they can begin looking up their basic words in a thesaurus.  They can add to their list of adjectives describing how they feel.  Students will share their new list with peers, showing the new creative adjectives they found using the thesaurus.  Then, students will create their own poem, using the original poem as a mentor text, using their creative adjectives to show their feelings on their chosen event.  Students will eventually go through the full writing process where they will peer edit each other's writing, revise to clarify ideas, and publish their poem to be displayed with the mentor text in the center of the display with lesson objectives (TEKS) listed that students' are mastering.  For added visual appeal, students could personalize their newly published poem with basic pencil drawings to continue emulating the mentor text.  

LINKS:

• www.gigglepoetry.com  
• Kenn Nesbitt's poems appear on this popular children's poetry website.
• www.poetry4kids.com
• Kenn Nesbitt's funny poems can be found here as well.  
• www.poetryteachers.com
• Ideas for educators on teaching poetry in a fun and interesting way.