Reading Equals Brighter Futures Blog: SCARUM FAIR by Jessica Swaim

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Swaim, Jessica. 2010. SCARUM FAIR. ill. Carol Ashley. Pennsylvania: Wordsong. ISBN 9781590785904

SUMMARY:

Come one! Come all! Buy your tickets to the creepiest fair in town. Get goosebumps from the Ghoul at the Gate. Join in with the dead and run for your life in the great Coffin Race. Most of all, don't miss the wedding of the century. Count Dracula is sending a personal invitation just for YOU!

QUALITY & APPEAL:

Age Range: 9 years and up
Grade Level: 4th grade and up

Students are going to love to spooky poems hidden inside this book. They will eagerly read one after another. Some will leave them laughing, running to share with a friend. While others will scare them or even gross them out. The illustrations will add depth and meaning to the poems that students will enjoy examining. They provide great visuals as they illustrate the poetic words each poem is expressing.

Teachers can share these poems throughout the month of October. They serve as great poetry breaks during a day of learning. They can be read over and over again for enjoyment, or analyzed, studying stanzas, rhyming, line breaks, tone, and mood. This book is filled with spooky fun that students will enjoy and be engaged in during lessons. They will definitely get into the Halloween spirit and learn a great deal about poetry along the way.

SPOTLIGHT POEM: (Excerpt from page 17)

COFFIN RACE

There's no need to have a license.

There's no need to be alive.

The competition's stiff tonight,

'cause dead folks love to drive!

You'll see expensive models

plus some long-forgotten makes.

Reclining seats are optional,

but not a soul needs brakes.

The racetrack spirals downward

to the finish, and no wonder:

the winner gets a floral wreath

and parking six feet under.

CONNECTION:

Lesson for 4th grade and up:

Share this and other poems from Swaim's poetry picture book.
Allow student to reread and share their favorite poems in the Poetry Center.
Ask students to choose one of their favorite poems from SCARUM FAIR by Jessica Swaim, and create their own spooky Halloween poem, using her poem as inspiration.

Their poem must be 2-4 stanzas and contain some type of rhyming scheme.
Students need to cite the source of their poem's inspiration on the bottom of their page.

After students have written their poem and gone through the whole writing process (Revise and Edit), they will publish their poem in the Writing Center by either neatly rewriting their piece or by typing it their final copy.
Students will attach their poem to an art piece that they created using multiple art supplies that are available. The art should match the poem and help provide a visual for readers to see. They can use Ashley's illustrations found in the book for inspiration as well.
Finished poems and art will be displayed in the classroom or around school.