Continuing my roundup of the poems that went into my kindergarteners' Poetry Anthologies this past year, here's the classic by Christina Rossetti, which I have also heard set to music.
This poem linked to our weather studies and was the first time we discussed the idea of metaphor. I showed a photo of white clouds in a blue sky and asked the children, "Where are the sheep?" They had fun realizing what Rossetti had done with her words and comparing that photo to one of actual sheep on a green hill (blue sky and white clouds on the horizon).
Clouds
White sheep, white sheep,
On a blue hill,
When the wind stops,
You all stand still.
When the wind blows,
You walk away slow.
White sheep, white sheep,
Where do you go?
by Christina Rossetti
If you're a teacher and would like a copy of this poem for illustrating, let me know and I'll send you a not-very-fancy document.
I'm thinking that this would be just as good for 5th graders as Ks!
ReplyDeleteThanks!!
And didn't Alice Schertle have a poem about a cow on a green hill?
ReplyDeletewhat a fun way to introduce the children to metaphor.
O. Such fun your kiddies must have had with the woolies & the puffer clouds. Followed this here from the Nov. 7, Poetry Friday.
ReplyDeleteNow, eager to see Walt Whitman for the kiddos.
I read to kindergarten & am finding a storymat full of ideers here, appreciations to you.