Did You Hear What I Heard? Poems About School

Title: Did You Hear What I Heard? Poems About School
Genre: Poetry
Author: Kay Winters
Major Awards: None
Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade

The poems in this book are exactly what the reader would think that they are about: school! The book covers so many different aspects of school in a poetic form. There is one titled "The School Speaks." This poem is about a school building longing for the day that the students return to it. When the students arrive after a long summer, the school is ecstatic! Another poem is titled "The Teachers' Room." Here, a student is wondering what goes on in the room that no students are allowed in. Is there a sofa? Do the teachers sit in their on their cell phones? Do they eat yummy treats? The students may never know! There is also a poem titled "My Field Trip Permission Slip." This poem is relatable because it is about a student misplacing their permission slip and not realizing that it is missing until the day that it is due! There is also a poem titled "It's Magic!" This poem is about the magic of computers, and how it is neat that words can be deleted if they are unwanted. Finally, there is a poem titled "Tests Tests Tests!" This poem is about the dreaded tests that seem to happen week after week. 

I would love to have this book of poems in my classroom! I really enjoyed reading these silly stories about being at school. The poems in the book are relatable because they are about different things that happen during school. They also speak of technology, which we all know that students these days are familiar with. I know that students would enjoy these light-hearted and fun poems about school!

I would recommend this book of poems for kindergarten through second grade students. The poems are short and the words in each poem are easy to sound out, making them perfect for these ages. They are written from a students' point of view, so there is a lot of fun language used. The poems are also very easy to understand the meaning of and relate to problems/topics that young elementary students especially encounter. The illustrations are wonderfully done, as well! They really make each poem come to life. 

In my classroom, I could have my students write a poem about a topic that relates to school. After reading this book of poems, I think that the students would have a lot of inspiration. While reading each poem, I could have the students touch their nose each time they heard rhyming words. While doing this, students are learning poetry and rhyming at the same time! I could also have each student draw a picture of their favorite poem and tell me why that particular poem stood out to them.