Lunchbox Love Note - Teaching about poetry, Valentine's Day, and secret crushes...
Or not.
Written from the perspective of an elementary school-aged boy, this poem by Kenn Nesbitt expresses the excitement of young love and the disappointment of reality. The boy receives a sweet valentine in his lunchbox saying, "Will you be mine?" and begins to consider which of the girls in his class could be the crush. Is it Jo? Jennifer? A "secret friend?" The excitement is too much to bear! He opens the valentine and to his disappointment, it is signed "I love you - Mom."
Picture the face of Ralphie on A Christmas Story when he gets his bad grade for his "What I Want for Christmas" paper: mouth dropped, eyes wide. Poor kid. He must be one of those that only a mother can love.
Aside from the irony of it all, this would be a good piece to use in a classroom. Here are some ideas:
- Read alouds for students to develop prosody
- Literature circles - this is a poem with stanzas and rhymes, so students could easily take turns reading out loud
- To introduce an activity where the students could write a valentine to their mother or a family member
It is also a good piece to use for a lesson on poetry because it has some of the elements of poetry. For example, there are stanzas and each stanza rhymes. The first stanza reads "Inside my lunch / to my surprise / a perfect heart-shaped / love note lies." In addition, there are a couple examples of hyperbole; the boy says his "stomach is lurching in [his] throat." Clearly, if this were actually true he would be in pain and probably choking. It is quite the exaggeration. There is also emotional force in this poem: the anxious curiosity of a boy with a secret admirer and the heart-wrenching (yet humorous) moment he discovers the truth.
Circle, circle; dot, dot. Now I've got my cootie shot.
Here is a link to a youtube video of a girl reciting the poem if you would like to hear it:
I thought this poem sounded adorable, and I loved the video that you added. Y'all did a great job of making me want to read this poem, and your lesson ideas are really fun.
ReplyDeleteCute! Definitely a great poem to use during Valentines or the month of February since it is such a "love-filled" month! I really like the idea of using the poem as a way to introduce students to writing their own valentine, such as to a classmate or to the mom or any other family member, however we should definitely inform the students that they could write a valentine to a classmate just as a friendly note/letter, does not have to be a "love" note! It sounds like children would relate to this poem, especially if they did have a secret crush!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis poem is so cute! It made me make remarks like "awwww" and "poor baby!". I love the fact that its valentine's based and even if you don't have a "romantic valentine" it shows that there is someone out there who cares for you even if it is your mommy!!! Your lesson ideas are very creative and you make good points. Also great vocabulary use!
ReplyDeleteJennifer Novak
This is a good poem to use around Valentines Day. I would love to use this poem as a reference to teach children how to right Valentines Day poems for their parents. I believe that older students will relate to this poem because everyone gets a secret crush sometimes. This would be a good poem to introduce poetry to children. You could use this poem to help children with their rhyming.
ReplyDeleteKatie Lowery
I have never heard this poem before and thought it was so cute! I think your ideas that could be used in the classroom are a great way to engage all students and make the lesson fun. I particularly like the idea of having the students read the poem out loud because it allows them to practice other reading skills, such as prosody, during the literature lesson.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Hilton
Wow! I don't even like poetry, but your post about it made me want to read this poem and feel excited about it! The poem was adorable. I think that it would be great for use during February. I agree, that you might have to be careful depending upon the age group though.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cute! I have never heard this poem before. The little girl reciting it makes it come alive. What an appropriate poem to use during Valentines. Using a poem like this and allowing the students to make their own valentines will engage the students in poetry without them even knowing it. I can see this being a big hit in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAddie: This poem is so too cute! It would be so cute to use around Valentine's Day to get students intrigued in poetry. Students wouldn't even think twice about learning about poetry when they hear this poem! Referring back to "Circle, circle; dot, dot. Now I've got my cootie shot", students will think "hmm, this relates to me on the playground". They will think that their teacher is fun and will want to listen and learn more about poetry. This poem will be great to teach students about rhyme and prosody.
ReplyDelete