Core Task Project
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...
Busy Teacher’s Café
"Smart" by Shel Silverstein
Find out just how smart your young mathematicians are with this cross-curricular math and language arts lesson. After first reading Shel Silverstein's poem "Smart", students draw pictures of coins to model the different exchanges...
Curated OER
Genre Lesson: Poetry
Hook kids into a study on poetry elements by asking them to bring in the lyrics to their favorite song. Discuss the elements in one or two songs (preferably that demonstrate rhyme, figurative language, or a repeating phrase). Groups do...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a “Backward” Poem
If you like poetry, wait till you try backward poetry! Young writers read Shel Silverstein's "Backward Bill" before writing their own funny poems that are full of backward imagery and phrasing.
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Close Reading of Poetry: Practice 3 (English II Reading)
Poems by Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson, Jean Toomer, Maya Angelou, and others offer users of the final interactive in a ten-part set to demonstrate what they have learned about how writers use imagery, metaphors, allusions, and...
Curated OER
Personify This
Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.
Curated OER
Words and Phrases that Support the Author's Voice
Third graders examine the author's voice. In this author's voice lesson students read poems by Shel Silverstein. Students choose words and phrases that indicate the author's voice.
Curated OER
Shel Silverstein Poetry Math
Fifth graders explore the connection between poetry and math by reading poems that involve numbers. In this Shel Silverstein poetry math lesson, 5th graders listen to 5 poems read aloud and discuss how math was used in the...
Harper Collins
Every Thing On It Lessons and Activities
Honor the great poet, Shel Silverstein with eighteen activities and lessons showcasing his collection of poems from the book, Every Thing On It. Activities challenge scholars to rhyme words, make inferences, recite a poem, and...
Curated OER
Rain by Shel Silverstein
In this printing practice worksheet, students copy each line from Shel Silverstein's s poem, "Rain". Students copy 12 lines on primary lined paper.
Curated OER
Bridge to Terabithia: Visualizing to Optimize Comprehension
Good readers visualize. And in our image-rich culture it is imperative that children are provided with opportunities to practice this important skill. A selection from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and Bridge to Terabithia,...
Curated OER
Visualize and Draw to Increase Comprehension
Improve readers' comprehension with a pair of visualization opportunities. First they listen, eyes closed, as you read a description from Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, and discuss ideas about what they "see." After you read...
Curated OER
A Light in the Attic
Review selections from Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic and recognize characterization and tone used. Discuss and compare the various tones of each poem. Learners complete a character map and a pair share activity as well....
Harper Collins
The Giving Tree Anniversary Teaching Guide
Celebrate poetry month all of April with a guide that uses six of Shel Silverstein's most famous books as a basis for the lessons. Discussion questions and writing activities are provided for each of Silverstein's books.
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Directed Reading - Thinking Activity
An in-class reading of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O introduces class members to the journey motif that forms the basis of The Hobbit.
Curated OER
Runny Babbit
Students are introduced to elements of poetry through the book Runny Babbit. In this poetry lesson plan, students learn about the newest Shel Silverstein book, then examine the poem's form, rhythm, and rhyme. Students look for other Shel...
Curated OER
Cool School Poetry
Students generate a word bank drawing on vocabulary from fifteen school related topics. They use the word bank to write poetry in the styles of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky.
Curated OER
The Band-Aid Counting Poem
Second graders listen to the teacher read a poem by Shel Silverstein and count the band-aids in the story.
Curated OER
Trash Collage
Students create a collage. In this collage lesson, students read a poem from Shel Silverstein and create an illustration to accompany the poem.
Curated OER
Analyzing Story Structure
Learners explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective...
Curated OER
Inspire the Imagination with a Poet Study of Shel Silverstein
Captivating prose opens wondrous doors to critical thinking and language development.
Curated OER
Poetry
Explore the semantics of poetry with this higher-level presentation. With examples from Dickinson, Frost, and Dr. Seuss, the slides clearly explain the details of poetic structure, license, and schemes. You could use this in a language...
Curated OER
There Is No Away
Students identify how trash is disposed of. In this environmental lesson, students read and discuss the poem "Sarah Sylvia Stout" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the ways people treated the items in the poem. Students discuss how trash...
Curated OER
"Colors" a poem by Shel Silverstein
Pupils collect data, graph it, and use the data to find measures of central tendencies, and find probabilities.