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Three to Four 50-minute sessions
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| Overview |
 If you've ever drawn a heart for the word "love," you've written a
rebus. Rebus, writing which substitutes images for words in the text, is a well-known
technique used by authors to write books for young readers able to identify only a limited number of words,
so why not use this same rebus technique to teach writing?
This lesson uses Jean Marzollo's book I Love You: A Rebus Poem (Scholastic,
2000) as a model to use rebus writing to create wonderful poetry; however, any of the
rebus books included on the accompanying book list would be appropriate for this activity.
This makes a wonderful Valentine activity, although
it is certainly not limited to that holiday.
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| From Theory to Practice |
Rebus books have long been used by teachers and parents to help young children
learn to read. Rebus books substitute pictures for the harder words that young
students cannot yet identify or decode. Many children are also familiar with
electronic interactive play-a-sound books that allow them to match and touch
the rebus pictures and hear the characters speak, laugh, or make sounds.
While we have often had our students read these books, we have seldom had them
write their own rebus books. The purpose of this lesson is to have the students
use rebus writing to create their own poetry. Students draw pictures of the words
they need to complete this rhyming patterned poem.
Karen daSilva explains, "Crayons and markers are such important tools in
[students'] literacy. Children read pictures to understand, they make pictures
to tell what
they mean." This connection is strengthened in rebus poems, which specifically
connect drawing and writing; for "when reading, making, and writing images
are
connected, literacy is expanded." As daSilva continues, "When drawing
is part of the writing and reading process, it can help give ideas for writing
and teach
skills of observation, skills that encourage reading the world and reading the
image" (p. 2).
In addition to playing with drawing, this lesson encourages students to play
with language as they create their rebus poem with its special rhythm and rhyme. As Jo Fitzpatrick says in her book Phonemic Awareness: Playing with Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills, children
need to "hear, identify, and match similar word patterns" to "develop stronger
auditory discrimination and awareness" (p. 8). Using rebus writing frees students
to develop this ear for language. They can successfully write wonderful rhyming
poetry.
Further Reading
daSilva, Karen Ernst. 2001. "Drawing on Experience: Connecting Art and Language."
Primary Voices K-6 10.2 (October): 2-8.
Fitzpatrick, Jo. 1997. Phonemic Awareness: Playing with Sounds to Strengthen
Beginning Reading Skills. Creative Teaching Press.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- explore the connections between words and images using rebus books.
- compose original rebus poems, based on a model.
- define and explore rhyme by identifying rhyming words.
- reflect on their writing process.
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| Instructional Plan |
Resources
- I Love You: A Rebus Poem by Jean Marzollo, and/or another rebus book
(See List of Rebus Books).
- Rhyming
Picture Cards, or similar rhyming aids which may include Match-a-Sound!
Phonemic Awareness Box--Rhyming Sounds (Lakeshore), Rhyming Match Me Cards
(Trend), Word Family Sliders (Lakeshore),
Word Family Cubes (Learning Resources), Phonics manipulatives (Scholastic)
or other rhyming materials
- Web links listed below
- I Love You Rebus Poem Handout
- I Love You Rebus Book Cover
- Crayons and drawing materials
Preparation
- Assemble a collection of rebus books including I Love You: A Rebus Poem by
Jean Marzollo (See List
of Rebus Books).
- Bookmark several of the rebus nursery rhymes
from the Enchanted Learning Web site and the Reggie the Rhyming Rhino game
- Print Rhyming
Picture Cards (or choose and prepare another rhyming aid) to help
students focus on specific phonograms while choosing their rhyming words
to plug
into
the frame of the
poem.
- Make a copy of the I
Love You Rebus Poem Handout for each group of three
students, and one copy of the
book cover.
- (Optional) If your students need more work on rhyming words, use one of
the additional ReadWriteThink lesson plans on rhyming to explore the concept
more before students write their own poems. Lessons include the following:
Instruction and Activities
Session One: Discovering Rebus Writing
- Introduce the students to a
variety of books using rebus writing.
- Help them discover how pictures can take the place of words in a variety
of books.
- Visit the Enchanted
Learning Web site to see additional rebus nursery rhymes.
- Read the book I Love You: A Rebus Poem by Jean Marzollo to your students.
- As you introduce this book and read it aloud to your students, encourage them to
just enjoy the rhythm and rhyme of the poem on the first reading.
- On repeated readings, help students join you in reading the rebus pictures
as a shared reading experience.
- Have your students identify the rhyming words of the poem.
- Help students identify the pattern/structure of the book:
Every _______ loves a ________ (rhyming word),
Every _______ loves a ________
(rhyming word),
Every _______ loves a ________ (rhyming word),
And I love you!
Sessions Two and Three: Exploring Rebus and Rhyme
- Revisit the book I Love You: A Rebus Poem by Jean Marzollo.
Tell students that they are going to get the opportunity to write their own
poem modeled on
this book.
- Form students into small groups of three and help them brainstorm some
rhyming words that could fit into the poem.
- For kindergarten and first grade
students,
it is helpful to use Rhyming
Picture Cards or another of the rhyming aids listed above (in the
Resources section). Help students generate sets of three rhyming words.
- Once
your rhyming words are chosen, help the students work together to complete
the second part of the pattern: For example, if the group
has chosen "skate,
plate, gate," they might complete the pattern with: Every skater loves
a skate, Every eater loves a plate, Every fence loves a
gate, and I love you!
- Then help the students choose what
part of the rhyme each will illustrate. Hand out the
poem frame, drawing materials, and let them complete their drawings.
- Continue
with the other groups of three until each group has completed their verses
of the poem. (This process could also be done with older students acting
as buddies to the younger students by helping them choose their rhymes
and complete the pattern of the poem.)
- Students waiting their turn to compose can use the Reggie
the Rhyming Rhino site from Scholastic to practice rhyming.
- Put the parts of the poem together and gather the students
to hear and celebrate their completed rebus poem.
- Provide time for students
to reflect on what they learned about rebus writing and the rhythm and
rhyme of their poem.
Session Four: Time to Share
- Share your poem with a selected audience:
- Have a poetry reading and invite parents or other classes to come and
celebrate your rebus poem.
- Make copies of the poem for each student to take home as a special gift
or Valentine for his/her family.
- Display your poem on a hallway bulletin board and invite other classes to view it.
- Include a poetry reading as part of Grandparents Day activities.
- Invite Business and Education Partners for a poetry reading and give them a
copy of the poem to display at their work site.
Extension
- Ask students to create a book cover or dust jacket for the class book using the Book Cover Creator. The tool does not include an option to save the work, so be sure that students do enough planning that they will be able to complete their covers in one session.
Web Resources
- Reggie the Rhyming Rhino
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/index.htm
- Scholastic's "Building Language for Literacy" has a wonderful rhyming game
called Reggie the Rhyming Rhino that young children can play alone after minimal
instruction.
- Enchanted Learning: Rhymes
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Rhymes.html
- The Enchanted Learning site has lots of rebus nursery rhymes that you can
view and even print off for your students.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
- During your class discussion after sharing the finished poem, encourage
students to reflect on the process of writing the poem. Help them to share
what they have learned.
Encourage them to reflect on the process of rebus writing, choosing rhymes,
completing the pattern of the poem, and sharing their poem with an audience.
- Encourage students to assess their own participation in the writing process
using the following scale:
Star: Yes! I tried my best, and I did great!
Happy Face: I did a good job most of the time.
OK: I could have tried harder, but I'll do better next time.
Students can rate themselves on each of the following:
- I shared my ideas in my group.
- I was a good listener when others shared their ideas.
- I did my best when I made my pictures for the poem.
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1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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