Tag Archives: rhymes

The Importance of Songs, Poems, and Rhymes in the Classroom

If any of you have searched the websites of teachers or teaching websites (especially those of preschool, kindergarten, or primary grades) you have probably noticed that most of these sites feature renditions of popular chants, rhymes, and songs. These writings add new words to old favorites to fit a particular theme or time of year. For example you may see “The Ten Little Indians” changed to “The Ten Little Turkeys”. For each unit or thematic focus, I try to have at least two or three of these remakes. The key is to have a tune that children already know and … Continue reading →

The Adventures of Taxi Dog – Debra and Sal Barracca

“The Adventures of Taxi Dog,” a rhyming children’s picture book, has been featured on “Reading Rainbow” on PBS. That from the start tells me that we’re about to read a high quality book. The story is told from the perspective of Maxi, the dog. He used to be a stray on the streets of New York City. He lived primarily in the park, but had to be careful to avoid the dogcatcher. He ate whatever he could find, and life was pretty hit-and-miss for him. One day a taxi pulled over to the curb with a flat tire. When the … Continue reading →

Author Review – Dr. Seuss

Oh, wow, what an author! Oh my, what a guy! His rhymes are terrific; Please let me say why. You can’t find a thoozle just shopping downtown, When you ask the nice sales clerk, he’ll give you a frown. But open a book by this wizard named Seuss – Out from the pages come thoozles let loose! They’re big and they’re furry, they’re lovely and green – Why, these are the best thoozles I’ve ever seen And to think that I would have missed every one If I had not picked up this book full of fun. Theodore Giesel, or … Continue reading →

The Alice in Bibleland Series – Alice Joyce Davidson

Author Alice Joyce Davidson tells us of Alice, a little girl who owns her own copy of the Bible. She loves to sit down and read stories from its pages, and as she does so, she is able to walk into the book and watch firsthand the things that are taking place. Each of her adventures is told in rhyme, and each of them concludes at the end with a summary of what Alice learned from that Bible story. The language of the Bible can be confusing for children. When a book is hard to understand, the child doesn’t want … Continue reading →