Name of Activity:. Poem 2 (Clickity Clack)

Category:. Show Me

Props: Show Me.A copy of Song of the Train by David McCord

Your Role: Travel guide and model

Directions: Read your child the following poem which contains some very rich kinesthetic-stimulating images. Read the poem so that it sounds like a very present, ever-moving train. Really make the poem sound like a train.

Goals for You: As you read the poem , encourage the child to make listen, to make train sounds, and even to move like a train. Your job is to make the poem so train-like that your child wants to move like a train, sound like a train, and then even draw a train.

Goals for Children: We hope that your child really sees, feels, and hears a train as you read the poem. Then, we hope he or she can capture that image onto paper.

Possible Strategy:

What to say "Let me read you a great poem. It sounds like something is moving. What do you see and hear as I read the poem?" (Remember, do not tell your child that the poem is about a train. The poem should evoke and create that image. )

What to do If you want, you can stand and model a train as you read the poem.

Possible Shaping:

What to say "What did you hear as I read the poem? What did you see? Listen to the sounds of the poem. Quick--now draw down what you saw and heard."

What to do: Give the child the paper quickly and keep reading the poem to help stimulate drawing.

Possible Ending:

What to say: "Great drawing." (Even if your child has not drawn a train, do not rebuke him or her. Remember, this is an activity for two. Your success at making the poem sound like a train helps stimulate your child's response and drawing.

What to do: Keep the drawing.

Material on this site created by Helane S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. and Yakov M. Epstein, Ph.D. in conjunction with their forthcoming book titled Play for Success. All material on this site is copyrighted and may not be reproduced or cited without written permission of Helane S. Rosenberg, Ph.D.. Dr. Rosenberg is Associate Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education of Rutgers-The State University, New Brunswick, NJ. Dr. Epstein is Professor of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Science of Rutgers-The State University, New Brunswick, NJ. He is also Director of the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education of Rutgers University.

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