If+I+Were+in+Charge+of+the+World

[|If I Were In Charge of the World.doc]

Day 1

 * 1) Introduce the poem. This is a poem by someone who really wishes he or she was the boss of the world, and this poem is about he or she would change the world. When we read it, see if you can figure out who is talking in the poem. (It was written by a woman named Judith Viorst, but she wrote it in someone else's voice, as if someone else were talking. See if you can figure out whose voice she's using.)
 * 2) This is a poem where you really have to practice **inferring**: making guesses and looking for evidence for your guesses, because there are a lot of things it doesn't tell you directly.
 * 3) Echo read the poem. Teacher reads a line or two, group echos. Give positive feedback / make a few suggestions for improvement.
 * 4) Second stanza: review what night lights are for, and what hamsters are
 * 5) In pairs, students time each other reading the poem and record their time.
 * 6) Comprehension question: Time to infer who is talking in this poem. The poem doesn't tell you -- you can't find a spot where it says "My name is so and so and I'm writing this poem because..." So you have to infer, or make a good guess based on the evidence in the poem. Who do you think is telling this story? How do you know?

Day 2

 * 1) Today practice the poem with a partner. Have students model reading it with expression.
 * 2) Go over each part of the poem in more detail. Have a copy of the poem cut up into lines. Give a pair of kids a part to figure out what it really means. Again, remind them they have to infer -- there are lots of things the poem doesn't come right out and tell you. For example, do a think-aloud of the first lines. "I'd cancel oatmeal. That makes me think that this kid probably really hates oatmeal, but he has to eat oatmeal because there's some grown-up who makes him. It looks like he also hates Monday mornings, and I bet that's because he doesn't like school, and Monday is the first day of the week. Allergy shots -- I bet he has to get allergy shots because he has allergies, and he hates those too, and I don't know who Sara Steinberg is, but I bet it's someone he hates, since everything else in this stanza is about things he hates. Maybe it's a mean kid who lives near him. Who else do you think Sara Steinberg could be?"
 * 3) Tell them their job will be to infer what their lines are about, with a partner. They should each read the lines, think quietly for a minute, then tell their partner what they think. Then come back and one person from each pair can share with the group. (Have a quiet minute after everyone gets their lines for them to read and think, so each person has to think for him or herself.) You can have some kids work in threes, or alone, if the numbers don't come out right.
 * 4) Part 1: the second stanza
 * 5) Part 2: You wouldn't have lonely, you wouldn't have clean.
 * 6) Part 3: You wouldn't have bedtimes... through the part about sisters.
 * 7) Part 4: the part about sundaes
 * 8) Part 5: the part about 007 movies
 * 9) Part 6: The end
 * 10) Partners time each other and record their Tuesday time on the sheet.

Day 3

 * 1) Today they will get to perform the poem for each other. Give them some time to practice.
 * 2) People who want to can perform for the group. Time them as they do. If some don't perform, be sure they get timed by a partner and record their times.
 * 3) Other options for performing: have pairs or groups of 3 read each stanza, and go around the table, reading the poem chorally in small groups.
 * 4) Word study: have students look for and underline ending blends. world, champ, wild. Have them list on white boards or paper other words that have the same ending blends. See how many they can come up with.
 * 5) Comprehension: What connections do you have with the poem?