Ice Pops, Ice Pops

Types of poetry

• This poem stands on its own. It’s not only super fun, but it also gives kids great experience reading and thinking about poems as a literary form.

Discuss What Makes a Rhyming Poem (15 minutes)

• “Ice Pops, Ice Pops” is a type of poem called a rhyming poem.
• Kenn Nesbitt, who wrote “Ice Pops, Ice Pops,” is a former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate.
• In this poem, you’ll see that the poet names the subject of the poem in the first line of each stanza, then describes it in detail in the second line of each stanza.
• This poem also utilizes repetition—with the words “ice pops, ice pops” repeated in the first half of the poem.

• You can read the poem to the class first to model fluency and get kids familiar with the language. You can also click the Read Aloud button at the top of the digital issue to hear it read aloud by a professional voice actor.
• Then call on volunteers to read every two lines of the poem aloud (which works whether you’re doing class in person or in a live video format).

Discuss the Poem (10-15 minutes)

• Ask kids, “What is the poem about?” (ice pops)
• Point out that the second line of each couplet rhymes. Ask, “What are some words that rhyme in this poem?” (treat, sweet, beat, and eat)

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (time amount varies)

Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.

Pairable Text Question and Answers, “Interview With an Ice Pop” (pages 22-23).

ELA Focus: Analyze the Poem’s Repetition (20 minutes)

• Have your students use the printable to explore the use and purpose of repetition in the poem.