I Went Out Exploring

Types of poetry

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is: Why do we explore?

• Reading and discussing “I Went Out Exploring,” along with the other exploring-themed texts in the magazine (the Big Read, “The Search for the Titanic”; and the Fiction, “The Haunted House”), should give kids insight into why people explore and what interesting things can be discovered (or rediscovered) when you explore.
• Through the above stories, students will discuss: Why do we explore? What cool or surprising things can be found when we explore? What can we learn or gain from exploring?

Watch “The Big Question: Why Do We Explore? (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)

• Before your students watch, ask them to think about the question “Why do we explore?”
• Watch the video.
• After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

Discuss What Makes a Rhyming Poem (15 minutes)

• “I Went Out Exploring” is a type of poem called a rhyming poem.
• In this poem, you’ll see that the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme.
• This poem is also  is also a list poem.
• Kenn Nesbitt, a former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, says, “Many famous poets, including authors such as Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, and even Dr. Seuss, have written funny list poems. A list poem usually consists of three parts: a beginning, an ending, and a long list of things in the middle.”
• In this poem, you’ll see that the poet introduces the idea at the beginning of the poem, then gives a list of different things the explorer found in the middle, and then ends 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?” (Answers will vary.)
• Point out that the last words in the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme. Ask, “What are some words that rhyme in this poem?” (rocks and socks and pen and again)

ELA: My Own Exploring Story (15 minutes)

• Using the Mad Libs-style “My Own Exploring Story” printable, have your students fill in the blanks to tell about a time they went exploring.

ELA: Make Your Own Poem (15 minutes)

• Using the “Make the Poem Your Own” printable, have your students write their own list poem that rhymes.

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.

Two Different Texts Use this printable to help your students compare and contrast the Big Read with the Words & Pictures feature, “One Ship, Five Facts” (pages 4-5).

Additional Pairable Texts The Big Read, “The Search for the Titanic” (pages 6-11); and the Fiction, “The Haunted House” (pages 24-29)

• These texts also ask questions similar to those posed in the poem. Why do we explore? What can we discover or rediscover when we explore?
  
• Kids can compare the explorers in the texts using our “Explorers Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?