My Game

I have a little pretend game I play

When Daddy calls to me.
I say, “I’m right here, Daddy!
I’m under the sea!”

Or I say, “I’m in the window.”

Or else, “I’m out the door.”
Perfect Poems for Teaching Sight Words © Ellermeyer & Rowell, Scholastic Teaching Resources

“I’m on top of the table,”

Or “I’m under the f loor.”

I say, “I’m right here, Daddy!

I’m next to the fish!”
The f ish who’s swimming
Around his little dish.

I’m jumping over boxes,

Or off a big red cube.
I’m climbing up a tree,
Or swimming with my inner tube!

I say, “I’m right here, Daddy!

I’m hiding by the door.”
And our dog has just come in
From a terrible rainstorm!

Now I’m tired of this game.

Let’s read “Once upon a time.”
“Now I’m right here, Daddy.
Into your lap I’ll climb.”

1
 Using the Poem
Using the Poem
Write the poem “My Game” on chart paper, using a different-colored marker for the
highlighted prepositions or prepositional phrases. Share the poem with children (for
detailed tips on sharing poem, see page 6). Then ask children what they notice about
the highlighted words. Explain that these words tell about the position of things, or where
things are. They are called prepositions or prepositional phrases. (NOTE: In the poem, the
Non-Dolch word next is shown in boldface because it is part of a prepositional phrase
with to.)

Activity 1

Where Is Everyone?
Perfect Poems for Teaching Sight Words © Ellermeyer & Rowell, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Sight Word Focus

Prepositions Objective
to recognize and create prepositional phrases using sight words
in a song

M AT E R I A L S Setup
copies of page 3 Duplicate the song sheet for “Where Is Everyone?” (page 3) and
(one per child) distribute to children.

Directions

yone?
1 First, familiarize children with the tune by singing “Frère
Jacques” (or “Are You Sleeping?”). Then tell children they will
be learning new words to the song. Read the words on the
Where Is Ever e Jacques,”
or “Are You
Sleeping?”)
tune of “Frèr
(Sing to the

song sheet together several times, until children are familiar

__________ ______________?
Where is __________
Where is __________
_______________
_________?
with the pattern.
k.
Under the des

2
k.
Under the des
f ind him/her.
When I look I’ll
When I look I’ll find him/her. Then sing the song “Where Is Everyone?” together, inserting
k.
Under the des
Under the des
k. a child’s name in the blank. Have that child hide under his or
Sing the song
under the desk
again. Replace ses:
these phra
her desk!
with one of
friend

3
with his/her
ow
by the wind
on the floor
out the door
upon the rug
center
Point out the highlighted phrase “under the desk.” Explain that
at the math
next to me
in the reading
nook
55
this is a prepositional phrase—it tells the location, or position,
of the person in the song.
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4 Then sing the song several more times, inserting different

children’s names and substituting “under the desk” with the
other prepositional phrases on the sheet. Children go to the
place described.

5 As children become more familiar with prepositional phrases,

invite them to invent their own and lead the class in a
new verse.

2
 Where Is Everyone?
(Sing to the tune of “Frère Jacques,” or “Are You Sleeping?”)

Where is __________________________________?

Where is __________________________________?
Perfect Poems for Teaching Sight Words © Ellermeyer & Rowell, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Under the desk.

Under the desk.
When I look I’ll f ind him/her.
When I look I’ll find him/her.
Under the desk.
Under the desk.

Sing the song again. Replace under the desk

with one of these phrases:
with his/her friend
by the window
on the floor
out the door
upon the rug
at the math center
next to me
in the reading nook

3
 Activity 2

Design a Room
Sight Word Focus
Prepositions Objectives
to orally describe a room, using sight word prepositions
to write a descriptive paragraph, using prepositions

Setup
M AT E R I A L S
Display the chart paper poem you created for “My Game”
Perfect Poems for Teaching Sight Words © Ellermeyer & Rowell, Scholastic Teaching Resources

large sheets of
construction paper (see Using the Poem, page 2).

old magazines Write the prepositions and prepositional phrases from the poem
on the chalkboard.
scissors
Provide children with construction paper, old magazines,
glue sticks
scissors, glue sticks, crayons, writing paper, and pencils.
crayons
pencils
Directions

1 Reread the poem “My Game” as a class. Then point out the list
of prepositions on the board. Explain that these words help tell
where things are located.

2 Next, invite children to use prepositions to describe the position

of objects in the classroom. Elicit responses with questions such
as: Where is the bulletin board? (next to the door); Where is the
clock? (over the desk); Where are your coats? (in the cubbies);
and so on.

3 Then invite children to use the art materials to design their very
own room. They can cut pictures of objects from magazines and
paste them on construction paper. Children can also draw their
own objects with crayons. As they work, encourage children to
think about the position of objects in relationship to other
objects in the room.

4 Once the room designs are complete, have children write

prepositional phrases near the objects, such as over the
fireplace, on the wall, and beside the chair.

5 Older children might write a summary paragraph describing

their room on a separate sheet of paper. Encourage them to use
prepositional phrases in their descriptions.

4
 Activity 3

What Am I?
Sight Word Focus
Objective
Prepositions
to use sight words in prepositional phrases
to guess classroom objects based on location

Setup
M AT E R I A L S
On index cards, write the names of classroom objects, such as clock,
Perfect Poems for Teaching Sight Words © Ellermeyer & Rowell, Scholastic Teaching Resources

pencil sharpener, door, window, teacher’s desk, and sharing chair. index cards
Create at least one card per child. Place the cards in a hat, bag,
marker
or box.
hat, bag, or box
Directions

1 Explain to children that they will be playing a guessing game to

practice using prepositions. Show children the hat, bag, or box
and tell them it contains cards with the names of “secret”
classroom objects.

2 Have a child randomly pick a card and give the class one clue
about the object on his or her card. The clue can relate to the
object’s color, size, shape, or use.

3 Then have children ask questions that contain prepositional

phrases to help them guess the item. For instance, questions
might include: Is it near the door? Is it on the bookshelf?
Is it on top of the desk? The clue-giver can answer “warm” or
“cool,” depending on how close the secret item is
to that location.

4 When children think they know the item, have them raise their
hands and call out their guesses. If the item is guessed correctly,
another volunteer selects the next card. If not, children continue
asking questions until the item is revealed.

5
 Using the Poem
Follow this simple step-by-step procedure for the poem.

1 Read the poem in advance. Preview the poem and activities yourself before you use
them with children. This gives you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the words
that will be introduced or reviewed and to select the activity that best suits children’s
instructional needs.

2 Write the poem on chart paper and highlight the Dolch words.
Write the poem on chart paper prior to presenting it. Write the target (boldface) words in
a different-colored marker to draw children’s attention to them. Please note that the bold-
Perfect Poems for Teaching Sight Words © Ellermeyer & Rowell, Scholastic Teaching Resources

face words are sight words related to the focus of the lessons, such as hot and cold for
“Antonyms.” (There will be non-boldface sight words in the poem as well.)

3 Point to the words as you read the poem aloud. Use a pointer or your finger to track
the print as you read aloud to the group. This gives children an opportunity to see the words
as they are read. You can make pointers easily with a dowel rod and a small decoration added
to the tip. For example, an apple eraser makes a good September pointer decoration.

4 Engage in repeated readings of the poem. Since children require multiple exposures
to new sight words, read the poem repeatedly in a variety of ways: chorally, in two groups
with each group reading every other line, and so on. Children might also act out the poem.

5 Examine selected Dolch words in isolation and in context. After reading the poem
as a whole piece of text several times, children can explore individual words and complete
the related activities. Then have children revisit the poem. This progression from whole text,
to words, and back to whole text provides children with a necessary and authentic context
for learning (Rasinski and Padak, 2000).

6 Have children write words on index cards and add them to individual Dolch
word banks. Have children create and maintain individual word banks that contain
the Dolch words as you introduce them. Word banks are containers (recipe card holders
word well), in which children store words in two groups: Words I Know and Words to
Learn. Children file unfamiliar words in the Words to Learn section of the container
and gradually move words over to the Words I Know section. Children can also alpha-
betize the cards or sort them into groups (word with one or two syllables; nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and prepositions; by vowel sound and so on).

7 Afterward, keep the poem visible so that children will continue seeing the words.
This ensures multiple exposures to the words. A weekly poetry walk around the class-
room is a wonderful way to review the Dolch words within the poem. You might also create
a word wall of all the sight words.