Magic E

There's a magical letter,

The silent "e"

As easy to read as A-B-C.

It makes short vowels long,

Turning "can" into "cane"

And "dim" into "dime".

Abracadabra!!!

"Hug" becomes "huge".

And "hop" become "hope".

Teddy Slater

The Opposites

Oh, do you know the opposites,

the opposites, the opposites

Oh, do you know the opposites, 

The meanings never the same.

If you say high

Then I say low.

If you say stop,

Then I say go.

If you say left,

Then I say right.

The meanings never the same.

Stand Ins

Pronouns are our stand in words;

They play the part of nouns--

Proper ones like Bill or Jim,

And common ones like town.

He is one, and him and it--

They fit in anywhere

And do their work so quietly

We hardly know they're there.

    Evantha Caldwell

My Word!

A noun is quite dependable;

It never leaves you in suspense!

But a participle may be dangling,

And a verb is always tense!

   W. Lowrie Kay

Synonyms

(To the tune of "Hush Little Baby")

Synonyms almost the same,

Synonyms almost the same,

Come, let's play a matching game.

Sing two words that mean the same.

Sing two words that mean the same.

(Alternate following teacher with students or boys and girls.)

When I'm happy,

I am glad.

When I'm naughty,

I am bad.

If it's large,

It's also big.

A hog is

Also called a pig.

See me hurry,

See me rush.

To be quiet

Means to hush.

If I want,

I also wish.

A plastic bowl

Is still a dish.

Practice or

Repeat a song.

If you miss,

You go far wrong.

If you end,

You stop the game.

They have like meanings,

Much the same.

Synonyms, almost the same.

Synonyms, almost the same.

B-A Bay

B-a-bay
B-e-bee
B-i biddee bye
B-o-bo
Biddee bye bo
B-u-boo
Biddee bay bee

Chorus:
     It's just a kooky song.
     You can sing it, too.
     Any consonant will work with
     A E I O U.
Repeat first verse.
R-a-ray
R-e-ree
R-i-riddee rye
R-o-ro
Riddee rye ro
R-u-roo
Riddee ray ree
Rye-ro-roo
     Chorus
W-a-way
w-e-wee
etc.......

B-a- bay uses long a
How many long a words can you say?

B-e-bee uses long e.
How many lone e words can there be?

B-i-biddee bye uses long i.
How many long i words can you try?

B-o-bo uses long o.
How many long o words do you know?

B-u-boo uses long u.
How many long u words will be new?

    

(Tune:  Wheels on the Bus)
Sometimes the c says /s/, /s/, /s/- /s/,/s/, /s/- /s/, /s/, /s/.
Sometimes the c says /s/, /s/, /s/.  I'll tell you why!

 If after the c you see an i,
 Or an e or a y,
They all make the c say /s/, /s/, /s/.
You give it a try.

 C is soft in cent and  cell,
Cent and cell, cent and cell,
C is soft in cent and cell,
And now you know why!

*Punctuation Marks*

The period is a busy man.
A small round traffic cop.
He blocks the helter-skelter words
And brings them to a stop.
 
The question mark's a tiny girl,
She's small but very wise;
She asks too many questions
For a person of her size.
 
Of all the punctuation folk,
I like the comma best.
For when I'm getting out of breath
He lets me take a rest.
 
Quotation marks are curious.
When friendly talk begins
You'll always find these little marks
Are busy listening in.
 
The exclamation mark's an elf,
Who is easily excited.
When children laugh or cry or scream
It's then he's most delighted.

*The Contraction Song*

I'm the first word; don't change me!  
Don't change me, don't change me.
I'm the first word; don't change me!  
Oh, no, just let me be.
 
When you change the second word,
Second word, second word,
When you change the second word,
A shorter word you'll see.
 
Certain letters are taken out,
Taken out, taken out.
Certain letters are taken out.
One word will remain.
 
Apostrophe will fill that space,
Fill that space, fill that space.
Apostrophe will fill that space,
The rest will stay the same.
 
Can't and couldn't, isn't, too.
Isn't, too, isn't, too,
Won't and I've and let's, it's true,
Contractions every one.
 
I'm and she's and you're and he'd,
You're and he'd, you're and he'd,
Wouldn't, didn't, we'll and she'd,
Good!  And now we're done.

Here is a song to help teach the q followed by u rule.

This song goes to the tune of
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

It was sent in by Kim

Q-u, Q-u friends are they; and to-gether they will stay.
U will al-ways fol-low q, as most good friends of-ten do.
Q-u, as in queen and quit, Like a hand in glove they fit.
Q will tell the letters, "No!" If his u friend cannot go.
When you see the letter q, next you'll see the letter u.
Q-u, Q-u friends are they and together they will stay.

Adjectives

An adjective describes

"what kind"
OR
"how many"

AND
Goes with a noun like,
"One little penny."

Action Words Are Verbs

When you've got a lot to do,
An action verb's the word for you.
Verbs can do most anything,
They tell us what is happening.

Refrain:
Action words
Action words
Action words (clap, clap) are verbs!
Action words
Action words
Action words (clap, clap) are verbs!

Think of sports you like to play,
Name the verbs you do each day.
Throw, catch, hit, or kick a ball,
Jump and dunk the basketball.

Walk and jog or sprint a mile,
Swim and dive or surf in style.
Skate, hike, ski, to name a few,
Race and climb are verbs you do.
(Refrain)

When you go to school each day,
You'll read a book or write a play.
Think and listen, take a test,
Study hard to do your best.

Paint and sketch or play and sing,
Learn the best of ev'rything.
Memorize and use a rule,
These are verbs you do in school.
(refrain)

We use verbs like move or hop,
Shake and shimmy, flip and flop.
Clap your hands and stamp your feet,
Snap your fingers to the beat.

Raise your arms and turn around,
Bend your knees and touch the ground.
When you've got a lot to do,
An action verb's the word for you!
(refrain)

Homophones
Tune: Go In and Out the Window

Some words sound like another.
Some words sound like another.
Some words sound like another.
We call them homophones.

The spelling will be different.
The spelling will be different.
The spelling will be different.
We call them homophones.

They do not mean the same thing.
They do not mean the same thing.
They do not mean the same thing.
We call them homophones.

There's waist and waste and sew and so.
There's meat and meet and know and no.
There's night and knight and wait and weight.
So many homophones.

Some words sound like another.
The spelling will be different.
They do not mean the same thing.
We call them homophones.

When it's English that we SPEAK
Why is STEAK not rhymed with WEAK?
And couldn't you please tell me HOW
COW and NOW can rhyme with BOUGH?

I simply can't imagine WHY
HIGH and EYE sound like BUY.
We have FOOD and BLOOD and WOOD,
And yet we rhyme SHOULD and GOOD.

BEAD is different from HEAD,
But we say RED, BREAD, and SAID.
GONE will never rhyme with ONE
Nor HOME and DOME with SOME and COME.

NOSE and LOSE look much alike,
So why not FIGHT, and HEIGHT, and BITE?
DOVE and DOVE look quite the same,
But not at all like RAIN, REIN, and REIGN.

SHOE just doesn't sound like TOE,
And all for reasons I don't KNOW.
For all these words just prove to ME
That sounds and letters DISAGREE.

Parts of Speech Poem

A nouns the name of anything
Like house, or garden, boat or swing.
Instead of nouns you may prefer
The pronouns you, or I, or her.

Adjectives tell the kind of noun
As great or small or black or brown.

Verbs tell something to be done:
To read or count, sing, laugh or run.

How things are done the adverbs tell
As slowly, quickly, ill or well.

Conjunctions join two words together
As men and women or wind and weather.

Prepositions go before a noun
As in or through or under or around.

An interjection shows surprise 
As Oh! How pretty, or Ah! How wise.

The whole are called eight parts of speech,
The whole are called eight parts of speech,
The whole are called eight parts of speech,
Which reading, writing and speaking teach.

Nouns 

(Sung to the tune of: Polly Wolly Doodle)

Oh, let's look around for some naming words for
persons and places and things
Oh a noun is a name, Yes a noun is a name for a person
or a place or a thing
It's a noun
It's a noun
It's the name of anything
Any persons, any places, any things from hats to laces
It names persons or places or things.

I'm trying hard to learn to read
But what's a kid to do
When there's a NO and a GO and a SO
And then there's words like TO?

Reading BONE and CONE and LONE and TONE
Can almost be kind of fun
But I get upset when I have to believe
That D-O-N-E spells DONE!

It's plain to see a kid like me
Sure needs a helping hand.
No matter how much I really try
I don't always understand.

I'm trying hard to learn to read
Somehow that's what I'll do
But for now if you'll just read to me
Someday I'll read to you!

By Bill Haloran

When I get stuck on a word in a book,

There are lots of things I can do.

I can do them all, please, by myself;

I don't need help from you.

I can look at the picture to get a hint.

Or think what the story's about.

I can "get my mouth ready" to say the first letter.

A kind of "sounding out."

I can chop up the words into smaller parts,

Like on or ing or ly,

Or find smaller words in compound words

Like raincoat and bumblebee.

I can think of a word that makes sense in that place,

Guess or say "blank" and read on

Until the sentence has reached its end,

Then go back and try these on:

"Does it make sense?"

"Can we say it that way?"

"Does it look right to me?"

Chances are the right word will pop out like the sun

In my own mind, can't you see?

If I've thought of and tried out most of these things

And I still do not know what to do,

Then I may turn around and ask

For some help to get me through.

~Jill Marie Warner

Friendly Letter Poem

Sing it to the tune of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"

I am a friendly letter

My heading at the top.

My street address, my city and state

The date and then I stop.

And then I put "Dear Someone,"

A comma at the end

Next I go and write the body,

My message to my friend.

I choose a closing, like "Your Friend",

Or "Love Forever More,"

I end it with a comma

Of that I'm very sure.

I sign my name in cursive

And now I'm at the end.

And my perfect friendly letter

I'm now ready to send.

Hear these songs sung by the artist.  I have put down the words for you to add to a chart. You will need real player or quick time.  The kids will enjoy these!  Have them sing along.  Just click on the title name.

Homophones

I read this book
It's red, come look
A book about a special love
Homophones

Right here, you'll hear
Two words that sound the same
But don't look the same
Here's the name
Homophones

I know there's no one else
Who loves them so

You're right, let's write these words
All day and night
They're out of sight

Yes, they're so sweet
That's why we always meet
Not that kind of meat
But you can't beat
Homophones

Two words that sound the same
But they're not spelled the same
Homophones

Two Vowels Go Walking

When two vowels go walking
The first one does the talking
In "boat" you hear the "o" and not the "a"

In "meat" you hear the "e"
The "a" sits quietly
The second vowel you see but you don't say

But...
Shh!

Just the two of us together
In "train" and "pail" and "rain"
The "a" speaks up; the "i" does not
But...
Shh! Let me explain

When two vowels go walking
The first one does the talking
In "brain" you hear the "a" but not the "i"

In "soap" the "o" is clear
The "a" you never hear
In "say" you say the "a" and not the "y"

But...
Shh! Isn't it neat?
But...
Shh! It can't be beat!
But...
Shh! It's such a dream!

Don't mean to boast
But here's a toast
We're quite a team!

When two vowels go walking
The first one does the talking
I'm sorry, number two, it's such a shame

Although it gives you pain
The rule is very plain
When two vowels walk
The first one says its name!

But...
Shh!

Yes, when two vowels walk
The first one says its name!

Hung Up On H

I am hung up on H
And the hard-to-learn
"hih" sound it makes

Every time I hear "hih"
I lose hope
And my heavy heart aches

I'm hassled and fed up
I can't hold my head up
Because H makes me howl like a hound
I'm hung up on H
Can't handle that "hih, hih, hih" sound

Now, the sound of most letters
Are found in their name
T goes "tih"
J goes "jih"
K goes "kih"

But H doesn't play
By the rules of that game
Why doesn't H go "ay" or "chuh"?

Why a letter called H
Makes a "hih" sound
I'm hard pressed to see

Hih, hih-hih, hih, hih, hih
H sounds like it's laughing at me

I'm harassed by its cackles
H raises my hackles
Its "hih, hih"
Has me in a huff

Yes, I'm hung up on H
Hih, hih, hih, hih, hih
I've had enough!

Yes, I'm hung up on H
Hih, hih, hih, hih, hih
I've had enough!

Sloppy Pop

I love the letter O
When it's in o-p "op"
The O in gloppy slop
The O in sloppy glop
I love the O in mop
I really flip for flop
And nothin' else can top
The o-p "op"
In Sloppy Sloppy Pop!

I'm Sloppy Sloppy Pop!
No, don't accept a sloppy copy
Cream of the o-p crop
I'm Sloppy Pop!
Sloppy Sloppy Sloppy Poppy!

I love the letter O
When it's in o-p "op"
The O in clippy clop
The O in drippy drop
I love the O in hop
Ain't ever gonna stop
And nothin' else can top
The o-p "op"
In Sloppy Sloppy Pop!

I'm Sloppy Sloppy Pop!
No, don't accept a sloppy copy
Cream of the o-p crop
I'm Sloppy Pop!
Sloppy Sloppy Sloppy Poppy!

Vowel Boot Camp

A E I O U
Sometimes Y is a vowel, too

Sound off!
A E
Sound off!
I O U
Sound off!
A E I O U
Y, too!

All right, letter heads! Move it, move it, move it, move it, move it! This isn't Camp Nappy-packy-wacky Lake! This is vowel boot camp! Now, sound off!

A!
E!
I!
O!
U!
Y!

On the double, A, and I'm not talking batteries! State your long and short sounds!

"Ay" is my long sound and "ah" is my short sound, Sir!

Exactly. But what if you're flanked suddenly by an M and an N. Sound?

Ah!

Word?!

Man!

Well done, soldier. But what if an I slips through the lines and stands next to you? What's the general rule, soldiers?!

When two vowels stand side by side
The first one says its name with pride.

Right. So what's your sound now, vowel A?

Ay!

Word?!

Main!

Correct! You are my main man! Vowel Squad, let's go make some words! Forward, march!

That was a "vowel" thing to do. Oh...

A E I O U
Sometimes Y is a vowel, too

Sound off!
A E
Sound off!
I O U
Sound off!
A E I O U
Y, too!

Some of these poems come from the Second Grade Mailring while others I have collected and I do not know who to give credit to. If any of these are yours, just e mail me and I will give you the credit you deserve.