North Carolina Children's Book Nominee Blue on Blue Lesson Plan

Blue on Blue by Diane White and Beth Krommes

By: Angie Mitchell

Grade Levels: K-5 ELA Classroom or Media Center

Subjects: Reading and Writing

Read the story Blue on Blue with the students without showing the pictures. Discuss the use of rhyming and figurative language inside the poem. Have them share what they envisioned happening during the page. Then reread the poem and show the pictures. Have a class discussion on if the pictures added to the understanding of the poem.

This next part you will have to modify to go with the grade level that you are working with:

Have the students get into groups of two or three depending on class size and then give them a letter of the alphabet. They are to come up with a letter that goes along with the theme of the book – stormy and sunny days.  Once they come up with their word come back into groups and share the words on the board. With K-2 do a shared writing activity where you collaboratively work on creating a poem with the words. With 3-5 have them go back into their groups and create a poem using their words. 

Extensions:

Have a Poetry Reading Event where students share their poems with parents and classmates.

Create their own picture book centered around their poem.

Here is the poem that one of the Kindergarten classes came up with during this lesson. 

Stormy Day

Thunder, Lightening,

Wind Howling, 

Rain Pounds Down, 

Umbrellas Pop Up!

Rain Stops!

Sun Sneaks Out, 

Time for mud jumping fun!

The only letters I gave them were T, L, W, H, D, U, S, M, J, and R. 

They worked in partners to come up with the words and then we created the poem together.