Poetry Break with Douglas Florian

Poetry Break with “The Monster Motel” by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 1993. Monster Motel. Ill. by Douglas Florian. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers.

Age Group: Early Elementary

Introduction: Write the ending words of each line on the board in two columns of five words each, making sure that the corresponding rhymes are on opposite sides (but not across from each other). Have the students find which words rhyme, and allow students to come to the board and draw a line between them. After discussing the rhyming words, tell the students to listen for them in the poem.

The Monster Motel

Welcome to the Monster Motel,
Where mostly monstrous monsters dwell,
They crawl the walls and gore the floors,
They shred the beds then saw the doors.
They box the clocks while chewing chairs
And throw each other down the stairs.
They beat the sheets then tear the towels,
They fill the night with hoots and howls.
They screech and scream and yip and yell
At the horribly horrid Monster Motel.

Extension: Show the illustration of the poem to the class. Provide large paper plates for the students to make their own monster masks. Cut out eyeholes; glue on a popsicle stick for the handle; and let the students decorate with crayons, markers, felt, streamers, and any other material that will make a monster mask. Finally, let the new monsters act out the poem (carefully) while you read it again.