Awful Ogre Stays At An Inn
By Jack Prelutsky
(Taken from the poetry book titled: Awful Ogre Running Wild.)
Introduction: This whimsical poem creates sublime imagery with Jack Prelutsky's use of descriptive writing! Encourage students to think of the ickiest hotel that they could ever imagine. Write down elements that we, as humans, would find repulsive.
Discuss what an ogre is. Many students may think of the charming character Shrek. Describe what his dream hotel room might be like. List elements that ogres might find comforting. Begin reading the poem.
Awful Ogre Stays At An Inn
I'm staying for the weekend
At a little inn I know
When I'm a trifle moody,
It's where I often go.
I need no reservations,
My hosts have made this clear.
The other guests all vanish
As soon as I appear.
My room is always ready
And furnished to my taste,
Including dainty paintings
Of glowing toxic waste.
Bats dangle from the ceiling,
Bugs crawl on every wall,
The shower water's rusty
When the shower works at all.
Sometimes my room is stuffy,
Sometimes it's icy cold.
The corners harbor spiders
Concealed by webs and mold.
The bedding is disheveled,
They do not change it much,
And something on my pillow
Is slimy to the touch.
The mattress is too lumpy,
The springs are old and worn.
The windows are all grimy,
The curtains are all torn.
The carpets are in tatters
And have a musty smell.
I always feel at home here...
It's a wonderful hotel.
Extension: This poem is great to use for identifying rhyme schemes. Make an overhead transparency of Awful Ogre Stays At An Inn. Invite students to use colored markers and circle the rhyming pairs while displaying the poem. Discuss if Mr. Pretlutsky follows a repetitive rhyme scheme. Does he use rhyming couplets, lines 2 & 4, all lines rhyme, or something different? (discuss)
Read the poem aloud once more while the students chime in on the circled, rhyming words.
Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. Awful Ogre Running Wild. US: Greenwillow Books.
Photo courtesy of http://www.target.com/.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment