Illustration of grandma sitting in a chair at her house
Art by Colleen Larmour
Poetry,

My Grandma's House

A lovely poem describing a special place

By Joseph Elliott
From the May/June 2023 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify the main idea of a poem and think about how the poet’s words can help them describe their own special places.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    On one level, the poem describes several objects in a home. On another level, it shows how these objects appear alive and magical and make a home special.
  • Structure
    The poem contains seven stanzas. The last words of each stanza rhyme.
  • Language
    The poem uses figurative language, including personification and hyperbole. The language is mostly simple but contains a few words—like trinkets and knickknacks—that may be unfamiliar to students.
  • Knowledge Demands
    No prior knowledge is needed.
Featured Skill: Main Idea and Supporting Details,
Other Key Skills: summarizing, descriptive details, figurative language, interpreting the text, rhyme, visual literacy, text features, author’s purpose, inference, narrative writing
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.4, RL.3.6, RL.3.7, W.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.4, L.3.5
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6g, 6h, 6e, 6f, 7b, 7c, 7g, 9b, 10a, 10c, 10d, 10g, 12a

Presentation View
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Main Idea and Supporting Details

As you read, think about how the poet feels about Grandma’s house and why. 

My Grandma's House

My grandma’s house is a magical place 

With trinkets and knickknacks in every space. 


There’s an owl on the wall with beady eyes, 

And a frog with a frozen look of surprise. 


The fox in the cabinet is shiny and shy,

And the slender-necked swan stretches up to the sky. 


On the stairs is a grand umbrella stand 

Made by a giant in a faraway land. 


The paintings hold secrets, never to be told, 

Trapped inside frames of peeling gold.  


The old brass bells are hard to ignore, 

For they jangle and clang when you open the door. 


And in her comfiest chair, my grandma sits, 

The ruler of all of her trinkets and bits.

Reprinted by permission of THE POET. All Rights Reserved.

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Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Can't Miss Teaching Extras

After reading a moon-themed poem, have your students check out a sun-themed one! Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s graphic poem “A Circle of Sun” is sure to be a hit with your students!

 

Continue exploring personification with some of our other poetry: “New Year’s Eve,” “Make up your mind, March!,” “Titanic Remembers April 16, 1912,” and “September.”

This issue’s infographic “Hello, Moon!” (and its accompanying video “What You Need to Know About the Moon”) makes a great pairing with the poem.

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. Skill Building

1. Preparing to Read

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Read the title of the poem along with the poet’s name. Ask students to describe the illustration and predict what the poem will be about. Review the predictions after reading the poem.
  • Explain that the poem has seven stanzas. A stanza is a group of lines in a poem. The stanzas describe the objects in a house.
  • Ask a volunteer to read aloud the Think and Read prompt.

Preview Text Features and Vocabulary

  • Before reading, point out the words trinkets (small ornaments or pieces of jewelry), knickknacks (small household objects), and slender (skinny) to students, and review their definitions. Go over any other vocabulary terms that may be challenging for your students. 

2. Reading and Discussing the Poem

  • Read the poem to the class, play the audio version, or use text-to-speech.

  • Next, ask students to take turns reading aloud each line in the poem.

  • Discuss the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. (Alternatively, assign all or part of the Learning Journey Slide Deck.)

Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions

  • Read the first stanza. What does the poet tell you about? The poet tells you about Grandma’s house, which is a magical place filled with many different objects. (summarizing, main idea)
  • Read the third stanza. How does the poet describe the fox and swan? The poet describes the fox as shiny and shy and the swan as slender-necked with a neck that stretches up to the sky. (descriptive details)
  • Read the fourth stanza. Look at the umbrella stand in the illustration. Why does the poet say the umbrella stand was “made by a giant”? The poet says the umbrella stand was “made by a giant” because the two large feet at the bottom of the umbrella stand look like a giant’s feet to the poet. (figurative language, interpreting the text)
  • Read the sixth stanza. What words does the poet use to help you hear how the brass bells sound? The words jangle and clang describe how the brass bells sound when the door opens. (figurative language, interpreting the text)
  • Which words rhyme in each stanza of the poem? The rhyming words are the words at the end of each line: place and space; eyes and surprise; shy and sky; stand and land; told and gold; ignore and door; and sits and bits. (rhyme)
  • How does the illustration show what the poet describes in the poem? The illustration shows the inside of Grandma’s house. In the illustration, the poet’s grandmother sits in a comfortable chair. The different objects described in the poem surround her on the walls and floor. These include the owl and frog; the fox and swan; the giant umbrella stand; the paintings; and the brass bells. (visual literacy, text features)
  • Why did the poet write this poem? How do you think the poet feels about Grandma’s house? The poet wrote this poem to tell you about his grandma’s house: a magical place filled with unique and one-of-a-kind items. The poet probably enjoys Grandma’s house because of all the fascinating items that are found there. (author’s purpose, inference)

3. Skill Building

Featured Skill: Main Idea and Supporting Details

Distribute or digitally assign our Main Idea Skill Builder and have students complete it in class or for homework.  

Text-to-Speech