Article
Art by Jomike Tejido
Poetry,

Double Scoop

Two poems about ice cream 

By Kenn Nesbitt | Art by Jomike Tejido
From the May/June 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast two poems about ice cream, each of which uses a metaphor to describe the experience of eating ice cream.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    On one level, these poems share two different stories of eating ice cream. On another level, they show how two people can have completely different experiences doing the same activity.
  • Structure
    Each poem contains one stanza of eight lines. In the first poem, the second and fourth, and sixth and eighth lines rhyme. The second poem follows an AABB rhyme scheme.
  • Language
    The language is mostly simple but contains a few words—like scorching and crud—that may be unfamiliar to students.
  • Knowledge Demands
    No prior knowledge is needed.
Featured Skill: Figurative Language,
Other Key Skills: figurative language, interpreting text, character, cause and effect, text features, compare and contrast, elements of poetry, explanatory writing, poetry writing
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.7, W.3.2, W.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.4, L.3.5
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6d, 6i, 7b, 7c, 7f, 7g, 8c, 9b, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 12a, 12b

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Figurative Language

Think about what the poet compares ice cream to in each poem. How are the comparisons different? Then try writing an ice cream poem of your own. 

Ice Cream Float

My ice cream is a big balloon.

It carries me away

through clouds of creamy coolness on

this scorching summer day.

It’s frosty and refreshing.

It floats me to the moon.

To beat the heat, I love this treat . . .

my ice cream cone balloon.

Ice Cream Flowed

My ice cream is a ball of mud,

a scoop of icky, sticky crud.

The sludge is dripping down my hand,

my arm, my pants, my feet, the sand.

I can’t quite lick it fast enough

to stop this flood of mucky stuff.

I scream! Instead of cold and round,

it’s now a puddle on the ground.

Reprinted by permission of THE POET. All Rights Reserved.

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Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
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Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. SEL Focus

4. Skill Building

5. Differentiate and Customize

Struggling Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers, Creative Writing

1. Preparing to Read

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Read the title of the poems along with the poet’s name. Ask students to describe the illustrations and predict what the poems will be about. Review the predictions after reading the poems.
  • Explain that each poem has one stanza. A stanza is a group of lines in a poem. Each stanza has eight lines. Ask students to find the last word in each of the lines of the first poem. Ask them if any of these lines rhyme. Then explain that in the second poem, the last word of each two lines rhyme. This means the stanza has an AABB rhyme scheme.

Preview Text Features and Vocabulary

  • Before reading, point out the words scorching (extremely hot) and crud (a disgusting or gross object) 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 Read-Aloud, or use Text-to-Speech.
  • Next ask students to take turns reading aloud each line in the poem.
  • Discuss the Close-Reading Questions.

Close-Reading Questions 

  • Read “Ice Cream Float.” What does the speaker compare her ice cream to in the first line of the poem? In the first line of the poem, the speaker compares her ice cream to a big balloon. (figurative language)
  • What do the words “through clouds of creamy coolness on this scorching summer day” help you imagine? These words help me imagine the ice cream balloon floating through cool clouds on a very hot summer day. (interpreting text) 
  • Read the last four lines of “Ice Cream Float.” What words help you understand why the girl loves her ice cream treat on a hot day? The words frosty and refreshing help me understand how much the girl loves her ice cream. (character)
  • Read “Ice Cream Flowed.” What does the speaker compare his ice cream to in the first two lines of the poem? In the first two lines of the poem, the speaker compares his ice cream to a ball of mud. (figurative language)
  • What do the words “The sludge is dripping down my hand, my arm, my pants, my feet, the sand” help you imagine? These words help me imagine what is happening to the boy’s ice cream. The ice cream is melting all over the boy and onto the sand. (interpreting text)
  • Read the last four lines of the poem. Why does the boy scream? The boy screams because he can’t lick his melting ice cream fast enough to stop it from turning into a puddle on the ground. (cause and effect)
  • How do the illustrations help you understand what is happening in each poem? The illustration in “Ice Cream Float” shows a girl floating in a giant balloon that carries her and her small dog to the moon. She is happy with her ice cream. The picture in “Ice Cream Flowed” shows a boy holding a cone of melting ice cream that drips all over him. It turns into a large, sticky puddle on the ground. The boy looks upset by what is happening to his ice cream. (text features, compare and contrast)

3. Skill Building

Featured Skill: Figurative Language

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

Text-to-Speech