Illustration of Trex sitting at a desk in a classroom
Robb Mommaerts
Poetry,

First Day of School for T. Rex

By Eric Ode
From the September 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify how the words in the poem make a T. rex seem human.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    On one level, “First Day of School for T. rex” is a fictional poem about a dinosaur who is nervous about its first day of school. On another level, it is meant to be funny and amusing.
  • Structure
    The poem contains three stanzas of four lines each. The poem has an ABCB rhyme scheme.
  • Language
    The language is simple and conversational.
  • Knowledge Demands
    No previous knowledge is required. The poem references a T. rex’s real name, which is Tyrannosaurus rex.
Featured Skill: Personification,
Other Key Skills: figurative language, elements of poetry, point of view, main idea, key details, inference, text features, connecting to the text, explanatory writing
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.4, RL.3.6, RL.3.7, RL.4, W.3.2, W.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.5
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6i, 7b, 7c, 7g, 9b, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 12b

Presentation View
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First Day of School for T. Rex

I hope my teacher likes me,

and I hope she thinks I’m smart.

I hope she gives us time for lunch

and science, math, and art.


I hope that there’s a desk that fits.

I hope I make a friend.

I hope we read one hundred stories,

real ones and pretend.


I hope my teacher lets me sit

up front where I can see.

I hope she’ll learn my real, true name

and won’t just call me “T.”

Think and Write

Write a paragraph explaining how the poet makes the T. rex seem human.

Audio ()
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Audio ()
Activities (4) Download All Quizzes and Activities
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. Skill Building

4. Differentiate and Customize

Striving Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers

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 contains three stanzas of four lines each. The poem has an ABCB rhyme scheme. The last words of each set of B lines rhyme.

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 the poem. Which words rhyme in each stanza or group of lines? The rhyming words are smart and art, friend and pretend, and see and “T.” (elements of poetry) 
  • Who is the speaker of this poem? The speaker in the poem is a T. rex. (point of view)
  • What is the speaker talking about throughout the poem? T. rex is talking about its thoughts and feelings about the first day of school. (main idea, personification)
  • How does T. rex feel in the first stanza? T. rex hopes that its teacher likes it and thinks that it’s smart. It hopes that she gives the class time for lunch and for science, math, and art. (main idea and supporting details) 
  • In the second stanza T. rex says, “I hope we read one hundred stories, real ones and pretend.” What does this tell you about how T. rex feels about reading? T. rex loves to read. It wants to be reading many different stories, both nonfiction and fiction. (inference)
  • Read the last stanza. Why does T. rex want its teacher to learn its “real, true name” instead of calling it “T.”? T. rex wants to be called by its full name, which is Tyrannosaurus. Many people just call it “T” for short. But it wants to be called Tyrannosaurus instead.  (inference)
  • Which part of the poem does the illustration show? The illustration shows T. rex on the first day of school. It is sitting at a big desk in the front of the class. Its real name, “Tyrannosaurus,” is on the front of its desk, just like the other students’ names. It is raising its hand to the teacher and holding a pencil. (text features) 
  • Do you ever have the same thoughts and feelings about your first day of school that T. rex does? Explain your answer with details from the poem. Answers will vary. (connecting to the text)

3. Skill Building

Featured Skill: Personification

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

Text-to-Speech