Poetry Break: "I Brought a Worm" by Kalli Dakos

Introduction
Give each student a little rubber worm or gummy candy worm (if policy allows) and tell them to raise it high and say, "I brought a worm!" each time you raise your worm. Read the poem, raising your worm and letting students chime in each time "I brought a worm" appears.

I Brought a Worm
by Kalli Dakos

Jane brought a baseball bat
And a ball for sharing time.

But I brought a worm!

Rich brought a goldfish bowl
Without a goldfish.

But I brought a worm!

Lizzy brought an egg with a yolk
And an egg without a yolk.

But I brought a worm!

Joe brought an eraser shaped like a knife
And an olive sandwich.

But I brought a worm!

Jane showed us how to hit
The ball with the bat.

Rich put the class turtle
In the goldfish bowl.

Lizzy showed us how to prick an egg
And take the yolk out.

Joe tried to cut his sandwich
With his eraser knife.

But I ate the worm!
Right there in front of everyone
I ate the worm!

(It was a candy worm.)

[From If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand (Aladdin, 1995)]

Extension
Invite students to bring objects of their own to share the next day. After share time the next day, they can rewrite this poem by replacing the students' names and objects with their own names and objects. Alternately, they could leave the stanzas "as-is" but replace the refrain with "But I brought a ______!"

This poem also lends itself to having a different student each read a stanza, while all students repeat the refrain, "I brought a worm!"