Poem of the Month Each month, a poem will be posted in the classroom for students to copy. It may also be printed from my webpage, where it can be found on the Classroom Calendar page under the first school day for that month. After the poem is copied or printed, students are required to label the rhyme pattern and identify the mood and theme. Then, students will add one extra stanza that they create independently. The additional stanza must compliment the theme, mood, and rhyme pattern of the original stanzas in the poem. Mood: How do you think the author expects you to feel after reading this poem? Theme: What does it say about people or life? What’s the underlying message? Is there a deeper meaning? A Careless Zookeeper (Anonymous) A careless zookeeper named Blake Fell into a tropical lake. Said a fat alligator A few minutes later “Very nice, but I still prefer steak!” A A B B A because it depicts a serious incident (a man Mood: This poem is meant to be humorous being eaten by an alligator) in a very lighthearted and “cartoon-ish” way. Theme: The message of this poem is about how a zookeeper fell into a lake and was eaten by an alligator, although the alligator didn’t think the zookeeper was too tasty. My stanza: Zookeepers who fall into lakes Should probably all pre-plan their wakes For if they should drown And a ‘gator gulps ‘em down That will be their last mistake!