Shel Silverstein Poems: Free Worksheets and Poetry Study Printables

Published:
July 22, 2018

Sarah Shelton

Contributor:
Sarah Shelton

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Shel Silverstein is one of the first poets I read when I was in elementary school. Grab some free worksheets and poetry study printables to use alongside Shel Silverstein Poems. A Free Poetry Analysis Pack can help you bring his poetry to life for you kids. 

Shel Silverstein poems were very popular when I was in school. When I see the familiar cartoon drawings on the covers I am instantly taken back to my childhood.

I remember reading and memorizing poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and crying over The Giving Tree

Who was Shel Silverstein?

Sheldon Allan Silverstein (known as Shel Silverstein), was born in Chicago on September 25, 1930. He was a cartoonist that started drawing at the age of 12. All of the fun and interesting illustrations in his books are done by him.

He also studied music and composed some famous country songs. If you are a Johnny Cash fan, you may be familiar with the song A Boy Name Sue! I had no idea he wrote that crazy song and my kids and I couldn’t stop laughing when we found out. He also wrote One’s on the Way for Loretta Lynn. 

Learning about Shel Silverstein

Read more about Shel Silverstein’s biography.

Learn more about Shel Silverstein’s life and details about his different poetry collection books at his website Shel Silverstein. You can also see a list of every book that was written as well as some cute videos for his books.

Shel Silverstein Books:

  • Where the Sidewalk Ends
  • The Giving Tree
  • The Missing Piece Meets the Big O
  • Don’t Bump the Glump!
  • Every Thing On It
  • Falling Up
  • A Giraffe and a Half
  • Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back
  • Runny Babbit
  • A Light in the Attic
  • The Missing Piece
  • Runny Babbit Returns
  • Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?

Free Shel Silverstein Lesson Plans:

Are you wanting to put together your own poetry study on Shel Silverstein? Here are some great lesson plans and unit studies to help you learn more about Shel Silverstein and some of his famous poetry books.

The World of Shel Silverstein – a Guide for Teachers – This printable guide is perfect for teachers and chock full of games and activities to use for a poetry study.

The Giving Tree Unit Study – Lessons learned from the book including Bible, science, math and geography resources with free printable unit study pack.

Lesson Plans and Projects for Teachers on the The Giving Tree – Creative writing lesson plans and the The Giving Tree worksheets to go along with the book.

Identifying Story Elements with the The Giving Tree – This worksheet will help your children identify the elements of the story.

Reading Comprehension with the The Giving Tree – Reading comprehension worksheets and writing prompts that go along with the book.

Shel Silverstein Learning Resources:

The Shel Silverstein website has a ton of free downloads and printables on their Learning Resources page. Here you will find:

  • Free lesson kits to download for different poems and stories.
  • National Poetry Month event kits with graphic organizers, crafts, printable activities, poetry workshop kits, and more.
  • Drawing Booklets – 2 different drawing booklets that you can print out for your kids to add their very own illustrations to the poems. They can even create their very own ending to the poems.
  • Printable bookmarks, door hangers and posters.

Shel Silverstein Poetry Printables

Shel Silverstein’s poems have been so popular because they were unique. What set them apart from other poems is that they had an interesting sense of humor to them. The rhymes also brought emotions and helped you think about things in different way.

We like to find specific poems to read aloud and memorize for recitation. These printables on specific poems will add some extra fun to your poetry studies.

One Inch Tall – Explore the poem and learn about “point of view” with this poetry study.

Sick – This reading comprehension freebie has 10 reading comprehension questions to accompany the poem.

What’s in the Sack? – Free Power Point presentation to get your children to think about the poem.

Smart Money Activity – Read the poem, then work on this fun math themed activity.

Printable Poems – This pack has 4 favorite Silverstein printables with a cute border to hang or put in a poetry binder.

The Giving Tree Story Worksheet – Children will reflect on all the gifts that the tree gave in this sweet printable.

Everything On It – Read the poem then hand out this listening skills worksheet.

Rhyming with Shel Silverstein – A Power Point presentation that explains the different rhymes that are found in various poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Hug O War – This worksheet will teach your kids how to determine the theme of a poem using this one as an example.

Free Poetry Analysis Pack to use with ANY poem – Teach your children how to analyze poetry with this instant download. These free printables will teach your children how to analyze any poem of their choice. When they get to choose their own poem, they will get more excited to learn about it. 

Free Resources and Tips to Teach Poetry:

We love reading and studying poetry in our homeschool. We enjoy picking a poet and reading many different poems from that particular poet. This is fun to see the different styles of writing that different poems have. I

It’s also a neat way to see if you can pick out who wrote a certain poem by the style and way it is written. These resources will help you to teach poetry in your homeschool without a lot of prep work.

How to Teach Poetry in Your Homeschool – Do you need help with teaching poetry? This post is full of tips and helps to teach poetry in your homeschool.

Is Poetry in Your Homeschool Necessary? – 5 reason why you need poetry in your home.

Poetry Terminology Fact Cards & Cheat Sheets – Teach your kids about the different definition and how to recognize various elements in poetry with these free cheat sheets and fact cards.

Free Poetry Worksheets and Printables – If you enjoy immersing your children in poetry you will love all of these teaching resources.

Poetry Terminology Copywork Notebook – Have your kids compile their very own notebook of poetry terminology while practicing handwriting at the same time.

Helen Beatrix Potter Unit Study – This is a 9 week poetry study that will take your children through 9 of Beatrix Potter’s poems.

Poetry Unit Study: Emily Dickinson – Study a new Emily Dickinson poem each week for 9 weeks with this unit study.

Alfred Lloyd Tennyson Poetry Study – Alfred Lloyd Tennison was a famous Victorian poem. Learn about 9 of his works in this poetry study.

 

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