On March 1, 2018, LEAF LITTER CRITTERS will welcome readers to the hidden ecosystem at our feet: the busy recyclers in the brown food web! It’s a close-up romp with the shredders, decomposers, mixers, aerators, and slimers who improve soil texture and return nutrients and organic matter so green food web plants can grow. Hooray for recycling!
But LEAF LITTER CRITTERS couldn’t include every brown food webber—there are too many. Here’s Poem Prompt #2 so you can play with poems about a LEAF LITTER CRITTER who was (boo-hoo) left out!
Ready?
Poetry Prompt 2: RHYTHM
Meet the SLUG!
We can use our rhyming skills from the first prompt and have some fun using rhythm to write a two-line poem about the slug. The slug's movement might suggest something to you about the feel of your poem.
PROMPT:
Line 1 : A slug makes sticky ooze,
Line 2 : ________________.
In a line of poetry, some words or parts of words sound strong/er. Check out the three strong words (also called beats) in Line 1.
Try saying Line 1, and clapping for the 3 strong beats:
(clap) (clap) (clap)
a slug makes stick-y ooze
Here are some ideas you might use in Line 2 :
RESEARCH SHORTCUT: (my notes from readings and from observing slugs)
Slugs and snails are in the same group of animals, called gastropods.
Slugs don’t have hard, outer shells—they are soft-bodied.
Land slugs chew fungi, rotting leaves and other critters’ poop.
Slugs use their scraping, sawing, tooth-covered tongue to eat.
Slugs may also chew holes in garden plants.
Predators of slugs include toads and birds such as starlings and robins.
Slugs make sticky slime, which helps them slide along the ground on their muscular foot, and helps them stay moist.
Slugs move slowly. They can stretch out, and squinch up.
Slugs have four tentacles. The top two tentacles are used for seeing and smelling. The bottom two tentacles touch and taste the ground under their foot.
Slugs can pull their tentacles in and push them back out.
Slugs live in damp places in soil and leaf litter, and are most active at night.
Check out this FIELD GUIDE for a lovely variety of slugs!
Back to the PROMPT:
Line 1: A slug makes sticky ooze,
Line 2: ________________.
First you might make a list of words to rhyme with “ooze.”
How about: use, news, shoes, clues, lose, or chews? Can you think of other rhymes?
Next, try to match the three-clap rhythm in Line 1.
Or match the rhythm in Line 1 without rhyming…
Or rhyme with Line 1 but don’t match the rhythm. That can be funny!
Or make up your own poem about a slug…
Or write a rhythmic poem about something else…
Remember to follow this rule:
HAVE FUN!!
I would LOVE to read slug poems in the comments!