Hi fellow teachers! Are you looking for a short, fun poem to use during the first week of school? Use this riddle poem as a read aloud or, for older students, ask them to read it themselves to see if they can guess who the speaker is!
Answer: A Classroom
Grab the PPT version or print-ready PDF below. The PDF file contains a version without the answer and also a version with the answer at the bottom and a fold line so you can fold the paper before giving it to students.
You have full permission to use the poem for teaching purposes within any educational setting, including online learning and homeschool.
Let me know if you use the poem – I’d love to hear how it goes.
Watch a video of the “Back to School Riddle Poem” poem below. This “Poetry Pause with Dr. Kim” version includes a short interactive mindfulness introduction before the poem to help your students calm down after recess or before moving to quieter activities:
I was lonely all summer
and my walls were all bare
with no laughter or giggles
or squeaks from a chair.
But now there are footsteps
all over my floor.
There are pictures and posters
and names on my door.
What am I?
Original poem by Kim T. Harrison. Video created in Canva.
Download a PDF, black & white, printable version of the poem:
Download a PPT slide version of the poem:
Teaching Ideas
- Use as a fun back to school read aloud
- Book pairing idea: School’s First Day of School
- Representing: ask students to draw who or what they think is the speaker of the poem
- Performance: ask students to act out who or what they think is the speaker of the poem
- For Grade 3 students, use as an independent reading text
- Use it to introduce or complement poetic and literary techniques, such as personification
Happy Teaching! Kim x
Kim T. Harrison 