Smart by Shel Silverstein | CommonLit | Paired Texts

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by Shel Silverstein 2002

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

Jey Manokaran

In Jey Manokaran's short story "Jasmine Girl," a girl gives the money she was saving to buy a doll to a friend in need.

Pair “Jasmine Girl” with “Smart” and have students talk about what the characters in both texts do to make someone else happy or proud. What do Kiran and Jodi from “Jasmine Girl” do to make Shanti happy when she is feeling down? How do their actions compare to what the son in the poem “Smart” does to try and please his father? What do both texts teach about thinking of others’ feelings?

3rd Grade Short Story 530L

Summer with Papaji

Jyoti Singh Visvanath

In Jyoti Singh Visvanath's "Summer with Papaji," Visvanath discusses spending time on her grandfather's farm during the summer.

Pair “Summer with Papaji” with “Smart” and have students share what the main characters in both texts do to show that they care about someone they love. What do the narrator in “Summer with Papaji” and the son in “Smart” do to try to become closer with their loved ones? Do their plans work? What could the characters in either text have done differently or better?

4th Grade Memoir 800L

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too

Shel Silverstein

In "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too," three friends go on an adventure in a flying shoe.

Pair “Smart” with “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too” and ask students to discuss how the poet uses humor in both poems. What makes “Smart” funny? What makes “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too” funny? How do the rhymes make the funny parts stand out?

Me and My Giant

Shel Silverstein

In "Me and My Giant," a speaker shares what it is like to be friends with a giant.

Pair “Smart” with “Me and My Giant” and ask students to discuss how the poet uses humor in both poems. How does the poet use humor in “Smart”? How does the poet use humor in “Me and My Giant”? What is the central message of each poem? How does the poet use humor to help show the central message?