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Dandelion [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Honestly, nature blows my mind just about every single day. This image makes me think of: 1) an alien eyeball 2) each little pappus (new word for me) could be a broom or feather duster 3) being tickled And here’s my?first draft.
poetryaction and bookalikes for Santa Clauses
Yes, I know it’s almost summer, and therefore not the right season for Bob Raczka’s Santa Clauses. Too bad! I didn’t hear about this wonderful book until halfway through December, and I wish I’d seen it earlier! So I’m sharing this poetryaction way out of season. It’s a fantastic picture book about Santa’s life as
poetryaction for Spiky, Slimy, Smooth
This picture book all about textures made me really think about how things feel. Couple that with the fact that I’ve been doing a mindfulness meditation recently that invites me to really think about how things feel against my body (the stool rung against my feet, the chair against my butt, the collar to my
Writing Zenos at the Young Authors Conference
Last week, I shared my wordplay lesson plan based on Nikki Grimes’ poetry prompt and then day 1 and day 2 of student poems. Those were from the last two days of the Young Authors Conference. The first two days, I had tried something else, something I planned to do all week: zenos! I love
In Praise of Junk Food
Happy Poetry Friday! In May, we wrote odes. Over the top odes, free verse odes, perhaps ridiculous odes. But it was fun! The approaches of my Poetry Sisters (aka Poetry 7, aka Poetry Princesses–and, yes, we’re at work on a crown sonnet again, so the Princess title will be revived!) are so varied and each
Wordplay Poems from the Young Authors Conference, Part 2
One more day of wordplay poems here! Monday, I shared the lesson plan. Yesterday, I shared a gallery of poems. And today, here’s a gallery of the rest of the poems! Thank you, students! Teachers, please note: Most of these are their notebook version, not copied over neatly yet. That’s because these students spent time
Wordplay Poems from the Young Authors Conference
Today and tomorrow, I’m sharing student poems from my sessions at Success Beyond the Classroom’s Young Authors Conference at Bethel University. I shared the process/lesson plan yesterday, and I’m excited to share student work here. Teachers, I know you’ll find some awesome poems here to use as mentor texts/examples if you do wordplay poems in
Wordplay Poems in Your Classroom
Last week, I taught all week at Success Beyond the Classroom’s Young Authors Conference in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I love this event every year. It’s an opportunity for me to lead the same writing workshop 12 times in a row with 4th-8th graders, mostly kids who are strong, enthusiastic writers. This year, I
poetryaction for The Iridescence of Birds
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I loved Patricia MacLachlan’s untraditional biography of Matisse, The Iridescence of Birds. It made me feel like I knew the heart of Matisse, like I knew what made him tick. I have written several long biographies, and I don’t have the courage to write like
Statue [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I can’t actually remember where I took this picture, even though it was in the past month or so. Oi. But even though it came out blurry, I kind of like it that way. This image makes me think of: 1) looking at
The Synergy of Poetry and Content Areas: Reading Poetry Across the Curriculum
I know it’s the end of the school year, but now is the perfect time to think about how you might use poetry in your classroom next year, even if you’re NOT an English teacher! Remember back in November, when I talked about going to NCTE and mentioned the CLA Master Class on reading poetry
When a Poem Is a Blanket
You guys know Michelle Heidenrich Barnes’ Ditty of the Month Challenge, right? Where a poet issues a challenge based on a topic or form or writing process? (My challenge was water poems–last year.) This month, Michelle spotlighted fabulous poet Nikki Grimes, who issued a challenge to turn a word INTO a poem with wordplay. I
poetryaction for If You Were a Dog [poetry friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I spent most of the last week in Florida, visiting family. That’s always an emotional time, so I’m choosing a lighthearted Poetry Friday selection! Jamie Swenson’s picture book is an explosion of fun sounds and wordplay. I wanted to add a stanza or chapter of
Concert [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I went to a Rush concert last week in St. Paul. Wow. I’m only a casual Rush fan (I love their smart lyrics, and I love the challenge of playing drums to Rush songs on Rock Band–holy moly), but it was awesome.
Thank You Notes from Kids
Thank you notes from kids are the best! Recently, I got three thank you envelopes in just a couple of days. I had so much fun reading through each note. Jen Britten’s 2nd graders at Warren E. Sooy, Jr. Elementary School in NJ sent a huge package of notes after I did a short Skype
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Are You Looking For?
Go to my Poetry page for:
- National Poetry Month projects through the years
- Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
- Introductions to several favorite poetry forms