Blog
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
poetryaction and bookalikes for Last Stop on Market Street
I love it when picture books can show a harder side of the real world but in a way that’s still comforting. I wrote this poetryaction from CJ’s point of view. And in one of those weird convergences, I was suddenly seeing Nanas everywhere (in real life and in books). Here’s another Nana to pair
Poetry Tips for Teachers Roundup
Hello! I’ve finally created a pdf printable roundup of my Poetry Tips for Teachers posts from National Poetry Month. Enjoy! PDF version of Laura’s Poetry Tips for Teachers (Reading Poetry Aloud in the Classroom) You can also still see all the original blog posts here (but that’s clunkier).
poetryaction for All Aboard [poetry friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) If you’re a regular visitor to the blog (and if you are, thank you:>), you know I love Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s poetry. She was one of the first poets whose work I fell in love with when I started seriously reading children’s poetry and thinking
Seagull [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Hi, everyone! I took this picture a few weeks ago in Grand Marais, MN, a beautiful little town on Lake Superior. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I got to walk along the lakeshore looking at rocks for a little while before my
poetryaction and bookalikes for You Are (Not) Small
Kids are always told they’re too young or too small for just about everything they want to do. This picture book reassures kids that they are not small…and they are. It depends on how you look at things. For this poetryaction, I borrowed a line from the book itself: “You are small and you are
poetryaction for Imani’s Moon
Sometimes I like to start a poetryaction by wondering what happened after the last page was turned. Has the main character changed? Are there hints in the book about what might happen in the future? Check out my Pinterest boards of poetryactions and bookalikes if you’d like to see more:>)
poetryaction and bookalikes for Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled
Happy Monday! It’s been a while since I’ve shared some poetryactions and bookalikes, so I’m planning to share quite a few in the coming weeks! I love how Catherine Thimmesh clearly explains how paleoartists study, make inferences, draw analogies?and how they also must come to terms with certain things we may never know about
Oh, Did You Need That Homework? [poetry friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I hope you had an awesome Poetry Month. I did. It was super busy with lots of visits to schools and libraries. However, I’m way behind on blog reading, and I especially am a bit sad that I missed out on so many terrific online
Straws [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Hi, y’all! It’s great to be back after a VERY busy and social Poetry Month! Here’s some commissioned art outside the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin. I believe our tour guide said these are supposed to represent flowers. Though I could be remembering
Tip #23: Ask Kids Questions [Poetry Tips for Teachers]
Welcome to today’s tip in my month-long (even if it was last month) Poetry Tips for Teachers series. This is the last tip, and I thank you guys so much for stopping by to read throughout April and today! Later this month, once I recover from my Poetry Month road trips and events, I plan
2 Poems for Poetry Friday!
Happy Poetry Friday! I’ll have another tip Tuesday in my month-long Poetry Tips for Teachers series. For today, I already have two poems I need to share because of other folks’ schedules, so I didn’t want to overwhelm you with even more stuff! For my first Poetry Friday poem, I am pleased to be featured
Tip #22: Fess Up [and 15 Words or Less Poems]
Welcome to today’s tip in my month-long Poetry Tips for Teachers series. Tip #22: Fess up. If you don’t feel comfortable with poetry (whether it’s the poetry itself or just the dramatic presentation of it), it’s okay to let students know that. In fact, they are often thoroughly relieved to discover that you aren’t the
Tip #21: Focus on Sounds [Poetry Tips for Teachers]
Welcome to today’s tip in my month-long Poetry Tips for Teachers series. Tip #21: Focus on sounds. If a poem features repeated sounds in it, emphasize those sounds as you read it so that kids will pick up on the repetition. In the poem below, for example, which I wrote for Ed DeCaria’s March Madness
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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