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poetryactions for Moonlight and It Is Night

Happy Poetry Friday! I’ve been to DC for NCTE and to Florida to visit family in the past month, which makes me feel a little discombobulated. The art in these picture books makes me feel like I’m home and all is right with the world. Here I am reading this poetryaction: [soundcloud url=“https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/182100168” params=“color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=“100%”

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Charmed [15 words or less poems]

  Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Look at the beautiful bracelet Heidi Mordhorst gave me at NCTE. Aren’t totally unexpected gifts just the best. I don’t have the packaging with me as I write this, but it’s an Alex and Ani bracelet that I think means passion, leadership,

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poetryaction for The Baby Tree

The Baby Tree is a funny and clever picture book, but somehow when I wrote my poetryaction, my first draft (and, for these poetryactions, I usually only do one draft, or maybe a quick second one) came out kind of creepy. I felt like a cannibal describing a crop of babies. So I had to

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Lionesses: Girrrrrrrrl Power! A Need to Feed Poem

Hi teachers! Here’s one more poem from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, A Need to Feed: Poems of Predators and Prey. This is the last one I’m sharing–at least for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed them! Note: Lionesses do most of the hunting for a pride of lions. They usually hunt in groups

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Hickory Dickory Dance: A Need to Feed Poem

Hi teachers! Here’s another poem from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, A Need to Feed: Poems of Predators and Prey. Note: Chimpanzees like to poke anthills and termite mounds with a stick (from an arrowwood plant, not a hickory tree!). Ants run up the stick, and the chimpanzees slurp them right off! A

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Wolf: Death Dance [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! I’m in Florida visiting family for a few days, and I’m a bit out of the loop–but I’m glad you’re here! Here’s another poem from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, A Need to Feed: Poems of Predators and Prey. Note: In the Arctic tundra, wolves chase huge caribou herds across

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Crabby [15 words or less poems]

  Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Saw this display while grocery shopping (OK, it was really just a donut run) earlier this week. This image makes me think of: 1) crabgrass–hahaha! 2) barbed wire 3) coat of armor And here’s my?first draft. I did a cinquain this week.

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Reading=Victory! Actors and Athletes Aren’t the Only Stars

I wish our culture celebrated reading and book-makers in the same way that it does sports and movies. So, I decided to celebrate us myself! At NCTE, I took some pictures of folks mimicking the poses of sports stars and award-winning actors. Some were enthusiastic–thank you, Leslie Bulion for being my first guinea pig and

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Brotherly Love: A Need to Feed Poem

I’m going to share a few poems this week and next from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, A Need to Feed: Poems of Predators and Prey. They may be a little too bloodthirsty for some of you, especially in this lovely holiday season. :>) But for the rest of you, I hope you

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poetryaction for Flight School

  I shared Flight School before as a Bookalikes for Flat Rabbit, but I ended up doing a poetryaction for it, too:>) One of the things that can make a list poem interesting–more than a simple list, like a grocery list–is a twist. That briefly-flying penguin is so cute and such a surprise that I

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The View [15 words or less poems]

Starting your holiday shopping? If you’re looking for a nonfiction book, click here to see the signed, personalized books? (including a few rhyming ones, alphabet ones, and color-based ones) I sell through Amazon. Great gifts for teachers/classrooms:>) Thanks! Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a picture I took

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poetryaction for Monday, Wednesday, and Every Other Weekend

I didn’t want to rhyme here, but I did want a bit of a swingy rhythm…   —————————————————————————————————————————– Poetryaction: After reading a picture book, sometimes I jot down a quick poem based on something in the book. It could be inspired by the entire book, the setting, a character, or even just a tiny detail

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NCTE!

I had a fabulous time at NCTE the week before Thanksgiving. I can’t begin to share all the lovely moments there, but here are a some highlights and a few pics. * Riding the SuperShuttle with Cynthia Alaniz, her husband, and several other wonterful educators. * Dinner at a noisy sports bar with all my

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poetryaction for Silly Doggy!

Two fun and funny books!   —————————————————————————————————————————– Poetryaction: After reading a picture book, sometimes I jot down a quick poem based on something in the book. It could be inspired by the entire book, the setting, a character, or even just a tiny detail in a picture or a single phrase from the text. I’m

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poetryaction to Pierre in Love

Happy Poetry Friday! I hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving! I’m very thankful for my online community of teachers, writers, and friends who gather around the cozy campfire we build of words and books and poems. My husband is having kidney stone surgery today, so your good thoughts of health would be appreciated! He

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