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Dino [15 words or less poems]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I had an amazing time in Sheboygan for the Children’s Book Festival. Will share a few highlights next week. Meanwhile, here’s a pic I took at Bookworm Gardens, my new favorite place!? This image makes me think of: 1) what would dinosaurs read?

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Meet the Zeno (a great poem form for classrooms)

You guys know Michelle Heidenrich Barnes’ Ditty of the Month Challenge at Today’s Little Ditty, right? Where she features a guest, who issues a poetic challenge? This month she featured J. Patrick Lewis, who shared a poetic form he created, the zeno. You can read all about the zeno (and Pat) here. I encourage you

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poetryaction to The Promise, by Nicola Davies

  I’ve been doing something new. 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 using picture

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This Merry-Go-Round [by Laura Purdie Salas]

Happy Poetry Friday! In person today, I’m sharing poetry and picture books with students at two Sheboygan, WI-area schools–fun! Tomorrow, I’ll be presenting at the Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival. If you are going, I hope you’ll find me and say hi! I’m sharing a riddle-ku today:   This merry-go-round spins upside down: I’m singing the

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Hidden [15 words or less poems]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a pic I took while walking the dog the other day. This image makes me think of: 1) a cemetery 2) hiding places 3) lying on the floor by a Christmas tree And here’s my?first draft. Hidden Worlds stolen????????? mornings leaves ????????

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A riddle-ku revision

I already mentioned that the second book in my 30 Painless Classroom Poems series is going to be Riddle-ku: Haiku for Very Close Reading. You might remember that I shared these poems here during National Poetry Month earlier this year. What was cool as I went through editing the riddle-ku to be part of this

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Scroll [15 words or less poems]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a pic I took when we were in New Orleans in May for the International Reading Association conference. I loved the architecture there. This image makes me think of: 1) a swan at night 2) Faberge egg 3) fancy fonts And here’s

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Scarecookies [15 words or less]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a pic from the bakery. I love frosted cookies! But scarecrows…hmmm. I think I’ve seen too many horror movies/TV shows where a scarecrow comes to life. This image makes me think of: 1) The Wizard of Oz 2) Halloween costumes 3) scary

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Maddie Can Be...

Poetry Friday — A Daughter Can Be…

Happy Poetry Friday! I don’t often write poems or verses for specific people. Well, I do, occasionally, but I don’t give it to them–I’m too self-conscious to do that. I’ve written poems for/about both my daughters but don’t think I’ve ever shared them. However, inspired by Renee LaTulippe’s lovely take on my Can Be… books

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Beads [15 words or less]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a pic from a chandelier in our hotel on our recent drum corps trip to NY. This image makes me think of: 1) Bubbles in the sea 2) a super-fancy necklace (hey, anybody remember the Empress Carlotta (sp?) episode of the Dick

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Niagara Falls [15 words or less]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a pic from our amazing overnight Niagara Falls stop that Randy and I made on our way home from drum corps championships in Rochester, NY. (I shared more pics on my Water board in Pinterest.) Follow Laura’s board Water, Water, All Around

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A Can Be… Nonfiction Project for Schools

What did I do this summer? I spent three weeks with K‑5 summer school students in a local school district. It was the most intense visiting author program I’ve ever done. Three weeks, four sites, 1700 students. Whew! It was hard work and incredibly rewarding. I shared this process in my Salas Snippets e‑letter for

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Big Wheels [15 words or less]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I took this picture while riding somewhere in outstate Minnesota, through farm country. I don’t even know exactly what it is, but I’d love to see it in action! This image makes me think of: 1) tinkers that went from town to town

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