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poetry-celebration-of-teachers
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I am one year from being a father for the first time (and learning about love anew). I'm one year from entering into a college program with the 1999.
I am one year from being a father for the first time (and learning about love anew). I'm one year from entering into a college program with the idea that, if I could be successful in the endeavor, I might become a school teacher.
Prince had forecast this year almost two decades before. People were using chat rooms and becoming more and more familiar with this thing called the internet. Social media doesn't have a name yet, but college campuses are attempting to find ways to link student to student via their computers. The culture was preparing for what it thought to be a certain doomsday. Because of these computers.
Nikki Grimes was writing. Nikki Grimes was writing poetry. Nikki Grimes was writing poetry for children. Nikki Grimes was writing poetry for children about love.
Nikki Grimes was writing poetry for children, but in the case of HOPSCOTCH LOVE, she was writing of and to the Black experience and how love manifests itself:
In the hopscotch hopes that a boy will like us in return if we just keep pitching the stone onto the pavement.
In the stealthily-placed note with an assurance that nothing was taken, only something left.
In the syrupy-sweet terms of endearment that would invite trips to the dentist if we consumed as much as we caught these.
In the quick-written scribble of a notebook that doesn't get closed in time for that boy not to see it.
In the ties that bond.
In the ties that cannot be broken.
In the tender time of new love and the love that grows old together.
In the examples set forth by those who have loved before us.
In the examples set forth by those who have lost lovers but not their ability to love.
In the examples of those who demonstrate their love by what they can put in the pan.
In the love that needs no reason other than to be given to the ones we love.
Right now, everyone is celebrating Nikki Grimes's ORDINARY HAZARDS. And well they should. But, finding Nikki Grimes's twenty-year-old collection reminds me that this poet has been giving and giving to the poetry community for quite some time.
Not to put Nikki Grimes's business in the street, but our beloved poet is 69 now. And still writing. And presenting. And teaching. Poeming. Loving.
And encouraging. Some time back, maybe when I was forty and Nikki was sixty, we became internet friends. Trading gardening tips and an occasional poetic line or two for feedback. It has been a joy to read the ARC of her newest books to come and to be among the first to write, out of love, for this poet who gives so much. . .love. . .to readers. I am blessed to know poets like Nikki Grimes who know me in return. I would be remiss to shelve this collection as some new serendipitous find without sharing with all of you.
Twenty years from its original release date, I want to encourage my friends to go and seek out and then shelve and share, Nikki Grimes's HOPSCOTCH LOVE with young readers. Love never grows old. And nor do well-written collections of poetry that are born of love and speak love into existence in the spaces between two covers. ...more
Each year, I ask my 11th graders to list ten poets. By the time we have exhausted Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss and Just in time for back to school.
Each year, I ask my 11th graders to list ten poets. By the time we have exhausted Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss and a short list of traditional poets shared in classrooms, we are collectively-stuck. If we gave a score out of ten possible answers, many students would score a six. . .or a D. A D in poetry/poet recognition.
Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong have done so much over the years to make poetry readily-accessible to the classroom teacher and the readers in the room.
With GREAT MORNING, they bring the same gift of daily poetry to the the administrators and thought leaders of the building. Packaged in a way that suggests sharing during the morning annoucements (after all, don't we make time for tater tots). Introductory material in the book make a strong case for building leaders to share poetry with students and to be the figures leading this effort.
Performance tips for reading poetry are most concise and make it possible for even the most wary of reading poetry aloud can do this (think. . .if it is difficult for us, what does it look like for younger readers).
There's so much to celebrate in this new anthology, I wish I could put a copy on the desk of every administrator with whom I have a connection.
Poems listed by Topics specific to the life of a school year. Extensions to Take 5 activities. Introductory Poems. Community Building Poems. Funny Poems. Course-Specific Poems. Poems that follow the arc of the life of a school year.
Resources, resources, resources which include a list of poetry publications, people, blogs, and a glossary of terms that the administrator is bringing to the microphone or the camera each day the poems are shared with the students in the building. This anthology is the quiet answer to the question, "What is one small think we can do to boost literacy in our building this year that would not be cost-prohibitive?"
Each poem in the anthology is anchored by an introduction to the subject and theme of the poem and ties it back to something that might be happening in the building the moment (Did You Know?). In this regard, the early poems are about establishing routines, and returning forms, and introducing key figures in the support services of the school (I really like the personalized introduction to the school nurse which invites insertion of the school nurse's name into the poem).
Each poem also has a follow up that invites the person sharing the poem to have a natural segue back into the announcements for the morning. Vardell and Wong call this "Follow Up."
In order to invite students to dive deeper into poetry, each poem of the day has a "Connect" piece found in the back of the book that students can access themselves or teachers might use as a springboard for shares in the classroom after the announcements.
One of my favorites that appear early on in the book is Janet Wong's "Report Cards" which invites and encourages students to think about what report cards look like and say about us by way of feedback. The "Did You Know?" for this poem is a history and word origin of the word, "grade" which builds in vocabulary to a share that would take no longer than a minute or two. Mary Lee Hahn's "Compliment Chain" is the extension, or "Connect" piece for this poem encouraging student-to-student compliments which could not only buffer the marks received for the period but provide opportunity for community building within the classroom.
Kenn Nesbitt's "New Year is Here" invites an opportunity for students who are coming back from their separate breaks to celebrate together. The bonus of this piece is, again, the "Did You Know?" which features commentary on how other countries observe and celebrate their own "new" year.
Vardell and Wong have brought together a diverse list of poets and poetic voices. Introductions to poets like Joseph Bruchac might be the opportunity to lead young readers to his picture books and works for middle grade and young adult readers. Bruchac's "Your Teacher" is a celebration of the people in the building who are going to spend the day and the year with the students. The nice thing about the position of this poem is that it is not listed in proximity to National Teacher Day (though a coin insert at the top of the page makes this recommendation, administrators).
Each of the day-to-day poems listed have the feature, "Poetry Plus" which makes it easy for administrators to perhaps list a poem and on their desk top calendar.
If you know Vardell and Wong's books; you know you want this book. If you want to boost literacy and poetry appreciation in your building while introducing your young readers to the poets they may read in school, this is your book.
So nice to be able to review the finished copy of SCHOOL PEOPLE.
Even nicer to be able to tag a book that is a celebration of schools and teachers. AnSo nice to be able to review the finished copy of SCHOOL PEOPLE.
Even nicer to be able to tag a book that is a celebration of schools and teachers. And then tag it again because it is a new collection of poems brought together by Dear One, Lee Bennett Hopkins and they are all about the people we see each day at school.
Fifteen new poems feature poetic looks at school, the bus driver, the crossing guard, the principal, the lunch lady, the custodian, and a host of teachers that make each school come alive: the Spanish teacher, the art teacher, the music teacher, the theater teacher. The librarian The coach. The nurse. They are all here in accessible verse that introduces the person and his, her, or their work within a school.
Celebrated poets we have come to look for within a Hopkins curation are here: Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Matt Forrest Esenwine, J. Patrick Lewis, Alma Flor Ada, Charles Ghigna, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and, of course, the Dear One himself.
Ellen Shi's illustrations are the perfect compliment to the verse within this collection. If you are already a fan of Dear One's collections, you will not want to miss this one. And, if you have a teacher friend and you are looking for a gift book. . .this one is it (but don't worry about me; I have mine already)....more
Beautiful book sought out and purchased in response to insensitive remarks made in regard to Haiti and other African nations. This book is a celebratiBeautiful book sought out and purchased in response to insensitive remarks made in regard to Haiti and other African nations. This book is a celebration of those who wish to learn and the journey they will make willingly in the pursuit of an education. ...more
What is my excuse for having not seen this book prior to this? It's 2001 release date (the same time I had entered into undergraduate studies--as a nuWhat is my excuse for having not seen this book prior to this? It's 2001 release date (the same time I had entered into undergraduate studies--as a nursing major)?
Whatever I might come up with here is no matter now. I found this book in the West Clark Community Schools warehouse the other day, remembering that I had this on my "to read" list for some time here at Goodreads.
A Sunday morning provided opportunity to dig into this collection of poems from Marilyn Nelson (whose own father was one of the Tuskegee Airmen who gets a nod in one of the most powerful "legacy is passed" kind of poems you'd want to see in a work such as this).
Here is a stellar example of how poetry would work within the approach of the Common Core State Standards. And the cross-content area possibilities here are endless with Carver's own life draping across interests that included science, art, philosophy, teaching, sewing and crocheting. The economics of agriculture might be explored here as well as race relations. Carver's life begins in war, is steeped in world war, and ends as the country approaches war making CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS a perfect drop-in text as much as an introduction to the life of a man to whom science must offer a nod of appreciation if not one of reverence.
Some neat connections to CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS:
Tonya Bolden's Coretta Scott King Honor Book: GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER Aliki's classic 1988 picture book, WEED IS A FLOWER Peter Town's 1975 title, GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER ...more
Silverstein. . .Prelutsky. . .Amy Krouse Rosenthal. . .or switch it/reverse it. Do it backwards. Weave in and out of each. But don't you dare miss THESilverstein. . .Prelutsky. . .Amy Krouse Rosenthal. . .or switch it/reverse it. Do it backwards. Weave in and out of each. But don't you dare miss THE WONDER BOOK for what it has to offer to children's poetry.
Whimsical and playful, THE WONDER BOOK is what children's poetry has looked like traditionally, and what it looks like today. Paul Schmid's black and white illustrations make this book look most familiar and most unique at the same time as he would have had to have illustrations the wonder of Amy's thinking to create pairs of fruit on a double date or things that don't grow on trees (for the purposes of clarification).
Delightful pull-out poems within that would make wonderful classroom posters encouraging the sharing of poetry each day of the school year. I'm of the belief that word play and silly verse are keys to unlocking further creativity and for these keys, THE WONDER BOOK stands by as a mentor text.
A parody of "This Little Piggy" invites parody. And what kid doesn't like to engage in a little parody?
"The Less Famous Friends of Mary Mack" might invite lead learners to share this classic jumping rhyme/chant while exploring "What if/What of" types of writing invitations that draw younger readers closer to the text to ask these kinds of questions.
What Amy does best in this--and all of her works--is tuck a little universal truth in the smallest of places like a little love note for the heart.
The final poem in THE WONDER BOOK, "Rhyming Summary of the Universe," makes such a strong connection with TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, that we'll have to have a copy of THE WONDER BOOK in Room 407.
Oh, and for those who "periodically" need reminders about "table manners," I'll definitely be sharing this with Mr. Emery, the AP CHEM instructor (and not because he needs such reminders).
And. . .you'll note that I had to break my own moratorium on awarding stars on the reviews to make sure that this one was on your reading radar for sure. I'd give it six if the universe would allow. ...more
While this title is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, it still serves as a wonderful reminder of the creative process of lead learning While this title is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, it still serves as a wonderful reminder of the creative process of lead learning withing a learning community. Lee Bennett Hopkins is one of children's poetry's greatest advocates and archivists.
Suggestions for classroom approaches and title shares. What is really nice about this book is that the titles shared here were relatively new when suggested in 1992. Now they serve as an introduction to titles that might need to be revisited....more
One of the reasons that J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate--his ability to bring fun and frivolity to a subject that is on the mOne of the reasons that J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate--his ability to bring fun and frivolity to a subject that is on the minds of children as soon as THAT question is first asked:
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
And in this collection, Lewis explores a number of occupations in his trademark style of humor (including a bad pun here and there).
And at the end of all of this exploration, Lewis remembers to tell children to enjoy the place they are right now. . .at this moment.
Serge Bloch's collage-style illustrations are a nice match to Lewis's playful verse....more
Whether it's sharing about the time a Steinway floated outside of his classroom window on a April morning, the time a group of boys shaved their headsWhether it's sharing about the time a Steinway floated outside of his classroom window on a April morning, the time a group of boys shaved their heads in solidarity for another suffering from cancer, or describing the medieval sword project (wherein points were taken off if they could not withstand the "smack" and "poke" test, Taylor Mali has created a book that has come at the right time for the right group of people.
An extended love letter to the practice of teaching and to those who have answered the call of teaching, Taylor Mali is the perfect spokesperson for the cause of affirming teachers within a culture that seemingly desires to dismantle the passion of teachers everywhere.
It's a reflection. It's a reassurance. It's a rallying cry. And if there is any doubt what a teacher makes at the end of this new book, one need only go back and read the reflections again.
Reading WHAT TEACHERS MAKE is like returning to those beloved poems from Taylor's poetry collection, WHAT LEARNING LEAVES. In fact, some of those poems find their way into this collection of short reflections as Taylor, teacher, teacher-trainer, and teacher advocate, invites us to "go to the balcony" with him.
Each essay is anchored by a thought-provoking quote regarding education that would make for nice conversation starters for staff meetings or collaborative planning sessions.
WHAT TEACHERS MAKE would be an excellent gift book for educators everywhere and the inside cover has a place specially-designed for this purpose.
Ladder this one up with:
TEACHER MAN by Frank McCourt THE GREATEST CATCH by Penny Kittle ZIG ZAG by Tom Romano...more
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