When I was young, I was not a strong reader starting out, but my grandparents’ leather-bound books of children’s literature contained things I could read with ease: poems. Poetry culls some of the best features of language – wordplay, rhythm, tone, voice, rhyme, and more – down to bite-sized delights that can be enjoyed in… Read more »
April 2014
Hi, Koo! … Haiku
Haiku – a short, traditional Japanese poem, usually about the seasons or nature – is a form that often finds its way into elementary classrooms. Invite students to write Haiku poems – traditionally written in English using a pattern of five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second, and a third line of five syllables… Read more »
Poetry Tools
Poetry is the language of our hearts and souls. It’s both meaning and music. It’s rhyme and rhythm, surprise and sound. Poetry is language compressed. It’s precision, image, and part of our common cultural language. For all these reasons, kids need poetry as much as anyone. Search the keyword “Poetry” on the Common Core State Standards Initiative… Read more »
Firefly July and a Poem for Every Season
Most kids are familiar with the accessible verse of Shel Silverstein’s Where The Sidewalk Ends and Jack Prelutsky’s The New Kid on the Block (or his poem, a regular classroom favorite, “Homework! Oh Homework!”). But for many kids, that’s as far as their poetry knowledge goes. And in a time of tightened school budgets and… Read more »
Words with Wings – Nikki Grimes
Earlier this week, we shared a review of Nikki Grimes’s wonderful new novel, Words with Wings. Today the ReaderKidZ visit with Nikki to learn more. NANCY: OK, Nikki – a few fun questions: What are some of your favorite words? Can you suggest one word that for readers to “try on” for flying into daydreams? Do you have a… Read more »
