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The CLA Blog

Search & Explore the Biography Clearinghouse’s Collection on Library Thing!

12/13/2022

 

By Xenia Hadjioannou & Mary Ann Cappiello on behalf of the Biography Clearinghouse

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Wondering how to find and curate biographies suited to the interests of your students or to your curricular needs? Frustrated by a piecemeal approach, cross-referencing booklists, award lists, and Google searches? The Biography Clearinghouse has a year end gift for you! 

We have created a collection of biographies for young people on LibraryThing, an online book cataloging service. The collection makes use of “tags” with which users can use to guide and focus their searches. This continually updated collection is intended as a tool for educators of all subjects and age groups, librarians, and anyone else who enjoys and works with biographies. We are busily tagging the books in our collection and will continue to add and tag more titles!

The best part about it? You can access our collection for free and without having to sign up for an account. You can search the collection by theme, literary elements, geographic location, format feature, profession/discipline, etc.  

To learn how to access, navigate, and search through the Biography Clearinghouse Collection review the information below.

How do I access the Biography Clearinghouse Collection?

Simply go to https://www.librarything.com/catalog/Teachwithbios. There you will see our entire catalog listing. In the “Tags” column you will see all the tags assigned to each book by members of the Biography Clearinghouse. 

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How do I search through your catalog? 

  • I am looking for information on a particular biography. How do I search through your catalog?
If you already know the title of the book you are looking for, type it in the “Search this Library” field and hit search. You can also search by author or illustrator names.
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For more advanced search options, you can click on the triangle next to the “Search this library” field to expand the search menu. You can then use the available options to constrain your search.
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  • I am looking for biographies on a particular topic/theme or with certain characteristics. How do I run my search?
The easiest way to conduct a keyword search through our catalog is through our “Tags” list. To access our “Tags” list click on the “Tags” tab. The number in parenthesis next to each tag represents the number of biographies in our catalog to which that tag has been assigned.

Clicking on a tag will produce a listing of all books in our catalog we have annotated with it.

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Have any questions? Biographies to add to our collection? Suggested tags? Please email us at teachwithbios@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Xenia Hadjioannou is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Berks campus of Penn State University where she teaches and works with preservice teachers through various courses in language and literacy methodology. Xenia is the co-author of Translanguaging for Emergent Bilinguals. She is the Vice President and Website Manager of the Children's Literature Assembly, and a co-editor of The CLA Blog. 

Mary Ann Cappiello is a Professor of Language and Literacy at Lesley University, where she teaches courses in children’s literature and literacy methods. For twelve years, she blogged about teaching with children’s literature at The Classroom Bookshelf. She is a former chair of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8. Mary Ann is the coauthor of Text Sets in Action: Pathways Through Content Area Literacy (2021).

#KidsLoveNonfiction: 10 Ways to Discover & Share Nonfiction with Young People this Fall

9/6/2022

 

By Mary Ann Cappiello, Xenia Hadjioannou, and Melissa Stewart

We are fortunate to be in the midst of a golden age for nonfiction literature for young people. Today’s nonfiction pushes boundaries in form and function, and its creators write about an ever expanding array of topics. In these books, young people encounter well-researched and nuanced explorations of cutting edge scientific discoveries, underexplored moments throughout history and in our current time, compelling accounts of historically marginalized and minoritized communities and perspectives, and more. 

As we advocated in our February 14, 2022, letter to The New York Times, #KidsLoveNonfiction! Indeed, several researchers investigating the reading habits and preferences of young children report that, when given the opportunity to self-select, the majority of children enjoy nonfiction as much as or more than fiction (Correia, 2011; Ives et al. 2020; Mohr, 2006; Repaskey et al., 2017). Yet, adults often assume that young people would rather read fiction, and are therefore hesitant to make nonfiction titles available to children or to devote time to exploring nonfiction with the young people in their lives.
As the school year begins, we want to remind all adults who are involved in the reading lives of children that: 
  • Reading nonfiction = reading. 
  • Nonfiction affirms young people’s interests.
  • Nonfiction deserves to be part of teachers’ considerations as they are setting up their libraries and other classroom spaces. 
  • Nonfiction books make engaging read alouds.  
  • Nonfiction books can help diversify the curriculum.
  • Nonfiction books can deepen explorations in the science classroom and help children make connections between science and the world around them.
  • Nonfiction books can infuse nuance into social studies topics and highlight the contributions and perspectives of historically silenced people. 
  • Nonfiction books can inspire and support lively book talks and ignite authentic and meaningful inquiry.
To raise awareness of the potential of nonfiction books to empower young people by feeding their interests and creating pathways to their passions, we’ve created the flyer 10 Ways to Discover & Share Nonfiction with Young People this Fall.  We hope it will find its way onto classroom walls, library displays, and home fridges and inspire teachers, librarians, parents, and all people who read with children.  

Have a wonderful school year!

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Flyer PDF with clickable links
10 Ways
File Size: 104 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

References

Correia, M. P. (2011). Fiction vs. Informational Texts: Which Will Kindergartners Choose? Young Children, 66(6), 100–104.

Ives, S. T., Parsons, S. A., Parsons, A. W., Robertson, D. A., Daoud, N., Young, C., & Polk, L. (2020). Elementary Students’ Motivation to Read and Genre Preferences. Reading Psychology, 41(7), 660–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2020.1783143

Mohr, K. A. J. (2006). Children’s Choices for Recreational Reading: A Three-Part Investigation of Selection Preferences, Rationales, and Processes. Journal of Literacy Research, 38(1), 81–104. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3801_4

Repaskey, L. L., Schumm, J., & Johnson, J. (2017). First and Fourth Grade Boys’ and Girls’ Preferences For and Perceptions About Narrative and Expository Text. Reading Psychology, 38(8), 808–847. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2017.1344165
Mary Ann Cappiello teaches courses in children’s literature and literacy methods at Lesley University, blogs about teaching with children’s literature at The Classroom Bookshelf and Text Sets and Trade Books,  and is a founding member of The Biography Clearinghouse. She is a former chair of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8.

Xenia Hadjioannou is associate professor of language and literacy education at the Berks campus of Penn State University. She is vice-president of CLA and co-editor of the CLA Blog. She is a founding member of The Biography Clearinghouse.

Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 200 science-themed nonfiction books for children and co-author of 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books.  Her highly-regarded website features a rich array of nonfiction writing resources.

Crossover Picturebooks: An Invitation to Shift Perspective and Think Differently About Childhood, Children’s Literature, and Curriculum

1/26/2021

 

By: William Bintz & Meghan Valerio

Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. (Anthony Browne, 2019)
​Diamonds (Greder, 2020) tells the story of Carolina, a young, White girl, curious about Mama’s new diamond earrings. She asks, How much do they cost? Mama doesn’t know, just a loving gift from her uncle. Where do diamonds come from? Mama doesn’t know, but thinks Africa. Carolina wonders why Amina, their maid, has no diamonds. After all, she comes from Africa. Mama quickly ends her questioning and leaves for an elaborate party. That night, Carolina dreams of Amina digging in a diamond mine, surrounded by intimidating gun-toting men who mistreat the miners. She also dreams, illustrated through a chronology of vivid black-and-white scenes, the journey of diamonds, progressing through a variety of people who take their profit slice. Then, the diamond earrings appear in Mama’s hands. Finally, Carolina awakens, crying, as if from a nightmare, but is comforted by Amina, not Mama.
Diamonds by Armin Greder cover
This intriguing diamond industry story depicts the controversial journey of diamonds from source to customer, including the appalling conditions, black market, and blind ignorance of customers rich enough to purchase them. It is a disturbing and evocative depiction of how the diamond industry, historically and contemporaneously, feeds an insatiable appetite for diamonds, and in the process, also perpetuates inequality, conflict, and corruption. Metaphorically, this visually unsettling book removes the sparkle from diamonds.
Diamonds by Armin Greder page spread
Diamonds (Greder, 2020) is not a novel, short story, nor poem. It is a picturebook, with approximately 32 pages, minimal text (195 words), and single and double-spread illustrations. It is not, however, a traditional picturebook – it is a crossover picturebook (see Table 1 for more examples).

Crossover Picturebooks

Crossover picturebooks is a category of books that operate simultaneously in two age systems, child and adult (Shavit, 1986). These books are referred to as “dual audience books” (Falconer, 2008), “all-age books” (Evans, 2015, p. 10), “bridge books” (Rosen, 1997), and “kiddult” texts (Falconer, 2008). Harju (2012) captures a fundamental difference between traditional and crossover picturebooks:
Traditional reading boundaries exclude, segregating readers into distinct camps (e.g. literature for children vs. literature for adults). Crossover picturebooks, alternatively, offer an open invitation to story, attracting readers of all ages by reflecting a continuum of experience between child and adulthood (p.17).
Our first blog entry on January 19, 2021 acknowledged concerns over reading books on challenging or controversial ageless topics. There are, however, benefits to using these boundless texts.

Table 1. Crossover Picturebooks

  • Beaty, D. (2013). Knock knock: My dad’s dream for me. Little Brown Books.
  • Bunting, E. (2001). Riding the tiger. Clarion.
  • Disalvo-Ryan, D. (1997). Uncle Willie and the soup kitchen. Harper Collins.
  • Erlbruch, W. (2016). Duck, death, and the tulip. Gecko Press.
  • De Haan, 2003). King and king. Tricycle Press.
  • Franklin (2017). My daddy sleeps everywhere. Lionheart.
  • Hathorn, L. (1994). Way home. Knopf.
  • Laminack, L. (2018). The sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins. Peachtree.
  • Ringtved, G. (2016). Cry, heart, but never break. Enchanted Lion.
  • Tan, S. (2003). The red tree. Lothian.
  • Vigna, J. (1998). I wish daddy didn’t drink so much. Albert Whitman.

Benefits of Crossover Picturebooks

Crossover picturebooks invite teachers to shift perspectives and think differently about the nature of childhood and the purpose of curriculum.

In terms of childhood, crossover picturebooks posit that teachers Never Read Down, Always Read Up to children. Reading down sees the child as innocent and in need of protection; reading up sees the child as capable of understanding sophisticated topics (Dressang & Kotrla, 2009). Reading down suggests that limiting or eliminating access to controversial issues protects the innocence of children; reading up conceives the danger of withholding information from youth as exceeding the danger of providing it (Dressang, 1999).

Curriculum utilizing  crossover picturebooks is rooted in an inquiry-based model. This model builds on curiosity and supports inquiry for teachers and students. Within this model, instruction based on crossover picturebooks:
  • Offers multiple layers of meaning for multiple audiences, e.g. students and teachers;
  • Invites students and teachers to collaboratively engage in the learning process, e.g. learn with and from each other;
  • Supports interactive and transformative instruction, e.g. Did students learn what I taught? vs. What did my students actually learn?;
  • Highlights reflection, e.g. How has our thinking changed about diamonds and the diamond industry? How are we better thinkers after reading this book?;
  • Encourages reflexivity, e.g. What new questions can we now ask that we couldn’t before reading this book?

A Concluding, But Not Final, Thought

Picturebooks are synonymous with children’s literature. But is this a necessary condition of the art form itself? Or is it just a cultural convention, more to do with existing expectations, marketing prejudices and literary discourse? There is no reason why a 32-page illustrated story can’t have equal appeal for teenagers or adults as they do for children (Tan, 2003, np).
​We end with a concluding, not a final, thought, because we hope this post will start new conversations, not close them down. This thought is eloquently expressed by internationally renowned author and illustrator, Shaun Tan. Yes, picturebooks have been, and continue to be, synonymous with children’s literature. Is it time to shift perspective and think differently about this kind of literature? If so, we believe crossover picturebooks are a good conversation starter for readers of all ages.

References

  • Browne, A. www.tes.com, February 12, 2019.
  • Dressang, E.T. (1999). Radical change: Books for youth in a digital age. Wilson.
  • Dresang, E. T., & Kotrla, B. (2009). Radical Change Theory and Synergistic Reading for Digital Age Youth. The Journal of Aesthetic Education.
  • Evans, J. (2015). Challenging and controversial picturebooks: Creative and critical responses to visual texts. Routledge.
  • Falconer, R. (2008). The crossover novel: Contemporary children’s fiction and its adult
  • readership. Routledge.
  • Harju, M. (2012). Being Not Alone in the World: Exploring Reader Responses to Crossover (ca/thesisfile114287). [Doctoral Dissertation, McGill University].
  • Rosen, J. (1997). Breaking the age barrier. Publishers Weekly. 243 (6).
  • Shavit, Z. (1986). Poetics of children’s literature. University of Georgia Press. Tan. S. www.shauntan.net/images/whypicbooks.pdf.​
Meghan Valerio is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction with a Literacy emphasis at Kent State University. Meghan’s research interests include investigating literacy and cognitive development from a critical literacy perspective, centering curricula to understand reading as a transactional process, and exploring pre- and in-service teacher perspectives in order to enhance literacy instructional practices and experiences.

William Bintz​ is Professor of Literacy Education in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. His professional interests include the picturebook as object of study, literature across the curriculum K-12, and collaborative qualitative literacy research. 

Pushing Boundaries on Children's Literature: An Introduction to Crossover Picturebooks

1/19/2021

 

BY MEGHAN VALERIO & WILLIAM BINTZ

Recently, I (William) introduced crossover picturebooks in a graduate literacy course to students pursuing a reading specialization Master’s degree. All students were practicing teachers ranging from elementary through high school. Each week, I read aloud a crossover picturebook to introduce the class session. Selected picturebooks dealt with themes including death and dying, divorce, suicide, mental illness, physical disability, parent-child separation, and other life-changing and impactful events. One example is Dragon by Gro Dahle (2018). It tells the story of Lilli,  a young girl who is a child abuse victim by her mother.  Lilli regards her mother as a dragon because she is explosive, hot-tempered, and abusive. After reading, I invited students to share their questions and reactions to crossover picturebooks. Three questions and one reaction were particularly illustrative:
Book Cover: The Dragon
  • ​​Why did the author write a picturebook on this controversial topic? 
  • Who is the intended audience for this book?
  • What tensions or repercussions might teachers face if they read this type of picturebook?​
  • I had no idea these kinds of picturebooks existed. I feel a little conflicted. Teaching these kinds of books makes me nervous, but I’m excited to know more about them.
These responses inspired this blog post. They revealed teachers may not know much about crossover literature but are curious to know more about it.    

What are Crossover Picturebooks?

Crossover literature, or texts written for dual-aged audiences, is not a new genre, as many books could be considered crossover already. While picturebooks specifically might be enjoyed by both children and adults, crossover picturebooks, a subset of crossover literature, are written and illustrated intentionally for both children and adults, breaking conventional assumptions that books are intended for one age group (Falconer, 2008; Harju, 2009, Rosen, 1997).  Crossover authors communicate purposeful messages to both audiences equally (Harju, 2009). Narratives then are considered ageless and timeless, often portraying issues that might be deemed controversial including death, verbal and physical abuse, and divorce.

In a world where in-person and online book shopping and borrowing is organized by genre and age, this makes these “ageless” books complex. Consider first an adult purchasing a picturebook for themselves, and on the flip side, encouraging a child to purchase a book about abuse. Both instances could be questionable, even alarming to some. 

While there are truly designated texts for children, like aesthetic and sensory appealing babybooks (Kümmerling-Meibauer, 2015), crossover picturebooks defy traditional book categorizing norms, causing anyone interested to rethink what counts as children’s literature vs. adult. 

Children’s literature though is written and published by adults for children (Rosen, 1997). So really, is there such a thing as a true children’s book if the text isn’t written by children at all?

What Concerns Does This Raise?

Currently, we are conducting research on crossover picturebooks. Specifically, we are exploring teacher concerns on using this literature in the classroom. Based on this research, two major findings indicate that many K-12 teachers worry about the following issues:
FINDING
EXAMPLE
Feel uncomfortable with the idea of using literature, like crossover picturebooks, to teach controversial issues.
“I struggle with the idea of using literature to teach controversial topics.  Mostly it is because I want to teach in elementary, and you combine that and ESL learners and all the extra culture and language barriers and it could be very difficult” (elementary teacher)
Feel pressure from a variety of stakeholders.
“I will face a lot of pressure to use literature like this. Using these books to teach will put me in big trouble with the whole community members” (elementary teacher)
These concerns, and many others like them, are real for teachers. Traditionally, children’s literature is to be enjoyable not uncomfortable, entertaining not controversial. Crossover literature invites a different perspective and pushes the envelope on censorship and what constitutes taboo topics in classrooms. To help explore this further, we recommend the following resources. These resources include picturebooks and professional literature that have pushed our thinking about crossover literature. We hope they will push yours.

Picturebooks

  • Beaty, D. (2013). Knock Knock. New York: Little, Brown Books.
  • Dahle, G. (2019). Angry Man. New York: NorthSouth Books.
  • Erlbruch, W. (2016). Death, Duck and the Tulip. Auckland, NZ: Gecko Press. 
  • Fortes, A. (2008). Smoke. Pontevedra, Spain: OQO Books.
  • Garland, S. (1994). I Never Knew Your Name. New York: Ticknor & Fields. 
  • Gleeson, L. (2011). I am Thomas. Crows Nest, AU: Allen & Unwin.
  • Greder, A (2020). Diamonds. Crows Nest, AU: Allen & Unwin. 
  • Hathorn, L. (1994). Way Home. New York: Knopf Books. 
  • Lanthier, J. (2012). The Stamp Collector. Ontario, Canada: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 
  • Marsden,, J. (2008). Home and Away. Sydney, AU: Lothian.
  • Ouimet, D. (2019). I Go Quiet. New York: Norton Young Readers.  
  • Ringtved, G. (2016). Cry, Heart, But Never Break. Enchanted Lion Books. 
  • Tan, S. (2003). The Red Tree. Sydney, AU: Lothian. 
  • Taylor, C. (1992). The House that Crack Built. Chronicle Books.   
  • Woodson, J. (2002). Our Gracie Aunt. New York: Jump at the Sun. ​​

Professional Literature

  • Evans, J. (2015). Challenging and controversial picturebooks: Creative and critical responses to visual texts. London, UK: Routledge. 
  • Druker, E., & Kummerling-Meibauer, B. (Eds.) (2015). Children’s literature and the avant-garde. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 
  • Beckett, S. (2011). Crossover picturebooks: A genre for all ages. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Falconer, R. (2008). The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children’s Fiction and its Adult Readership. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Kummerling-Meibauer, B. (2014). Picturebooks: Representation and narration. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Beckett, S. (1999). Transcending Boundaries: Writing for a Dual Audience of Children and Adults. Shrewsbury, MA: Garland Publishing.​

Editorial Note:
Valerio and Bintz will contribute a follow-up post next week. The next entry dives deeper into exploring Crossover Picturebooks by looking closely at one such book, discussing the benefits of using crossover picturebooks, and inviting a new possible stance on curriculum

References

Bishop, R.S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6 (3). 
Falconer, R. (2008). The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children’s Fiction and Its Adult Readership. London, UK: Routledge. 
Harju, M.L. (2009). Tove Jansson and the crossover continuum. The Lion and the Unicorn, 33(3), 362-375. 
Kümmerling-Meibauer, B. (2015). From baby books to picturebooks for adults: European picturebooks to the new millennium. Word & Image, 31 (3), 249-264.
Rosen, J. (1997). Breaking the age barrier. Publishers Weekly. 243 (6).
Meghan Valerio is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction with a Literacy emphasis at Kent State University. Meghan’s research interests include investigating literacy and cognitive development from a critical literacy perspective, centering curricula to understand reading as a transactional process, and exploring pre- and in-service teacher perspectives in order to enhance literacy instructional practices and experiences.

William Bintz​ is
Professor of Literacy Education in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. His professional interests include the picturebook as object of study, literature across the curriculum K-12, and collaborative qualitative literacy research. 

Join CLA at the 2020 NCTE Virtual Convention

11/17/2020

 

BY LAUREN AIMONETTE LIANG

Last year, right around this time, the Fall 2019 issue of JCL arrived in the mail. In the President’s Message I had written a bit about my excitement for the upcoming NCTE conference:
It starts for me with the airplane travel. Coming from my area, it is rare to board a flight heading to a major conference and not encounter fellow teachers, librarians, and researchers embarking on the same adventure. We wave, ask about colleagues and friends, and buzz a bit with excitement. (I often think the other travelers must later wonder about these groups of individuals who are all grading papers and reading thick books, while simultaneously winning all the in-flight trivia and scrabble games.)  

Once we arrive at the NCTE city, conference-goers from all over are grabbing bags, looking for shuttles and taxis, and heading off to the area hotels. Immediately there is a shared sense of purpose and anticipation. Conversations break out in the hotel elevators about whether registration is open, and the time of the opening session. Hordes of badge-wearing, tote-bag laden attendees appear in long lines at the coffee stands and take over the sidewalks in their sensible walking shoes as they head off for the day.

And then the conference! Hour after hour of thought-provoking sessions, with speakers addressing the important issues in our field, provoking new ideas, and sharing possible solutions. The vibrant displays of new books in the exhibit hall waiting to be shared by knowledgeable and enthusiastic publishers who offer sneak peeks that might be perfect for your classroom. And, best of all, that amazing shared sense of being present with each other—knowing that the people gathered here care just as deeply as you do about supporting children’s and teen’s literacy experiences and growth.

The Children’s Literature Assembly events at NCTE are a highlight for many attendees. A history of consistent excellence makes our CLA Notables Session, CLA Master Class, and CLA Breakfast the starred events on many personal conference schedules...

This year’s conference will be a little different. No elevator chats with fellow badge-wearing attendees—but more #NCTE2020 tweets taking their place. Less wearing of sensible walking shoes—but likely a lot more feet clad in comfy slippers. However, I am certain that the most important part of the NCTE experience will remain the same: that gathering to passionately share and learn together how to support the literacy experiences and growth of our youth. Perhaps the virtual experience may allow for more to attend this year without the burden or barriers of travel. How we gather is, in the end, much less important than the fact that we simply do—that we find a way to make assembly and community.

For those attending the 2020 NCTE Virtual Convention, we hope our two live events will provide that powerful gathering space.

Interested in registering for the 2020 NCTE Virtual Convention?
Registration

Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts AwardS

Join the members of the Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts award committee in a live event on Sunday afternoon from 1:45- 3:00 pm ET. Throughout the fall this blog has featured posts from members of this committee. Join them live for more outstanding 2020 titles and suggestions for classroom use.

NOTABLES live event on Sunday afternoon from 1:45- 3:00 pm ET at NCTE2020

Annual CLA Breakfast

Bring your breakfast to listen to amazing author Jason Reynolds, this year’s CLA Breakfast keynote speaker! In a live session Sunday morning from 9:00 – 10:15 am ET, the 2020-21 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature will talk about his writing and more.
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Add to your experience by submitting a question from you, or from your students, to be answered live during the session! 
Submit Questions
Prepare by exploring our annual “table trivia” game, this year to be played virtually
Trivia Game
CLA MEMBERS

Explore the interview with Jason Reynolds featured in the Fall 2020 issue of JCL
FALL JCL ISSUE [46(2)]
Lauren Aimonette Liang is an associate professor at the University of Utah and the current president of CLA.

Living Literately and Mindfully at the Intersection of Mother Nature, the Animal World and Poetry

11/9/2020

 

BY PEGGY S. RICE

Consider...

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Be blown on by all the winds.  Open all your pores and bathe in all the tides of nature, in all her streams and oceans, at all seasons. Grow green with spring, yellow and ripe with autumn.  For all Nature is doing her best each moment to make us well.  She exists for no other end. Do not resist her.

Henry David Thoreau, August 23, 1853

Poetry! There is no other genre like it in the world.  A good poem can take you places you never thought possible, wake you up, shake you, make your every emotion quake with excitement and awe.  Writing poetry is taking a subject---be it a pigeon or a Popsicle—breathing new life into it, letting readers know they never experienced a moment such as this before.

Lee Bennett Hopkins, 2009.

Make the Earth Your Companion 
--J. Patrick Lewis

Make the Earth your companion. 
Walk lightly on it, as other creatures do. 
Let the Sky paint her beauty—she is always watching over you. 
Learn from the Sea how to face harsh forces. 
Let the River remind you that everything will pass. 
Let the Lake instruct you in stillness. 
Let the mountain teach you grandeur. 
Make the woodland your house of peace. 
Make the Rainforest your house of hope. 
Meet the Wetland on twilight ground. 
Save some small piece of Grassland for a red kite on a windy day. 
Watch the Icecaps glisten with crystal majesty. 
Hear the Desert whisper hush to eternity. 
Let the Town weave a small basket of togetherness. 
Make the Earth your companion. 
Walk lightly on it, as other creatures do  

North Padre Island, TX THE ROAR of the surf... Soaring seagulls' hungry screams... Serenity here.
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Ruby-throated hummingbird [Public domain USFWA]
Hummingbird jewels
Necks gleaming like red rubies
In the morning light

                   Sarah Rice, 8 years old

Serenity can be found at the intersection of Mother Nature, the animal world and poetry. I have found that the more time I spend at this intersection, the less anxiety I feel. Following are materials and strategies, my students, daughter and I have found successful:

  • Writer’s Notebook: The notebook serves as a means to encourage young writers to value writing.  It creates a space for students/writers to save words in the moment; "seeds" for a longer writing project which might be expanded and developed (Calkins, 1994).
  • Banish Boring Words (Shelton, 2009): Use as a resource for interesting words.  It provides lists of specific, interesting words for several categories of words, such as sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, action verbs, colors and shapes.
  • The Book of Animal Poetry (Lewis, 2012), and the Book of Nature Poetry (Lewis, 2015) Mentor Poems: Before requiring students to write a poem at the intersection of Mother Nature, the animal world and poetry provide students with numerous opportunities to explore mentor poems. NTCE Award Winning Poet and former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis has created the Book of Animal Poetry (Lewis, 2012), and the Book of Nature Poetry (Lewis, 2015) to inspire us to see poetry in the natural world. Each collection includes 200 poems that “squeak, soar and roar” or “float, zoom and bloom.”  Each poem is accompanied by a photograph to experience the wonder of Mother Nature and the Animal World.


Cover of the book of animal poetry
Cover of Book of Nature Poetry

Poetry Performance

I recommend regular poetry breaks that provide students an opportunity to perform a poem of his/her choice.  Repeated reading and poetry performance of a favorite poem can enhance students’ motivation and build/increase fluency skills as well as strengthen reading/writing connections. Renee M. LaTulippe at No River.com provides 5 tips for poetry performance that my students and I have found helpful.

Within the context of repeated readings and poetry performance, discussions about poet’s craft/poetic elements can occur, such as stanzas, use of white space, figurative language (similes, metaphors & imagery), personification, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance and repetition. Performance of an original poem can provide a moment of pride and peer review of videotaped performances can strengthen literacy skills.

Power of Place

Locate a space surrounded in nature that you can visit regularly.  I am fortunate, because I live on 7 acres with a pond.  When visiting this space, be prepared to engage in mindful listening, see the world with a poet’s eyes and take notes in a writing journal.
  • Sit comfortably.
  • Close your eyes and breath normally for a moment.
  • Now imagine your belly is a balloon filling up with air and when it is full hold it. (Pause). Now slowly breathe out.
  • Listen mindfully: What are the sounds of nature? Consider poetic elements, such as figurative language, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, repetition
  • Repeat. Deep breath in and hold it. (Pause). Release.
  • Breathe normally.
  • In your writing journal, write down the sounds of Nature. See p. 22 and 23 in Banishing Boring Words for some specific interesting sounds
  • Sit comfortably.
  • Now imagine your belly is a balloon filling up with air and when it is full hold it. (Pause). Now slowly breathe out.
  • Relax your body.
  • Focus your attention on nature for 5 minutes.  What do you see? What do you smell? Hear? What can you touch? When you see a creature, use your imagination.  What would it be like to be this creature?
  • In your writing journal, write down what you have noticed in nature. Consider poetic elements, such as figurative language (simile, metaphor, imagery), personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, repetition and refer to Banishing Boring Words for some specific interesting words.
  • Take photograph(s) to capture the moment.
  • Continue mindful listening and writing as desired.

Poetry Writing

Writing poetry is all about playing with words.  Fletcher (2002) encourages us to play with the sounds of words.  Consider, rhythm, rhyme, repetition, onomatopoeia and alliteration. He also encourages us to think fragments/cut unnecessary words, consider shape, use white space/experiment with line breaks and end with a bang/sharpen the ending. Each of these aspects of language can be a topic of minilessons connected to poetry performances of mentor poems.  Lewis (2012, 2015) has included excellent resources for writing formula poems.

Savor...

In Beauty May I Walk
--Anonymous (Navajo Indian)

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully will I possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age, wondering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

References

Calkins, L.M. (1994). The art of teaching writing. (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fletcher, R. (2002). Poetry matters: Writing a poem from the inside out. New York: Harper Trophy.

Lewis, J. P. (2015). National geographic book of nature poetry: More than 200 poems with photographs that float, zoom, and bloom! Washington, DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC.

Lewis, J. P. (2012). National geographic book of animal poetry: More than 200 poems with photographs that squeak, soar, and roar! Washington, DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC.

Shelton, L. (2009). Banish boring words. New York: Scholastic

Peggy S. Rice is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education and Faculty Advisor for the Partners in Literacy Council at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana. She is a member of the Children's Literature Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

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