Playing with poetry in the classroom-- that’s one of the best parts of my job as a Literacy Coach in an elementary school. Recently, I introduced the poem “Circle of Sun” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich in the first-grade classroom I work in each morning. It’s the opening...
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Chasing Clouds- a Poetry Party!
On November 20, I will be joining a poetry party in England-- and you can come too! Back in 2016, I visited London and happened upon an enchanting holiday fair. It’s where I took this picture: Years later, I wrote a poem called “Wintertime Fair,” and it was...
Winning a grant is a pretty great feeling… and then watching the impact of that grant on young children is just joyful.
When author Ana Crespo made an author visit via Zoom to the school where I work as a Literacy Coach on Cape Cod, the joy in classrooms was palpable. Most children in our K-3 school had never met an author before, and they were excited to meet Ana. Crespo, a native of...
Finding Poetry in Robotics? Yes!
WHAT IS A FRIEND? I am delighted to be a part of a new poetry book for middle graders that answers this question. It’s a collection of poems about all aspects of friendship-- getting along, competing, trying out new ventures together. My poem, “Team,” is about a...
My Father in the Window: a Glimpse into Firefighting
Back when he was a new firefighter in 1962, my father helped pull a fellow firefighter to safety as a porch roof collapsed in a Bronx house fire. The moment was captured by a New York Daily News photographer, and it was splashed on the front page the next day. We...
A Smile from the FDNY
I know there’s an image of New Yorkers being somewhat hard-boiled when visitors get googly-eyed over the charms and flash of NYC, but on a recent visit, I saw the opposite, thanks to the FDNY. We were walking past a firehouse not far from Times Square, and the bay was...
Poetry Friday- Haiku Riddles!
In the midst of this challenging winter, I'm trying to keep warm by surrounding myself with great poetry books. LION OF THE SKY: HAIKU FOR ALL SEASONS presents a delightful gift to teachers who want to introduce their young writers to poetry writing and haiku....
Poetry Alert at the Latinx KidLit Book Festival!
Two poets I admire are having a conversion today, and we can all tune in. The ongoing LATINX KIDLIT BOOK FESTIVAL is happening on youtube, and poets Margarita Engle and NoNieqa Ramos will be talking about how poetry can convey emotion, tone, and drama. This is...
Poetry of place: where did you call home?
Can you picture the house or apartment where you grew up? The texture of the couch, the sound of water in the pipes? Did the windows rattle, and what did the doorknobs look like? Can you draw a map of each room? So many sensory images come flooding back to me as I...
POETRY FRIDAY: TELLING A LIFE IN VERSE- LEWIS HINE by ALEXANDRA S.D. HINRICHS
I recently learned of a book for young readers that combines three of my passions: poetry, history, and social justice. THE TRAVELING CAMERA: LEWIS HINE AND THE FIGHT TO END CHILD LABOR (Getty Publications, 2021) balances these three elements beautifully, along with...