by Mary E. Cronin | Mar 3, 2023 | Cape Cod, Conferences-workshops, Poetry, Teaching
This week I led a professional development session for teachers, “Vitamin P: Boosting the Use of Poetry in the Literacy Block.” For three hours, we played with poetry! We talked about how to infuse poetry across the curriculum, find rich and meaningful poems, and...
by Mary E. Cronin | Jan 20, 2023 | Poetry, We Need Diverse Books
There’s one book I can’t stop thinking about– STAR CHILD: A BIOGRAPHICAL CONSTELLATION OF OCTAVIA ESTELLE BUTLER by Ibi Zoboi. The brilliant combination of poetry and nonfiction is what drew me to Zoboi’s amazing middle-grade biography of author Octavia...
by Mary E. Cronin | Dec 16, 2022 | Cape Cod, Poetry
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...
by Mary E. Cronin | Nov 11, 2022 | Poetry, Uncategorized
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...
by Mary E. Cronin | Oct 7, 2022 | Cape Cod, Community connections, Poetry
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...
by Mary E. Cronin | Jan 14, 2022 | Poetry
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....