Vitamin P: A Poetry Workshop for Teachers

This week I led a professional development session for teachers, “Vitamin P: Boosting the Use of Poetry in the Literacy Block.”

“Animal Talk” by Charles Ghigna

For three hours, we played with poetry! We talked about how to infuse poetry across the curriculum, find rich and meaningful poems, and present poetry in different ways– charts, slides, big books, and more.

THINGS WE DO anthology by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell

The teachers perused a huge selection of poetry books and made poetry charts for their classrooms, choosing poems that were just right for their students. 

“All Kinds of Kids” by Elizabeth Steinglass
“My People” by Langston Hughes. Book illustrated by beautiful photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.

It was joyful, creative, and energizing. And the teachers’ feedback was amazing…

“You are so passionate about poetry! It is infectious :)”

“It’s so exciting to reignite the power of poetry in the classroom, especially to spark SEL conversations.”

“I really feel that poetry helps to level the playing field for many struggling readers and kids who may feel unsure of themselves, as well as a powerful place for higher level thinking.”

“This filled my soul! I needed ‘permission’ to use poetry again!”

*****As a presenter, it was an exciting and delightful day.

As a poet, I was thrilled to reignite the poetry flame in many of the teachers.

We all left the workshop with an elevated dose of “Vitamin P!”

“Ask” by Janet Wong

On Fridays, I love taking part in Poetry Friday when I can, where writers share resources about children’s poetry. This week, check out the Poetry Friday Roundup here

18 comments

  1. janicescully says:

    Mary, this is a lovely, enthusiastic post, and enthusiasm and love for poetry is what I am sure you bring to your teaching. So glad you are sharing all this on Poetry Friday.

  2. tanita says:

    What a lovely week. It’s great to hear school news of books being delighted in, instead of being taken away. A great dose of Vitamin P!

  3. Karen Edmisten says:

    Three hours of playing with poetry sounds heavenly. 🙂 And what encouraging and uplifting feedback! Love it.

  4. Denise Krebs says:

    Mary, what a joy for those teachers to leave after three hours with a collection of special poems in a format they can use tomorrow in their classroom. Those are the best kinds of workshops. And to have your passion for poetry rubbing off on the presenters was so important. Thanks for upping the Vitamin P levels of all of us too.

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