NCTE 2011: 4 Big Poetry Events

There were 4 other poetry-focused events I attended at the NCTE conference (besides my own presentation) that I want to share with you. These included:

• J. Patrick Lewis speaking as the new recipient of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children award
• A "Parade of Poets" featuring all the recipients of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children award with 4 in attendance: J. Patrick Lewis, Nikki Grimes, Eloise Greenfield, and Arnold Adoff
• The "Master Class" session for professors of children's literature featuring Joyce Sidman and Pat Mora, as well as professors Trish Bandre and Barbara Kiefer
• The annual CLA Breakfast with Joyce Sidman speaking

Each was a wonderful event and I was able to make brief videoclips to share with you here-- a taste of their inspiring and fascinating presentations. Enjoy!

J. Patrick Lewis was the toast of the town, although feeling a bit under the weather (how's that for mixed metaphors?!). One of my favorite things was his sharing a few story-themed riddle rhymes that were NOT in his book, Spot the Plot. Enjoy this bonus.



The always obstreperous Arnold Adoff spoke about poetry and politics and read from his latest work, Roots and Blues.



The Grand Dame of poetry for young people, Eloise Greenfield read a selection from her powerful book, The Great Migration.



Nikki Grimes (with a sore throat and husky voice) read from her new novel in verse, Planet Middle School.



Joyce Sidman spoke twice (at 2 separate sessions) sharing openly about her thinking, researching, and writing process, as well as how she works with children in residencies in the schools. Here's just a clip.



Pat Mora spoke movingly about the need for embracing many voices (in many languages) in our classrooms and encouraged teachers to nurture their own creativity, referring to her excellent resource book, Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students. Here's just a tiny clip with an excellent point.



Dr. Trish Bandre from Baker University and Dr. Barbara Kiefer from The Ohio State University spoke about classroom connections with poetry. Trish shared her work in guiding 2nd graders in writing poetry and her research on their attitudes about poetry (they didn't even know where to find poetry books in the library and associate it with greeting cards!



Then Barbara talked about the importance of encouraging children's artistic development and made connections between various art media and poetry. Here she shares a poem that encapsulates her philosophy.

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2011. All rights reserved.