Childrens Poetry

by: Annie, Phoebe, Chelsie, and Sophia

What is poetry?

A poem is a written work that uses artistic techniques to

express a feeling, idea, or story.
Poetry is metrical lines of verse.
Some poems follow strict composition rules, while others
are stylistically free.
Many styles employ rhythm or rhyme, but these techniques
do not define a work as a poem.
In general, a poem can be whatever a poet wants it to be.

why teach childrens poetry

Poetry is all too often forgotten in collections of
childrens literature.

Useful tool in teaching rhyme and rhythm.

Specific formula poems are an exercise in following
directions.
Helps with instruction on parts of speech, vocabulary,
and syntax.

tips for writing and teaching poetry

Choose poems that you enjoy and that may be familiar to

students.
Choose poems with repetition and predictability.
Study both rhyming and non-rhyming poems.
Illustrate the poem.
Have a class poetry book or website.

Forms of Poetry

Narrative Poems tell a story

Lyric Poems are melodic and songlike
Limericks are humorous with rhyme scheme and verse
pattern
Haiku has 17 syllables
Free Verse is mostly unrhymed and no consistent rhythm
Reversos is two poems created with same words (top to
bottom and bottom to top)
Concrete Poems are written in the shape of the poems
subject
and many many more!

Dr. Suess (Real Name: Theodor Seuss Geisel)

Born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, MA

Education: He attended Dartmouth College, and later enrolled in Oxford
University in England to get his PhD, although he did not obtain a degree
from Oxford. (So no, he is not technically the doctor his pseudonym would
claim to be)
Drew comics for Dartmouths humor magazine, the Jack-O-Lantern

Met his wife, Helen Palmer during his time at Oxford (She was

incidentally the one who convinced him to leave Oxford to pursue a

career in cartoons)
Wrote narrative poetry: he told a story and utilized rhyming and poetry in
that storytelling
Dr. Seusss literary influence spans beyond just poetry, but has
influenced childrens literacy for the last fifty years.

Dr. Seusss Major Works

Green Eggs and Ham

The Cat in the Hat
Oh, the Places Youll Go!
The Lorax

http://www.unitedwayhaysco.org/dr-seuss-reading-day-february-28

And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street: Theodor Geisels first

childrens book
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Dr. Seusss Sleep Book
Oh, the Things You Can Count from 1-10

Many of these stories have alternate purposes other than just being
fun narrative poetry books, they teach children how to count,
identify colors, moral lessons, and even ways to fall asleep

Dr. Seusss Awards

Awards received: 2 Academy awards (one of these was for a documentary he

made called Design for Death, this showcases how versatile his talent
was.
2 Emmys
A Peabody award

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (this is given to an author who has had a
large and lasting impact on childrens literature.)
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award: Annually awarded to the author(s) and
illustrator(s) of the most distinguished book for beginning readers
published in English in the United States during the preceding year. (

The Pullitzer prize: For a lifetime of contribution to childrens

literature
The Caldecott Honor award

Paul Janeczko
-Born 1945 in Passaic, NJ
-Education: St. Francis College, Biddeford Maine/ John
Carroll University, Ohio
-After graduation became a high school teacher.
-English Teacher in Param, OH 1968-1972
-Topsfield, MA 1972-77
-Gray, ME,language arts, 1977-1990
-Visiting Writer and Lecturer, 1990-present
--Poet and Anthologist

http://i3.bookpage.com/images/319/pauljaneczko.jpg

Paul Janeczko Awards

-The American Library Association Books for Young Adult
-American Library Association Notable Books
-New York Public Library Best Books
-School Library Journal Best Young Adult Books of the Year
in 2014 for Firefly July.

Pauls Work
Poetry:

Anthologies:

-Birds on a Wire

-Firefly of July

-Worlds Afire

-Foot in the Mouth

-Wing Nuts

-Hey, You

-That Sweet Diamond

-A Kick in the Head

-Startdust otel

-Blushing

-Brickyard Summer

-Seeing the Blue Between

-A Poke in the I

Pauls Books for Teachers

-Reading Poetry in the Middle Grades
-Opening A Door (Reading Poetry in the Middle
School Classroom)
-Writing Funny Bone Poems
-Teaching 10 Fabulous Forms of Poetry
-Favorite Poetry Lessons

Roald Dahl

Born in Llandoff Whales on September 13, 1916.

Began school in Whales and later moves to Repton to attend a British public
school.
Left school when he was 18 and later joined the British Royal Air Force during
WWII.
While posted in Libya, his plane crashed in North Africa resulting in a 6 month
injury recovery.
In 1942, Dahl joins the British Embassy in Washington D.C. During this time, he
published his first piece of writing anonymously in The Saturday Evening Post
called Shot Down Over Libya. It was later titled A Piece of Cake.
In November 1951, publishes his first famous book for children, James and the
Giant Peach.
In 1971, the first film adaptation of his written work Willy Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory is released.
In 1982, he publishes Revolting Rhymes, a collection of comic childrens poems.
Roald Dahl dies on November 23, 1990 at the age of 74.

Roald Dahls Awards

1983-World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement

1990-Childrens Author of the Year from British Book
Awards
2008-16th on The Times list of 50 Greatest British
Writers since 1945

Roald Dahls Major Works

Childrens Books/Story Collections

The Gremlins (1943)
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
The BFG (1982)
Matilda (1988)
Collections of Childrens Poetry
Revolting Rhymes (1982)
Dirty Beasts (1983)
Rhyme Stew (1989)
Screen Play
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein is admittedly
not a great technical poet; he
will not be remembered for the
advances he has made in the
rhyme, meter, diction, or form of
his poetry, which children have
come to love so much. What he has
accomplished is bringing poetry-perhaps more accurately described
as light verse--to children who
would otherwise avoid it.

Shel Silverstein

Born September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Died May 10, 1999 in

Key West, FL of a heart attack
First established as a musician and composer
Studied at the University of Illinois, but was expelled
for bad grades
He then studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts , but
later was drafted into the US Army, and he served in
Japan and Korea.
First big gig: Cartoonist for the Stars & Stripes
magazine
Gained national recognition through cartoons in Playboy
After his work for Playboy, a book editor convinced him
to begin writing for children.

Shels Awards
Grammy for Best Country Song - A Boy Named Sue
(1970)
Grammy for Best Album for Children - Where the
Sidewalk Ends (1985)
Quill Award for Childrens Illustrated Book - Runny
Babbit (2005)

Shels Works

Books:

Uncle Shelbys Story of Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back

(1963)
The Giving Tree (1963)
The Missing Piece (1976)
The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981)

Poetry Collections:

Where The Sidewalk Ends (1974)

A Light in the Attic (1981)
Falling Up (1996)

Useful Poetry Tools in the Classroom

http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?resource_type=16&type=28

This website has many different aspects and allows you to create your own acrostics,
haikus, and other types of poems.

Can be refined by grade level

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/flash_pie.htm

This website allows students to pick words to put into a poem (similar to madlibs)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/games/space_spins/big_no_sound/full.shtml

A fun way to show students alliteration and similar beginning sounds.

http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/waywithwords/environmentbase.swf

A GREAT website for older grades. Very interactive and covers a wide domain of
literary genres.*

References
Amick, S. (n.d.). Shel Silverstein. Fredericksburg, VA: Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
Retrieved November 17, 2015 from http://www.librarypoint.org/shel_silverstein.

Geisel, T. S. (2004, March 2). The Beginnings of Dr. Seuss: An Informal Reminiscence. In Dartmouth

College. Retrieved November 16, 2015.

Morrow, L.M. (2012). Literacy development in the early years: Helping children read and write. 8th
edition New York: Pearson.

My books: Paul B. Janeczko.(n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015 from http://www.paulbjaneczko.

com/books.htm.

Nesbitt, K. Poetry for kids. (2008). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from http://www.poetry4kids.
com/blog/lessons/poetry-dictionary-for-kids/#p.

Paul B. Janeczko. (2015). Retrieved November 17,

aspx.

2015 from http://www.heinemann.com/authors/5072.

References Continued
Roald Dahl. Retrieved November 17, 2015, from http://www.roalddahl.com/home.

Shel Silverstein biography. (2015). Say Media, Inc. Retrieved November 17, 2015 from http://www.
biography.com/people/shel-silverstein-9483912#later-years .
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (2015, July 16). In Vanderbilt University Library. Retrieved November
16, 2015, from http://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/c.php?g=68590&p=443538.

Tunnel, M., Jacobs, J., Young, T. & Bryan, G. (2011). Children's Literature, Briefly (6th Edition).
New York, NY: Pearson.

Wexler, L. (2007). Dr. Seuss Biography. In ED101: Boston University . Retrieved November 16, 2015,
from http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/Archives/ED101sp07/lwexler/Bio.htm.

Wolny, P.(n.d.).Paul B(ryan) Janeczko (1945-) Biography: Personal, Career, Member, Honors Awards,
Writings, Sidelights. Retrieved November 17, 2015 from http://biography.jrank.
org/pages/1013/Janeczko-Paul-B-ryan-1945.html