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HELLO TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS and MEDIA CENTER SPECIALISTS
I had no idea that poetry is being promoted in schools EVERYWHERE with such spirit and enthusiasm, and I had no idea how tough it would be to pick the winners. The entries crisscrossed the country, from New Hampshire to Hawaii, and from Washington to Florida. I even received submissions from Canada. I’m deeply gratified to learn that so many of you are putting forth great efforts to introduce poetry to your students, and are getting them to see that poetry can make their lives richer and more comprehensible.
Without question, EVERY entry, in my view, is a winner. What more could I ask for than educators promoting poetry in their classrooms and libraries? When I set up the competition, I had no notion of what kind of a response I would receive. I had twice as many entries as I expected, and all were superb. But I had to pick “winners,” and admittedly my choices might appear quixotic. Remember, I’m a poet, not a pedagogue. To paraphrase Walt Whitman, I hear America singing . . . and all the songs are good.
Here are my TEN WINNERS:
 Michelle Colte • Hale Kula Elem. School • Wahiawa, HI
Susan Bohman • Talcott Elem. School • Chicago, IL
Gretchen Cion • Trinity Episcopal School • Austin, TX
Martha Polley • Jenner Academy of the Arts • Chicago, IL
Martha Miller • Pioneer Valley Elem. School • Spanaway, WA
Misty Burton • Beaver Ridge Elem. School • Norcross, GA
Linda Garrison • H.R. McCall Elem. School • Waukegan, IL
Hilarie Shanley • Key Elementary School • Washington, DC
Kathleen Russell • Noorthoek Academy • Grand Rapids, MI
Eleni Gajewski • McAuliffe Elem. School • Chicago, IL
There were so many excellent submissions that I had to create an additional category of HONORABLE MENTIONS:
 Linda A. Clark • Bradfield Elem. School • Garland, TX
Stacey Brody • Puesta del Sol Elem. School • Bellevue, WA
Karen Higginson & Dana Sabia • North School • Des Plaines, IL
Julie Colando • Thornton Creek School • Seattle, WA
Clare McGee • Central School • Des Plaines, IL
Leresa Lynch • St. John the Baptist Catholic Elem. School • Draper, UT
Just in case you’re wondering why many of the picks are from Illinois, you might like to know that I received an avalanche of entries from the Prairie State, by far the most from anywhere.
I applaud all the teachers and librarians who submitted an entry. The REAL WINNERS are the students who are lucky enough to be in your classes.
Thank you one and all, and—KEEP MAKING POETRY HAPPEN!
CHEERS,
Jack Prelutsky
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I wish that I had time to post all the entries, but it simply isn’t possible. I’ve selected one that touched my heart. It’s from Michelle Colte, an elementary school librarian in Hawaii, whose project represents the enthusiasm, dedication, and thoughtfulness that I saw in all the entries. Most of all, it addresses the transformational power of poetry. |
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Making Poetry Happen @ Hale Kula
“Poems for Our Patriots”
Students will select their favorite poems to send to a soldier stationed in Iraq. Students will illustrate the poem and write a letter to the soldier explaining why they are sending that poem for the soldier to carry in his/her pocket and to share with others. To share a favorite poem with a soldier has special meaning for our students. Our school is located on Schofield Army Barracks and our student body is 99% military. Some of our students’ parents are currently in Iraq, others just returned, and many more will be deploying soon. Soldiers who have returned from Iraq tell us how much they love to receive letters from children—and to receive a poem selected/written and illustrated by a child will provide the soldier with a glimpse of home, images from childhood: recess chants, sticky jam-smeared faces, sipping lemonade from a roadside stand, spitballs in homeroom . . . topics far from what the soldiers face day after day. In a brief letter, students will explain why they selected the poem—offering them a chance to think, feel and talk about poetry.
Students in kindergarten will work with their 4th and 5th grade buddies to find a poem they like. 4th and 5th graders will read kindergartners poems and help them write their letters.
Copies of poems selected and student illustrations will be posted in the hallways for parents, students and teachers to read as “Poetry on Parade.” Students will have opportunities to read their poems aloud with friends during recess and lunch. Interested students will be video taped performing poems and these clips will be available for families to view from our school website. Poetry performances will be shared with other schools and soldiers in Iraq via video conferencing. Some poems will be written in chalk on the pavement as “Sidewalk Poems.”
To help students find poems to send to soldiers:
1. In the library, students in grades K-2 will listen to poems, participate in shared and choral readings of poetry, play with rhyming words, experiment with sound effect poems and listen to poetry being performed by Nikki Giovanni, Shel Silverstein, Mary Ann Hoberman, Donald Hall, Sonia Sanchez, Bruce Lansky and Jack Prelutsky.
2. Classes will write a group poem either by mirroring a poem they read or by beginning with a poem start, or by jumping off of an idea—Mommies . . . ,
Uh-oh . . . , Halloween sounds . . . .
3. Poetry websites are posted on the Hale Kula Library home page so students may read poems, write poems and share poetry with their families.
4. Teachers receive daily emails of poems they may read aloud to their students.
5. Each classroom teacher has received a “Pocket for Poems” to share and display in their classroom. The pockets hold just a few poems initially, but as students read and write poems, they will add more to the pocket—poems that other students will read, trade and share.
6. Students may bring poems from their classroom pocket to trade with poems in the library bulletin board display “A Poem for your Pocket.” Or, they might find a poem from a poetry book on the library shelves that they want to share with others—they can recopy it, tuck it in the bulletin board pocket and take another poem for their own pocket or their classroom pocket. Poetry is happening @ Hale Kula!
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