For National Poetry Month, IU East Campus Library collaborated with Community Christian School for the entire month of April, to help students write their own original poetry.  On May 2nd those students, in 5th through 8th grades, delivered their poetry on campus, with rousing success. KT Lowe, who leads the program, has worked with CCS students for the past three years.  “It’s always fascinating to see what directions the students take.  Some of the work is based on video games and sports, which is pretty interesting.  There’s always poetry with a lot of humor as well.  But some of the work is also really serious, quite mature for their age,” she remarks.  “It’s always a delight to see what they … Continued

This past July, I was fortunate to attend the Summer Poetry Teachers Institute.  Sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, which furthers the understanding and appreciation of poetry, the institute was at their headquarters in Chicago, IL.  The application was competitive, with only 100 teachers and librarians from across the US, from kindergarten to college, selected to take part in the program.  Throughout five days, we explored poetry resources, nationally and internationally recognized poets, and classroom ideas, in order to create a curriculum designed to benefit students in the community. (Children’s section of the Poetry Foundation library) Because of my work with slam poetry as part of National Poetry Month, my section was focused on middle school students.  In addition to education … Continued