Resources for Educators
Lessons, tools, and guides for teaching poetry in the classroom!
Laura’s Lessons
Classroom poetry workshops you can use!
Links to Lessons:
Pet-tastic Literacy Activities: Pawesome Muse at Reading Rockets
Even before 2020’s pet craze, children’s books have reflected the special bond between kids and creatures. Let’s look at three different ways young readers can integrate literacy skills with their love of animals.
Lesson: Global Read Aloud 2017 Poetry Extension, Pet's-Eye View
I've teamed up with GRA17 author Victoria Coe on a mini poetry lesson! Using my poem "Lost and Found" from Pet Crazy: A Poetry Friday Power Book as a model, kids can try writing from an animal's point of view, just as Victoria does in her hilarious Fenway and Hattie series.
Lesson: Using the News to Inspire Poetry
When School Library Journal asked me to come up with a National Poetry Month activity, I shared #10FoundWords. This is a version of found poetry. Take 10 words from a new story and build a poem around that list of words.
Article: Writing Persona Poems
In this guest post for Today's Little Ditty, I share my process for writing persona poems. You'll find a classroom-ready structure for drafting original persona poems, along with an example from my novel-in-verse, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary.
Article: Kids Write Odes to their Shoes
Poetic odes are a great way of teaching young poets the importance of tone. This article for The Woven Tale Press includes sample student poems.
Educator Guides
If you are teaching Laura’s books in the classroom, be sure to check out each book’s free educator guide for discussion questions, activities, and more!
Free Guide for Teachers
As a Poet-in-Residence for the state of Maryland, Laura worked on this valuable resource for teachers:
Voices Fly: Exercises and Poems from the Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Program
Edited by Poets-in-Residence Virginia Crawford and Laura Shovan
The full guide is available as a free PDF – view the guide here.
