School Visits

I love talking to young learners about big feelings and the adventures of Bingo & Clover, and to students of all ages about poetry. Here are some of the programs I can present. 

Ekphrastic Poetry
Ekphrastic poems are written in response to visual art. Even the youngest learners can compose their own poems in response to visual prompts.

In this workshop, I introduce students to ekphrastic poetry using examples from my own work and the work of other poets. Through guided discussion, students explore how the poems reflect the art that inspired them.

I introduce students to various poetic techniques such as rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance. We then look for those techniques in a variety of poems.

Then students write their own poems in response to a variety of visual art prompts.

Write, Revise, Repeat: How to Write and Revise Poetry

In this program aimed at students in grades 5+, I introduce students to various techniques for writing and revising poetry.

Using examples from my own poetry, I demonstrate how poems change through revision. 

We review various poetic elements such as repetition, metaphor and simile, and line breaks, and look for examples of the techniques in various poems.

Using a variety of prompts, students write their own poems. Then I help students apply the poetic techniques we discussed as they revise their poems.  

Author Visit: Big Feelings and Gentle Lessons with Bingo & Clover

Through story time, discussion and coloring pages, young listeners follow the adventures of Bingo and Clover on their farm. Together we identify the big feelings that Bingo and Clover are feeling, talk about what it's like to have those feelings, and what we can do when we have big feelings.