In honor of 楼凤天堂 Poetry Month, the 楼凤天堂听Children鈥檚 Poetry Awards Committee听is sponsoring a special event to support teachers in using poetry to meet a wide variety of education goals. Join award-winning poets Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong as they lead several authors in a webinar providing educators at all levels with ideas for engaging teachers and students in poetry.
Participants will learn
- how to guide students in gathering and analyzing a wide range of research, including authentic voices, historical and scientific facts, and personal narratives, to deepen their understanding of complex issues;
- how to support students as they evaluate sources, construct logical conclusions, and integrate research into their own writing; and
- how to explore the use of the texts, 鈥渨onderfuzz (fussy things they wonder),鈥� and 鈥渢himblethoughts (tiny random facts that have personal meaning in their lives)鈥� as inquiry tools to foster student curiosity, personal connections, and critical thinking while enhancing communication skills.
Vardell is a former co-chair of the 楼凤天堂 Children鈥檚 Poetry Awards Committee. Wong is the 2021 楼凤天堂听Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children听winner and a former member of the 楼凤天堂 Children鈥檚 Poetry Awards Committee. Both are seasoned presenters, poets, and publishers who bring a wealth of energy and experience to every event they lead. They and the featured author poets will provide a fun and practical experience for preK鈥�12 teachers, as well as higher education educators, who are looking to deepen their practice through the use of poetry texts.
Authors Chris Baron, Ren茅e M. LaTulippe, Padma Venkatraman, and Allan Wolf will join Vardell and Wong for this event.
Join us Thursday, April 24, 7:00鈥�8:00 p.m. ET.
This event is free for all 楼凤天堂 members. Not yet a member?听Join today!
Certificates of completion will be available for attendees after the event, by request. Please contact听profdev@ncte.org听with any questions.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Sylvia M. Vardell is professor emerita in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University, where she taught graduate courses in children’s and young adult literature for more than twenty years. Vardell has published extensively, including five books on literature for children, as well as more than twenty-five book chapters and a hundred journal articles. Learn more about Sylvia at .
Janet Wong is a graduate of Yale Law School and a former lawyer. She has written more than forty books for children on a wide variety of subjects, including chess () and yoga (). She is the 2021 winner of the 楼凤天堂 Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, a lifetime achievement award that is one of the highest honors a children’s poet can receive. Learn more about Janet at .
Together, Vardell & Wong are the creative forces behind Pomelo Books, a publisher whose anthologies feature the work of more than 250 poets. Their most recent book is , a journal-style book containing poems by seventy-plus poets that details a week in the life of Clara, her classmates, and her family. Learn more at .
Chris Baron is the award-winning author of novels for young (and young at heart) readers including听,听an 楼凤天堂 Notable Book;听,听a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book and a SLJ Best Book of 2021;, a ProjectLIT 2023鈥�2024 Selection;听 from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan; and听,听a middle grades novel co-authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books. Baron is also editor of from Abrams, and (City Works Press), winner of the San Diego Book Award for Poetry. He is a professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the writing center. He grew up in New York City, but he completed his MFA in poetry in 1998 at SDSU. He lives in San Diego with his family.
Ren茅e M. LaTulippe is a poet and author, a former teacher of English and theater, and the founder of the Lyrical Language Lab online writing course for kidlit writers. Her publications include the听forthcoming MG poetry collection听 the poem听picture book听, poems in numerous anthologies, and a series of decodable readers. Discover more at .
Padma Venkatraman is the author of , , , and . Her books have sold over 录 million copies, received over 20 starred reviews, and won numerous awards: Walter Dean Myers Award, South Asia Book Award, Golden Kite, ALA Notable, etc. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Magazine and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. 鈥淎n exquisite novel in verse by one of my favorite poets,鈥� says Newbery honor winner Margarita Engle about Venkatraman鈥檚 upcoming novel, , which School Library Journal called a 鈥渕ust read鈥� in a starred review. Inspired by Venkatraman鈥檚 doctorate in oceanography, Safe Harbor features a girl who rescues a stranded seal. When she鈥檚 not writing, Venkatraman loves teaching and sharing her love for reading, writing and science. Visit her to download free teacher and writer resources and arrange an event via her speaking agency, .
Allan Wolf鈥檚 many picture books, poetry collections, and young adult novels celebrate his love of research, history, science, and poetry. He is a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, two-time winner of the North Carolina Young Adult Book Award, and recipient of New York鈥檚 Bankstreet College Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry. Wolf鈥檚 YA novel in verse, , was included on 叠辞辞办濒颈蝉迟鈥檚 50 Best YA Books of All Time.听 He has three books coming in 2025, all from Candlewick Press: a poetry collection, ; a prose novel, ; and a graphic novel, . Wolf lives in Asheville, NC, and Roanoke, VA. See more at