Joyce sidman
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The document provides biographical information about author Joyce Sidman and summarizes some of her published works and themes. Sidman was born in 1956 in Connecticut and graduated from Wesleyan University. She teaches poetry writing to children and has published several poetry collections that focus on themes of nature, animals, and insects. Her writing employs techniques like personification, metaphor, and imagery to bring nature to life from an animal's perspective. The document includes an example poem about cattails changing with the seasons and suggests ways to use Sidman's works in the classroom, such as nature observation journals.
Joyce sidman
- 1. Joyce Sidman Author Presentation Andrea Ruiz February 11, 2013
- 2. Biography Born June 4, 1956 in Connecticut Graduated from Wesleyan University, with a B.A. in German She teaches poetry writing to school children and participates in many national poetry events. Her recent book, Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature, has been critically acclaimed and is a Junior Library Guild Selection.
- 3. Published Work Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems The World According to Dog: poems and teen voices Eureka! Poems About Inventors Just Us Two: Poems About Animal Dads
- 4. Themes Science “The natural world fascinates me, elates me, grounds me. It raises Nature questions that I try to answer in my Animal writing.” Insects
- 5. Writerly Technique Animal’s perspective Metaphors Alliteration Personification Rhyming Imagery
- 6. Personification-Cattails The Season’s Campaign I. Spring III. Fall We burst forth, crisp All red-winged generals green squads bristling desert us. Courage with spears. We clumps and fluffs like encircle the pond. bursting pillows. II. Summer IV. Winter Brown velvet plumes Our feet are full of ice. bob jauntily. On Brown bones rattle in the command, our slim wind. Sleeping, we waving arrows rush dream of seed-scouts, towards the sun. sent on ahead.
- 8. How to use in your classroom? "Mouse Ears" Mice rely on their excellent hearing to avoid predators like the owl. 1. Have each student sit somewhere in the classroom, with a piece of paper and a pencil. 2. Ask them to shut their eyes and listen carefully. How many different noises can they hear? What do they think each noise is? Have them write down as many noises as they can, trying to describe and identify each one. 3. Discussion: compare noises heard; perhaps write them on the board. 4. Then ask them: if they were mice, lost in the classroom, which would be important noises for them to identify? How could they escape using just their hearing? BOOK: Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night
- 9. More ways to use in classroom Seasonal Diary Find out & record how the natural world changes in fall, winter, and spring. 1. Read “The Season’s Campaign” and talk about how the cattails see their world changing from season to season. 2. Plan to take several different nature walks in two or three different seasons. 3. Once outside, encourage children to be as observant as possible. Have them take notepads and list one thing they see, one thing they smell, hear, feel. Have them think about these questions: What are the trees doing in fall/winter/spring? What does the sky look like? What animals do you see? What do you imagine going on behind the scenes? How is life in this season different from another? 4. Back inside, have each child make a diary page, including the date, and record everything they observed. Encourage illustrations. Bind each diary page into a class book for each season.
- 10. For more information Go to www.joycesidman.com Under Teacher tab There you can find lesson ideas that correlate with the books she has written.