“Sharing Poetry with Children” Online Course Thoughts

I was very pleased to participate in ALSC’s four week online education course, Sharing Poetry with Children.  The course was taught by Sylvia Vardell, SLIS professor at Texas Woman’s University, author, poetry columnist for

ALA’s Book Links, and self proclaimed poetry enthusiast.  She led us through online readings  as well as through  her book, Poetry Aloud Here! , and she guided our lively discussions.

I was excited to take the class, as I was certain it would inspire me and better prepare me for my monthly poetry breaks that I was holding with two classes of 2^nd and 3^rd graders.  Through the years, I felt that my knowledge of children’s poetry and ways to share poetry with kids had all been learned on the fly.  I was looking forward to reaping the benefits of learning in a more structured setting, and to hearing ideas and suggestions from other librarians and teachers.  I was not disappointed!Each week focused on a different broad topic including an overview of children’s poets, poetry awards, types of poetry, evaluation of poetry, and poetry that stands up to the kid-test.  The background readings were interesting and reinforced concepts and names that I had forgotten.  I also learned a great deal that was “new” to me, especially in regards to the types of poetry that we can be sharing with kids,  beyond the basic and  easy to remember formats such as limericks, haikus, couplets, nursery rhymes, and free verse.  Participants in the class were from across the

United States and abroad, and represented small and large libraries and schools.  It wasn’t long before we began slowing down bandwidth everywhere as we posted our favorite books, anthologies, poems, and poets.  We wrote of our  memories of how poetry was shared with us during our own childhood, and we shared observations and thoughts from using poetry in our own jobs.  The postings were very useful as everyone shared practical ideas, tips, and techniques.  Everyone shared freely from their experiences,  and the ideas were ones that could be easily adapted for success in any setting.The class was a great experience for me, as I was able to focus on poetry and compile a lengthy “must read” list as everyone shared their favorite poems and poets.  I  “discovered” poems and techniques that I put to good and immediate use as I shared them in storytimes and school visits.  As a result not only am I incorporating more poetry into every program that I present, but my staff is too, after patiently listening to me say, “oh, you have to use this one…it’s a great poem!”

The content of the class rejuvenated me and the flexibility of learning  online in  the Moodle  environment made it possible for me to fit some fun and important learning into my already busy schedule.  I look forward to enrolling in another online  course offered by ALSC.

Julie Bascom
JCPL Manager
Clark Pleasant Branch
New Whiteland, Indiana