Laura Purdie Salas | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘Laura Purdie Salas’

Slice of Life #29: Photo Project

Posted in Photography, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged equation poems, Kim Douillard, Laura Purdie Salas on March 29, 2022| 11 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

Following other teacher-bloggers can lead to new ideas for classroom activities. Recently I read Kim Douillard’s posts about using photography with her students. She graciously sent me a slide show to teach students about three photography techniques, bug’s eye view, bird’s eye view, and rule of thirds. My students caught on to these ideas with ease and were anxious to get outside to try them out. Our beautiful spring weather was a wonderful collaborator.

Following our playground photo sessions, my students used the editing tools on the Chromebooks. Kim had led her students to write equation poems with their photographs. I shared Laura Purdie Salas’s equation poems. I directed my students to use Canva to display their photos and equation poems. Here are a few student photos.

Sunlight + Trees = Painting by Jaden, 6th grade

The creative teacher in me wants to find more opportunities to practice photography and language. In fact, I think I’ll use one of their images for a poem prompt tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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Poetry Friday: We Belong

Posted in Books, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Laura Purdie Salas, We Belong on February 18, 2022| 15 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Laura at Small Reads for Better Days

Laura Purdie Salas is our Poetry Friday hostess and a favorite author in my gifted classroom. Her lyrical, poetic language sings. We love to read her words again and again. Laura graciously sent me an F&G of her latest book, We Belong.

Check out this video where Laura talks about how it came to be.

There are so many things to love about this book. I love that it’s full of literary elements that make writing stronger. When we read good writing, we become better writers. The theme is set up by the title, but inside, the book is full of surprises. You can be quiet or loud, short or tall, and still you belong.

Maybe you’re happy.
A fun magic trick.
A sprinkler rainbow.
A kitten’s rough lick.
Maybe you’re sad.
A cloud.
A small cave.
Maybe you’re trying
your best to be brave.
Laura Purdie Salas, We Belong

The illustrations by Carlos Vélez Aguilera introduce us to a group of kids who are not alike, but they join together to play and welcome new friends in. We Belong reminds us that we’re alike and different and that’s not good or bad, it’s just what is true. And concludes with my One Little Word “You are Good. You’re enough.”

Laura’s rhyming verse refreshes the age-old message of I’m Ok. You’re OK. Let’s join hands and hearts and make what is true Sing!

Sign up for the 2022 April Kidlit Progressive Poem Here.

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Poetry Friday: My Favorite Things

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Favorite Things, Laura Purdie Salas, mentor texts on September 10, 2021| 16 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Laura Purdie Salas has been a writing mentor in my classroom for years now. Her books and poetry speak to children ( and to this adult). A few weeks ago she posted this poem on her blog. I used it with my students for a beginning-of-the-school-year writing prompt. I did not require the precise rhyme and rhythm pattern; they got the gist of making a list of favorite things.

I, however, took on the challenge of getting into the right meter and rhyme-scheme. I don’t think I’ve nailed it (I’m missing a verse and one of the rhymes is too slanted) but each revision gets closer to it. Rodgers and Hammerstein were musical geniuses. I played a video of this favorite scene from The Sound of Music, a classic that many children are unfamiliar with. They know this version better–the Lays commercial with Anna Kendrick. It’s fun to watch, too.

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Poetry Friday: Equation Poems

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged equation poems, Laura Purdie Salas on April 15, 2021| 22 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup

I hope you are having a fun-filled poetry month. This week I played with equation poems à la Laura Purdie Salas. Laura released a book of equation poems titled Snowman – Sun = Puddle (published by Charlesbridge and with art by Micha Archer). This is a great book to read with budding second and third grade writers as they learn about figurative language. This month Laura is posting an equation poem on her blog daily. My students and I enjoyed creating image equation poems using Canva.

by Rylee, on a stormy day when her teacher had a hard time getting home because the streets were flooded.

by Mrs. Simon on the same rainy day when no one could go out for recess.

by Adelyn, who in second grade is learning about the Civil Rights Movement.

by Chloe with a nod to Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo.

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Poetry Friday: Arctic Dreaming

Posted in Poetry Friday, tagged home poem, Laura Purdie Salas, piano, Write Alone Together on February 19, 2021| 6 Comments »

Poetry Friday posts are being gathered by Ruth in Haiti: There’s No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town.

It’s Friday, and I had a week off, the first few days as part of an expected Mardi Gras break (no Mardi Gras activities, though) and the last few due to the winter storm that blew through the south (It’s still only 28 degrees.) Our plumbing system is not prepared to handle freezes. Nevertheless, these days of lazing in PJs next to a warm fire without much to do have been luxurious and allowed me some writing time.

On Wednesday evening, I joined Laura Purdie Salas’s first Write Alone, Together session. She started us off with an image and a roll of metaphor dice. The image came from a National Geographic article here. (Fair warning, it’s a rabbit hole you may fall into.) The metaphors were 1. Home is a well-worn zoo, and 2. Your body is a bootleg blessing. Rather than use these metaphors as complete thoughts, I split them up to create a poem. The photo prompt made me think of a piano that we gave away to a local school. Here is the draft I wrote in my journal:

Arctic Dreaming
This home–
well-worn,
frosted with shards
of stains, a zoo
of strays–
holds a corner space
where the piano once was,
now empty,
inviting something new
or old (an antique desk chair, perhaps).
You choose the thing
to fill the space,
with a blessing
and a dream.
Margaret Simon, draft

Photo by **Plato Terentev** from **Pexels**

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Poetry Friday: Loon Tune

Posted in Books, Photography, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Laura Purdie Salas, Minnesota Historical Society Press, Secrets of the Loon on May 15, 2020| 20 Comments »

Today, I’d like to introduce Laura Purdie Salas’s new book Secrets of the Loon. Released in early May, this book is different in design from her others, yet still holds her amazing poetic voice. Beautifully designed with photographs by Chuck Dayton, Laura takes us on a journey with newborn loon, Moon Loon.

Loons do not live in the deep south. My experience is with wood ducks. Wood ducks will lay a clutch of a dozen or so eggs, while loons only lay two. But I gather that their survival rate is better because the baby loon will ride on its parent’s back to escape danger. On the bayou, wood ducks are prey to birds, alligators, and snakes. I’m not sure of the survival percentage, but it can’t be that great, or we would have wood ducks everywhere.

Secrets of the Loon is written in rhyming verse. I didn’t notice this at first. Other poetic elements jumped out at me; repetition, onomatopoeia, and imagery together create a delightful tour of the lake.

Secrets of the Loon, Minnesota Historical Society Press (5/1/20)
ISBN: 9781681341583

These rocky shores, with trees tipped in gold.
These ripples and currents, fishy and cold.
This dazzling sky, a vivid blue dome.
This spruce-scented bay offers comfort.
It’s home.
Laura Purdie Salas, Secrets of the Loon

Being unfamiliar with loons, I also enjoyed reading the back matter of More Loon Secrets. I hope one day I will see a loon in real life. But for now, Laura’s book takes me to a beautiful lake full of natural sights and sounds.

For more about Laura and Classroom Connections, visit Today’s Little Ditty.

Lagniappe (a little something extra) today is a video I saw on CNN’s Five Things to Know page. Believe me, it was the best thing there. One of my favorite hymns to sing. I first sang Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring in my high school choir. That is why I remember it so well. Ah, youth…

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Poetry Friday: #inktober to #poemtober

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #inktober, #poemtober, Laura Purdie Salas on October 25, 2019| 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Karen Edmisten.

I’ve joined in with a group of poets on social media writing to #inktober word prompts. It’s a great way to jot a little poem that keeps creative juices flowing. On Thursdays, Laura Purdie Salas faithfully posts an image prompt for 15 words or less. This week I used her photo of a red blooming tree and the inktober word, dizzy, to create an autumn haiku. Canva is my go-to site for creating image poems. Follow my posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And join in the fun!

My new middle grade novel, Sunshine, is available on Amazon. I can’t wait to open the box of books coming soon. See a review here.

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SOLC2019: #12 In the Middle of the Night

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged Laura Purdie Salas, mask poems on March 12, 2019| 9 Comments »

See more posts at Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life

Happy Book Birthday to In the Middle of the Night by Laura Purdie Salas!

I met Laura a few years ago at NCTE and have followed her ever since. She is gentle, kind, and generous, everything a children’s poet should be. I am inspired by her every week on her blog. On Thursdays she posts an image with an invitation to write a 15 words or less poem. It’s a great space to show up in each week to read other poems and interact with the children’s poetry online community.

Laura is also a pretty awesome presenter. In November, 2018, we presented together on a panel at NCTE, Writing Poetry in the Wild. Here’s a link to the slides.

In her presentation, Laura encouraged us to look around and write about what we see. Well, that’s not exactly what she did to write this latest book. In the Middle of the Night requires more than just observation; it requires an imagination. The poems are all written in the point of view of some object doing something during the night.

Twenty-six poems share the wild adventures that toys, food, and other household objects have at night while you sleep. Everything from stuffed animals to clothing to writing utensils comes to life under the cover of night. An overdue library book searches for the perfect place to hide. A paper clip skydives with a tissue parachute. A fruit snack unrolls to create a tricky racetrack for toy cars. Come sneak away for some moonlit adventures!

In my class, I wanted my students to experience this fun idea and Laura’s poetry. From the Table of Contents, my students selected a few poems they wanted to hear. I always start with “What do you notice?” They noticed that the poems were written in first person (Cha-Ching! for that concept), and I reminded them that they are called mask poems. They noticed rhyming and rhythm patterns. With a little more prodding, they found alliteration and imagery.

In addition to working on close reading skills with poetry, we stretched our writing muscles. We used this activity sheet from Laura to write our own poems.

Laura has a Padlet for contributors’ poems here. We placed links on the Padlet to our Kidblog site. If you have a minute, stop by and place comments for my kids.