teacher training: poetry

I love leading teacher trainings aka professional development.
Educators have to stay  updated on new technology and new methods. In recent years Arts Integration has been accepted as a positive school curriculum change from an old school one subject focus.
Some principals and supervisors are asking classroom teachers to integrate arts into their curriculum, whether they teach math, social studies, science, english/language arts, or foreign language. 
This is where I enter the conversation. I'm an artist when I'm not making art I'm teaching art, sometime to students sometimes to teachers! 
Principal Ms. Parette Walker decided to change the school to  an arts integrated gifted and talented magnet a few years ago. This week I lead two poetry teacher trainings with twenty-five K-4 teachers with the Arthur O. Eve Early Childhood Education Center|#BPS 61, in Buffalo, New York.  
First day was a visual poetry workshop. We made redacted and blackout poems with things they have around they classroom 

• old books 
• magazines
• newspapers
• rubber stamps
• stencils
• magic markers

We also made zines with poems about

• identity
• character
• family
• nature

I probably gave them too much to do but they were having fun!

On day 2 I lead them into Performance poetry.
We talked about what poetry was, and how to connect modern day poets with students. I read a poem using a historical character I created and another about my grandmother.
Including a microphone and amp either encourages or frightens them!
I give participants group work then individual work  and vice versa.
There first poems were written in five groups of five. 

Watch the videos of their group poems about :

• half-days

They also wrote about:

• Forgotten homework
• student teaching
• snow days
• summer vacation

 I enjoy  teaching teachers, they take what they have learned and share it with young students who will in turn engage, learn, grow, and share! 
In two days for two hours my classroom teacher participants gained increased confidence within their practice, additional motivation to begin another school year, learned new arts in education tools to inspire the next generation by making literature inspired art and performance poetry! 
Drive carefully, schools in session!

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