SCHOOL VISITS
The Book
Elephant of Sadness, Butterfly of Joy, a collection of twenty-four poems, links animals with emotions and uses sensory imagery to paint word pictures and invite readers to see the world from a new perspective. Whether expressing hope, frustration, surprise, or contentment, each poem helps illustrate the emotional spectrum of the human spirit. The words and delightful watercolor illustrations work together to help children identify, understand, and name their feelings and to spark conversations.
The Live Experience for Students Grades 2-6 (45--60 minutes)
Throughout an interactive read-aloud, the author invites listeners to share their worries, their fears, what brings them joy, what they do when they’re bored and more. Groups of up to thirty students merge language arts and science, guessing how specific animals link with particular emotions. Small groups do a scavenger hunt through the verses for poetic elements. Then, with templates provided, students work to create their own poems about emotions and feelings, either individually or in pairs. Participants are invited to submit their poems to patriciaaustinwrites.com to be considered for publication on the author’s website.
Presentation fee is free with book sales.
Tales From a Teaching Life: Vignettes in Verse
by Patricia Austin (UNO Press, 2023)
What’s the day-to day, decade-to-decade life of a teacher like? Documenting Patricia Austin’s forty-plus years as an educator, Tales from a Teaching Life invites readers along on a chronological journey through elementary and university classrooms. Austin captures modes, moods, and moments of teaching from a stumbling entry into the profession to an unexpected dive into the brave new world of online instruction. In verse, at turns reflective, surprising, and humorous, these poems testify to the strength and profound impact of teachers everywhere.
The Live Experience for High School Students and Education Students in College (45-75 minutes)
After reading and discussing selected poems from Tales From a Teaching Life, students will brainstorm how they process their lives as students, think about their future, and anticipate what they may do for a living. They will then draft poems and have the opportunity to share.
Participants are invited to submit their poems to patriciaaustinwrites.com to be considered for publication on the author’s website.
Professional Development for Teachers (one to three hours)
When teachers live the struggle of writing and revising, they understand their students as writers and can model their own process for getting ideas, getting their ideas on paper, and getting unstuck when the going gets tough.
After hearing selected poems from Tales From a Teaching Life, teachers will brainstorm experiences from the own teaching lives–anecdotes they tell and retell and vignettes that have informed their practice. They will then draft their own verses and have the opportunity to share.