The Poet Tree

When I taught 3rd grade, my classes were largely second language learners--children who grew up speaking a language other than English in their homes. What wonderful kids. I made a tree out of butcher paper, attached to the wall and ceiling, in the corner of my room that housed the library. There were pillows on the floor, and students could sit or lie on them to read. One of my students called it the "Poet Tree" and the name stuck. I like the idea of the Poet Tree because we are all, as poets, on branches that grow and support us, connected to a great creative energy, and to the work of the poets that wrote before us, a living continuity of creative expression in poetry.

I had the great experience last week of visiting and working with students in a fourth grade classroom at Manchester GATE Elementary School. When I taught 6th grade there, I could always tell which students had had this marvelous teacher--Beth Noble Snyder. They had the power of writing, and they had the language for talking about it. We played an onomatopoeia game--and of course these kids were right on top of it. Bravo. This classroom is full of student writing and other work, and the students are so proud of their work. Two students gave me the full tour and explained everything to me, while the rest of the class was still at recess. I love their ownership in this room--and when I asked what they liked best, they said, "Ms Snyder!!!" in unison.

This is the landscape of learning. Take a look at the environment Ms Snyder and her amazing students have created.