Joyce Sidman is an American poet. She has written 11 children’s books. Some have won awards and Caldecott honorable mentions. Her recent book Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature had been critically acclaimed and is a Junior Library Guild Selection. She has a love for the nature world and it shows in her writing. I read that she said, “the natural world fascinates me, elates me, grounds me. It raises questions that I try to answer in my writing.” Her writing pulled me into her poems and books and I couldn’t stop until I got to the last page. Her themes include nature, animals, and insects. She give the natural world a voice. Her books can be used for Science and Language Arts. On her website www.joycesidman.com there are lesson ideas that can help students use her books in their classroom.
Thank you for introducing and educating me about Joyce Sidman. I have yet to read a book written by her, but would like to in the future. Her books sound very intriguing, especially with the themes she uses and her writerly technique. Her books would be great resources to use in the classroom. I like that her website gives lesson ideas to use with her books. I wonder if her books could be used with math lessons. I look forward to reading a book by Joyce Sidman and using her website to help me get lesson ideas. Thank you!
I think your presentation was great! It was very informative and interesting. I think this author would be great for connecting Language Arts with Science. I especially loved the idea of them having a seasonal diary. Such a neat way for them to explore nature and use their writing to evoke the various feelings they get when exploring. You could connect it to a Science lesson as well by writing about a certain type of insect, flower or plant. One thing I was left wondering is how to use her poem, “The Season’s Campaign” in a pre-k or kinder class? The diction in the poem is rather advanced for the early grades and I was wondering if maybe this author has any easier to read poems for younger children? If so, it would be great to include as well.