Mistakenly signing up for a poetry class, Jeremy tackles the task of writing about homework, cleaning his room, measly allowances, and more

Read all about the trials and tribulations of a school year in this delightful collection of poems framed by the character Jeremy Bloom, who writes the poems aspart of a school assignment.

Enduring a second year with the poetry teacher who gave him a D minus, reluctant Jeremy Bloom hopes to earn a better grade by writing sports poetry.

With dozens of engaging and practical writing activities for students in grades 3-8, The Power of Poems makes it easy and fun to integrate poetry into your curriculum-and teach to the standards, too. Margriet Ruurs guides you and your students through the writing process, from cultivating an inspiring learning environment and generating poem ideas to publishing poetry on paper and digitally. Hundreds of age appropriate poem recommendations, student examples, and writing tips make this a resource you'll return to again and again. Jump-start your students' passion for reading and writing poetry and realize the power of poetry in your classroom today!

Sports. That's Jeremy Bloom's topic. He's not psyched about spending another year writing poetry, but maybe it won't be as bad as he thinks. He and his friends Chad and Michael join every team the school has - football, soccer, hockey, basketball, and baseball! At first, the guys are unstoppable, undefeated! But when Mrs. Stegowitz decides to become a fan, suddenly the guys are headed for a never-ending losing streak. Jeremy's glory poems ache with the agony of defeat. But surprisingly... he keeps writing. Could poetry be actually as cool as sports?

Readers theatre is a powerful tool for building language skills and involving young readers with literature. Educator and seasoned readers-theatre coach Shirlee Sloyer provides teachers and librarians with nuts-and-bolts guidelines for integrating readers theatre into the classroom and library. Detailed instructions for every step guide readers through the process of setting up and conducting a successful program that is based on NCTE and IRA standards. Grades 4-8 Includes: • An Overview of Readers Theatre • Selecting the Literature • Exploring Key Literary Elements • Compiling and Adapting Material • Classroom Procedures • Preparing for Performance • The Performance and Afterward • A Model Program and Script • 11 Classroom-Ready Sample Scripts