Miss Law's fourth grade class at Hopkins School recently received a visit from photographer and poet Lyn Littlefield Hoopes. Hoopes, also known as the Poet Whisperer, writes poetry based on photographs she has taken, and uses classroom workshops to encourage children to do the same. Hoopes says that the photographs she uses help give the children a focus when they are writing. If she can, Hoopes also likes to work with art teachers and paintings done by famous artists in her workshops.
In Hopkins, Hoopes visits all of the fourth grade classrooms and does two workshops with them. In the first workshop, students start by brainstorming ideas and writing a poem as a group. The second shows them revision techniques for their poems.
This is Hoopes' second year visiting Hopkins School and the teachers say their students' writing has really flourished. For herself, Hoopes enjoys working with children because they enhance her understanding of her own work.
Hoopes is also the author of childrens' books, such as Wing-a-Ding and The Unbeatable Bread, and has recently had a poem published in a collection titled Sky Magic. For more information about Hoopes, her works, and her workshops, visit her website.
