Shel Silverstien was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois
At different points in his life Shel Silverstien worked as a(n)...
Silverstein has published in various genres throughout his diverse career, but his short children's books and poetry collections are likely to be most useful in the elementary classroom!
12 Great Silverstien Books
Every Thing On It
Falling Up
A Giraffe and a Half
Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back
A Light in the Attic
The Mising Piece
The Missing Piece Meets the Big O
Runny Babbit
The Giving Tree
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?
Don’t Bump the Glump!
“There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermind wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.”
Silverstein’s poetry is categorized as children's literature, but...
Others find his poetry to be appropriate for children but believe it consistently contains deeper, darker subtext than what is within a child's realm of understanding
Keep this conflict in mind if you choose to use Shel Silverstien texts in your future classroom.
Shel Silverstein’s official website, The World of Shel Silverstein, is a great place to start planning how you will use his texts in your classroom.
. An (almost) overwhelming number of free resources ranging from simple poetry printables to mini lessons/class activities relating to specific books or poems.
Online games and puzzles that encourage creativity in poetry are also available at http://www.shelsilverstein.com/play.asp. Try sending home the link so students with computer access can play with words in their free time!
If you really want to make sure reading texts by Shel Silverstein is a memorable part of the school year consider hosting an event to celebrate Poetry Month. The guide for teachers and librarians includes a choice of four free and unique event kits that include everything you need to host a “Shelebration” at your school.
Poetry is included in both the “Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text” and the “Writing/Literary Texts” sections of the TEKS standards for grades K-5. Shel Silverstein is a great resource as his work is diverse enough to teach a variety of poetry concepts.
(cc) image by nuonsolarteam on Flickr
Singer-Songwriter
Spark
Cartoonist
Silverstein is well known for his
bizarre,
somewhat-morbid
Poet
illustrations
"My Beard"
Musician
My beard grows down to my toes,
I never wears no clothes,
I wraps my hair
Around my bare,
And down the road I goes.
Composer
Author
Screenwriter
Illustrator
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Shel
Silverstein
Silverstien started writing and drawing in his early teens because, according to him, he was not very athletic or popular with girls.
Silverstein died May 1999 at the age of 68 but his work continues to be widely read and celebrated in classrooms across the world.
Some parents and teachers believe certain children's Silverstein poems and/or illustrations to be inappropriate for the audience they were intended.
"Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before."
-Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein is a great author to introduce to your class no matter the grade you teach!