Jeff Nathan, award-winning children’s author and creator of PunOETRY™ has a unique set of hysterically entertaining children’s assemblies that focus on EDUCATION THROUGH HUMOR. A few years ago, he added a new assembly to help 4th graders laugh their way toward improved MCAS (Massachusetts standardized testing) scores. Children, while learning poetry and language arts lessons from a different angle, saw these new educational adventures as “hilarious” and “fun” while teachers were “very impressed" by the way he "motivates," "teaches," "entertains” and "inspires" kids. The same LA concepts are tested across the country and his entertaining educational sessions, having blossomed in content, popularity, and grade-level offering,
Here are some articles about Jeff Nathan:
Rhyme and Reason at Center School - Categories: Mattapoisett - admin @ 07:32:53 pm 01/09/07
Children's author and humorist Jeff Nathan entertained an enthusiastic audience of students at Center School on Tuesday morning, January 9. Designed to help students develop an ear for poetry and puns, Mr. Nathan's interactive and educational assemblies had students in grades Kindergarten through Grade 3 laughing, singing and reciting poetry for most of the morning.
Mr. Nathan is the author of several published children's books including There's a Hippo in My Locker, Calling All Animals and Oh My Darling Porcupine. He refers to his work as "PunOETRY" and has developed the assemblies to help students learn to appreciate word play and also prepare for the kinds of questions asked on the third grade MCAS tests. "Poetry Can Be Fun" and "Learning Language Arts Through Humor" were two programs presented in the morning which were followed by afternoon classroom visits with the author.
During "Poetry Can Be Fun," Mr. Nathan reviewed well-known nursery rhymes with kids in Grades K-2. He then showed students how he rewrote them so that the poems would have a completely different outcome. "Just changing one or two words can make the poem completely different," he said, reciting his rendition of "Humpty Dumpty" which turned the famous giant egg into an omelet for "all the king's horses and all the king's men."
"The kids loved it," said Courtney Olson, Kindergarten teacher at Center School. Ms. Olson said that her students particularly loved the baseball skit where Mr. Nathan's version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," turned into a young kid's plea to the coach to "Take Me Out of the Ball Game." The "Poetry Can Be Fun" session closed with an affirming poem about being scared of the dark, a reality that Mr. Nathan assured the children many people -- even adults -- suffer from.
Third graders participated in the program called "Learning Language Arts Through Humor" which helps students to develop the ability to comprehend poetry and understand parts of speech, rhyming, and pluralizing which are all components of the third grade MCAS testing.
Rachel Deery, co-chairman of the Mattapoisett Parents-Teachers Association's (PTA) Arts and Humanities Committee, said the PTA had been looking for a poetry presenter and found Mr. Nathan through an arts agency which directed the committee to his website.
"I thought he had a lot of energy," said Ms. Deery. "The silly aspects of it were perfect for the younger audiences and he gave a more academic performance for the third graders. Words are things that kids can have fun with and he made poetry accessible to the students."
Mr. Nathan said he started conducting the assemblies several years ago as a by-product of helping his own children to develop an ear for music and language.
"In my fifteen years of teaching, I have never seen a performer like Jeff Nathan. In addition to being captivatingly funny, musical, and whimsical, he provides curriculum-tied educational content in a multi-sensory format that makes poetry accessible to all children. If you only have one author visit your school, this is the one to get."
Kathleen Holland Literacy Specialist Lynch Elementary School Winchester, MA
"I can honestly say that this was one of the best assemblies that we have had in recent years...Jeff was here for the whole day and was well worth the reasonable fee he charged. He did three separate group assemblies for different age groups and also visited three fourth grade classes. The group assemblies were very age appropriate and humorous. He talked about the elements of poetry, ideas to begin the writing process, and specific elements like similes and metaphors. I highly recommend you consider hiring Jeff Nathan to do an assembly at your school..."
Jenifer Bell Grade 4 Teacher and PTG President, Rindge Memorial School, Rindge, NH
“Your program was truly wonderful. The students were engaged and incredibly interested in your presentation. They were with you for the entire program. The fact that you had such a diverse presentation meant that they were entertained and they were challenged to participate. I thought your demonstration was refreshing and fun. You embedded the educational skills within a spirited delivery. Thank you for your energy. I appreciate your effort and time."
Karen Kosko The Haggerty School Library Media Specialist, Cambridge, MA