poems for a teacher

The Bill Martin Jr. Award, which is the Kansas state award for best children's picture book, was established in his honor in 1996.



Thanks for being my teacher.

Martin was born and raised in Hiawatha, Kansas. His father was a paperhanger and his mother a housewife; he was one of 5 brothers. He had difficulty reading until he went to college, at the Kansas State Teacher's College in Emporia, Kansas. There he memorized poems that a teacher read aloud in class, and was then able to relate the words to what was on the page. Enthusiastic about helping other children learn to read by "[having] language inside of themselves," he went on to earn a doctorate in early childhood education from Northwestern University in 1961.



Scholastic Poetry

After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Martin taught journalism, drama, and English at high schools in Newton and St. John, Kansas.





Some of the teaching tools


teacher poems


Dan wrote some great poetry


Special Teacher Pin \x26amp; Prayer


Below are some poems and words


Teacher Poems


those poems, the teachers


Student Poem for Teacher