Poetry Resources for National Poetry Month
Materials for Teaching Poetry Appreciation
April is National Poetry Month—inaugurated in April 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. To celebrate the occasion, we have selected some Web resources to help you and your students learn more about reading, writing, and appreciating poetry.
To set the mood—for April and for poetry—here's a stanza from Robert Frost's poem "Two Tramps in Mud Time" (1936):
The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.
—Robert Frost
Lesson Plans & Materials
Poets & Poetry Video Biographies
Annenberg Media's "Voices & Visions" is a great way to learn about the most influential American poets and poetry. Hour-long biographies highlight the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, William Carlos Williams, and nine other renowned poets.
http://www.learner.org/resources/series57.html
See the "Spotlight on Voices & Visions" Web site for brief videoclips from the series and links to extend the learning.
http://www.learner.org/catalog/extras/vvspot/
Turn Your Students Into Well-Versed Poets
More than 20 poetry lesson plans to help teachers integrate poetry into their classrooms and develop "well-versed" students. (Education World)
http://www.nea.org/lessons/2004/tt040419.html
Stage a Poetry Slam!
Students could participate in a classroom or school-wide poetry slam. These lesson plans for grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 include national standards. (Education World)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/02/lp262-04.shtml
Teach Now! National Poetry Month
Ideas for teaching poetry to your PreK-8 students. (Scholastic)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/k_2theme/poetry.htm
National Poetry Month
On this Web site, you’ll find quizzes, quotations, poetry terms, and more. (Infoplease.com)
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/pmonth1.html
The Academy of American Poets – National Poetry Month
Check out this site for a poetcast, a poem a day, and poetry events, and much more.
http://www.poets.org/
Poets Laureate of the USA
An annotated list of Poets Laureate in the United States, with biographical information and sample poems. (From Bob Holman and Margery Snyder)
http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/bllaureates.htm
Methods of Teaching Poetry
Book Chapters for Browsing and Purchasing Online
Stenhouse lets you browse through their books online before you purchase them. Check out these two books with chapters on teaching poetry. You may find one or both worth purchasing.
Teeth, Wiggly as Earthquakes
In this book, you will find two chapters, "What Is a Poem?" and "Group Poems," for teaching poetry in the primary grades.
http://www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=87&idproduct=323
Writing Anchors
Here you will find "Writing Poetry," a chapter that includes 14 lessons for teaching specific skills for writing poetry.
http://www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/ viewPrd.asp?idProduct=8932
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