April is National Poetry Month

The Poetry Maker Space in the Learning Commons has lots of activities students can do independently and in small groups, or you sign up to bring your whole class. Please stop by to get Poetry Passes for your student and see what times are convenient for them to stop by. This could be a reward for students that finish their work early or a way to recognize students that are able to follow classroom expectations and are able to work independently. Students that come independently should be able to read directions and work on their own. Some activities will require use of an iPad. Here are the activity choices:

1. Create and decorate a pocket for Poem in Your Pocket Day. Choose some poems to fill your pocket.
2. Choose from a selection of poems to illustrate.
3. Record the poem you illustrated for a school poetry book.
4. Create your own mini poetry book filled with short classic poems that are copyright free.
5. Listen to poems from recommended websites.
6. Write, illustrate, and record your own Haiku.
7. Write, illustrate, and record your own Limerick.
8. Write, illustrate, and record your own Acrostic.
9. Write, illustrate, and record your own Black Out Poem

Even the youngest students like to perform simple poems. Take a look at Shel Silverstein's website for the poem, Eight Balloons. Also check out Giggle Poetry in their Poetry Theater section for poems that are suitable for performing. They also have a lesson on performance poetry. A great way to showcase student performances is to have a cafe style poetry slam. If you are interested let me know and we can plan an event in the learning commons.

There are various national competitions for performance poetry. These will give you an idea of what performance poetry is. Some of them are a little intense so preview them to make sure they are appropriate for your grade level.

The Spider and the Fly is a great read aloud. There are some other classic poets here as well.

This playlist has information about how to write poetry. Brain Pop has a video about poetry and another about simile and metaphor. Brain Pop Jr. has a video about Poems.

Our school library has an excellent collection of children's poetry. We have Paul Janeczco's, "A Kick in the Head; An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms" It includes samples of almost 30 different kinds of poetry with information about how to write each style.

Also in our library by Paul Janeczko, "A Poke In the Eye; a Collection of Concrete Poems. 

Joyce Sidman has a wonderful collection of children's nature themed poetry books. Most of them have a poem on one side of the two page spread and information about the animal on the other. We have many of them in the library including:

 Sidman's newest book, Round, which we don't have yet, is all about, you've got it, round things in nature. It came out in March and has already received rave reviews. I can't wait to see it! We will order it for fall.

Online Resources:

• StoryNory has a great collection of poetry read alouds. These are audio only so they are a great way to build on listening skills. Listen to a poem one time through, then listen a second time and draw pictures to illustrate. 
• Poetry Zone is from the UK. They publish poems written by kids so it's a great resource for student work and a great place for aspiring poets to get published.
• Poetry4Kids has a rhyming dictionary, Poetry Podcasts, Poetry Lessons, Poetry Games, and of course, Poems!
• Poem in Your Pocket Day from Poets.org.
• Giggle Poetry is a poetry activity site for kids. Poetry Class includes poetry lessons. Poetry Fun has tongue twisters and riddles. 
• Ogden Nash
• Limericks