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

NEA Lesson, Activities, Projects & Other Curriculum Resources
We have gathered a collection of resources that we hope will assist you in introducing students to the pleasure of reading poetry, helping them understand the achievements of American poets, and encouraging them to write an recite their own poetic masterpieces.
www.nea.org/lessons/poetry.html

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.
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.
www.learner.org/catalog/extras/vvspot/

Teach Now! National Poetry Month
Ideas for teaching poetry to your PreK-8 students. (Scholastic)
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)
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)
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.
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.
www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/ viewPrd.asp?idProduct=8932