30 Links for National Poetry Month
Sunday, March 29th, 2009 | Author:

165235_sApril is National Poetry Month, but of course we all know that poetry units are taught throughout the year. I have gathered poetry-related links to help you and your students celebrate April and prose.

FUN RHYMING & POETRY SITES FOR YOUNG STUDENTS

  • Reubus Rhymes – rhymes on this Enhanted Learning page are listed by title and by the first line of the featured rhyme
  • Mama Lisa’s – the author of this site has posted nursery rhymes that feature cute illustrations, poetry for young students, and kids songs from around the globe
  • Silly Stories – students will enjoy the silly poems and colorful illustrations found at this site
  • Sunnie BunnieZZ Poetry – site features a vast number of poems for young students categorized by season, topic, etc.
  • Giggle Poetry – site features a number of silly poems that would have great kid appeal
  • Poetry4Kids.com – “Funny poems and poetry books, games, contests, lessons, discussion forums, and journals, plus a rhyming dictionary, streaming audio, school visit information and more.”

    • POETRY FOR OLDER STUDENTS

  • Favorite Poem Project – a collection of 50 short video documentaries showcases individual Americans reading and speaking personally about poems they love.
  • William Shakespeare Poems – the title says it all.
  • All the Top Poetry News – an excellent site to explore
  • The Poetry Archive – “…the world’s premier online collection of recordings of poets reading their work.”
  • How To Write A Twitter Poem – blogger Allen Taylor shares this strategy on his World Class Poetry Blog. You will find a lot of poetry content on this blog!
  • Poetry Pages of the Atlantic Monthly – Listen to poems read aloud by their authors and look through articles and wesites about a variety of poetic topics.

    • POETRY LESSON PLANS

  • 30 Day of Poetry – access a collection of thirty different lesson plans. Each lesson has a format and/or template that students can use to experiment with as they “discover” the joys of creative writing. These lessons are geared to younger students.
  • Poetry Study Unit – while many of you include poetry in units you teach throughout the year I thought you might appreciate this suggestion for a Poetry Study that incorporates different poetry experiences that include a poetry journal, conducting oral readings, participating in sound experiments and more. Suggestions found at the site are geared toward students grades 6-9.
  • Ideas for Writing Poetry in the Classroom – there are some great ideas for teaching poetry that include the Acrostic format, instructions for Sixers, Object poems, Chant poems, and more.
  • Writing Poetry – Scholastic has posted a site geared to upper elementary students that features poet Karla Kuskin. Students will follow the online guidelines and samples to learn how to write their own descriptive poem.
  • Poetryclass – this site “is the solution for teachers wanting to bring poetry alive in the classroom. The online poetry classroom and unique INSET training provides teachers with a ‘nuts and bolts’ insight into how poetry works.”
  • Poetry Teachers – Examples of all sorts of poetry and ideas for how to teach poetry. This site features many follow-up ideas and activities that support the lessons.
  • Letter Poems – “This is Just to Say” and “Dear Gramma” are the two poems analyzed and exemplified here for students in grades 3-5. Students will try writing their own versions of these poems, with sample lists, poetry elements, and graphic organizers all included in the lesson plan.
  • How to Teach Poetry – Not all high school students respond well to poetry instruction (as many of you know). This site offers teachers a wealth of resources, from teaching ideas and tips to curriculum units, with resource centers and standards links included.

    • MISCELLANEOUS

  • The Line Break Explorer – The Line Break Explorer highlights the key considerations that come into play when making line breaks for the poem “Bubbles”; then the tool provides students the opportunity to try rearranging line breaks in two poems. Similar to magnetic poetry, this site encourages experimentation.
  • Magenetic Poetry – Try to make a sentence from the words that are provided by clicking, dragging, and arranging words.
  • Magnetic Poetry – Arrange the magnet word tiles for hours of fun!
  • Instant Poetry Forms – Choose a poetry form from the list of links; then, just add words to make the poem your own.
  • Poem Generator – Choose one of the sample sets of words and sentence patterns, or enter your own words and sentence patterns.
  • Diamante Poem Generator – create a poem in the shape of a diamond using this cool online tool.
  • Letter Poem Creator – “The Letter Poem Creator provides an online model for the thought process involved in creating poems based upon a letter; then, students are invited to experiment with letter poems independently.”
  • Riddle Interactive – “The Riddle Interactive outlines the characteristics of riddle poems and provides direct instruction on the prewriting and drafting process for writing original riddle poems.”
  • Shape Poems – “In this online tool, elementary students can write poems about shapes in four different themes: Nature, School, Sports, and Celebrations. Elements of the writing process are also included.”
  • Acrostic Poems Generator – “This online tool enables students to learn about and write acrostic poems. Elements of the writing process are also included.”

    • The following video features a poem about eBay, Friendster and Monster.com that received a standing ovation at the TED’s Conference. Enjoy Rives’ unique talent as recites his 3 minute poem (please review to be sure it is appropriate for your students…it’s a bit pithy…maybe even for older students, but I certainly did enjoy it )…


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