Teachers: 7 Ways to Celebrate April's "National Poetry Month"

I believe, as Carl Sandburg did, that "Poetry is a packsack of invisible keepsakes." Students need to accumulate their own poetic keepsakes. The Academy of American Poets established "National Poetry Month" in 1996. This event causes schools, librarians, booksellers and organizations to band together, celebrating poetry's place in American culture. It's a great opportunity for teachers to inspire a love of poems. Celebrate "National Poetry Month" by incorporating activities into your language arts' classes.

Incorporate "Poem in Your Pocket" Day on April 14th

One day during "National Poetry Month" is dedicated to "Poem in Your Pocket." This idea originated in New York in 2002, but the Academy of American Poets took it nationally in 2009. Ask every individual in your school to carry a poem in his/her pocket all day. It can be written by the individual or his favorite poet. Share the poems with one another throughout the day. During lunch recess, award prizes randomly to students caught sharing their pocket poems.

Stage a Poetry Theater

PoetryTeacher,com offers several short poems that can be performed by students. Of course, they could also create their own. Divide the children into groups and assign each one a different poem to perform for the class. They will commit their lines to memory and can add some simple, suggested props for visual effects.

Write with the Writers

Scholastic's website introduces students to poets such as Jack Prelutsky. The author reads segments of his poems, and offers step-by-step guidelines and hints for writing poetry. Each segment ultimately culminates with the students being able to publish poetry online.

Order a Free Poster

The Academy of American Poets creates and distributes about 200,000 posters for "National Poetry Month" annually. Teachers can order free posters while they last. Click here for information.

Invite "Poets of the Day"

Assign each student one day to be the "guest poet" for the class. Bring in a special chair from home. Have the student sit in the chair and read some of his original poetry and famous favorites to the class. Display the students' poems prominently in the school.

Share Poetry with the Entire School

Given permission, have students post poems in unexpected places throughout the school, such as on bathroom mirrors or cafeteria tables, during "National Poetry Month." Allow various students to read their original or famous poems over the school's intercom at the beginning and/or end of each day in April.

Play a Rhyming Game

Students work with partners. Tell each pair to write one easy-to-rhyme, one-syllable word. Set a timer for 30 seconds. During that time, the pair goes back and forth, saying aloud and writing one-syllable words that rhyme. Set the timer two more times: now the words/phrases must be two-and then three or more syllables. (Adjust the number of required syllables to ability level.)

Example:
Word: bat
1-syllable: sat, splat, cat, fat
2-syllables: placemat, look at, ball bat, high hat
3+-syllables: alley cat, cowboy hat, Angora cat, animal fat

Now challenge the pair to write a poem, using their rhyming words. Students can read them orally to their classmates.
In order to jog their brains, tell students about the game a day ahead of time. They may even visit sties such as the RhymeZone to help them think about rhyming words.

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