Students celebrate the power of words by reading aloud to their classmates and spreading the word of global literacy to their friends and family.
Today is World Read Aloud Day.
Poet Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943.
Using the poem "My First Memory (of Librarians)," students connect memory, their senses, and the language of poetry.
Gwendolyn Brooks published Bronzeville Boys and Girls in 1956.
After students have read and discussed several poems from Brooks' collection, they create a poetry anthology for their own family, neighborhood, or classroom.
Poet and author Pat Mora was born on this day in 1942.
Students study and write extended metaphors through the use of Pat Mora's book.
Seamus Heaney was born on this day in 1939.
Students focus on the figurative language in Heaney's poem, "Digging," and discuss the speaker's attitude, and how metaphor, simile, and image contribute to the poem.
Poet Robert Frost was born in 1874.
Students celebrate Frost's birthday by exploring his innovation in the sonnet form by studying poems and presenting them to the class.
Valentine's Day is today!
Students find examples of figurative language and write an original example of each device, illustrate, and share them with the class.
Poet Robert Burns was born in 1759.
Students read examples of traditional Scottish ballads and use this information to write and perform their own ballads.
Langston Hughes was born in 1902.
Students examine the poem "Dreams" and identify metaphors in each sentence. Groups of students then compose poems with metaphors for dreams.
Poe's "The Raven" was published in 1845.
As Poe's "The Raven" is read aloud, students note their reactions and discuss the changes or development of their first impressions as the poem continues.
Today is Walt Whitman's birthday.
Students write and illustrate their own children's stories using the text from a Walt Whitman poem.
Newbery Medal winner Christopher Paul Curtis was born in 1953.
Students brainstorm a list of civil rights-related issues and use the Acrostic Poems interactive to create poems.
Poet Yusef Komunyakaa was born in 1947.
Students examine imagery in the work of Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa.
April is National Poetry Month!
Students are assigned to be "poets of the day" and are provided several models to create, illustrate, and present their different poems to the class.
In 1928, Maya Angelou was born.
After hearing Maya Angelou's poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," students infer information about the speaker and her feelings about America and reflect on how one's life and experiences can influence one's writing.
Poet Emily Dickinson was born in 1830.
Students discuss Dickinson's poem "This Is My Letter To The World" and use it to focus on how audience affects voice.
Poet William Blake was born in 1757.
As a class, students brainstorm abstract concepts and personify that concept through a drawing or story told about the character who personifies that concept.
Veterans Day is celebrated in the United States today.
Students write biographical poems about a soldier.
Black Poetry Day is celebrated.
Books and webpages are gathered that focus on the work of African American poets and students explore the resources and find a poem to contribute to a poetry reading.
Today is World Poetry Day.
Students read and respond to Billy Collins' poem "Introduction to Poetry." Students then write about a favorite poem and imagine the perfect way to read it.