Students read one of Dunbar's most famous poems and explore how critical excerpts shape their understanding.
Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar was born today in 1872.
United States Congress officially adopted the position of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry in 1985.
Students investigate the website of a past Poet Laureate's project and use it as a model to celebrate poetry that appeals most to them.
Music in Our Schools Month is in March.
Students explore the effects of music on a story by reading a story, novel, or play, viewing the musical version, and comparing the two. Students can then select a text read in class and create a musical adaptation.
Today, the American Library Association announces its annual book award winners.
Students research different awards given by the ALA and do an activity based on one of the awards.
William Carlos Williams was born in 1883.
Students write imitation poems, review grammatical structures, and use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press or Stapleless Book to publish their finished work.
In 1952, Paul Fleischman was born on this day.
Some of Fleishman's memories in his essay "My House of Voices" are shared with the class. Students then write a descriptive essay that gives a tour of the voices in their homes, school, etc.
Write Theme Poems
Use shape and theme poems, or poems that look like the things they describe, as a fun way to introduce children to poetry.
Add Seasons to Rhyming Poems and Songs
Choose favorite rhyming songs or nursery rhymes then replace the rhyming words with seasonal themes.
Make a Magnetic Poetry Set
Let children practice using different types of words in a fill-in-the-blank-story game before making their own word list for a magnetic poetry set.
Become a Young Archaeologist
Want to visit a museum without leaving your computer? Virtually dig for famous historical artifacts from around the world found in the British Museum.
Follow the Word Trail: Organize a Treasure Hunt
Create a treasure hunt out of word-puzzle clues hidden around the home or yard.
Send a Smile: Make a Card for a Special Occasion
Everyone loves getting a greeting card, especially if it's homemade. Make a funny or thoughtful greeting card or invitation with pictures and a poem, joke, or riddle.
Special Memories & Significant Moments: Making an Electronic Scrapbook
Using a variety of artifacts, mementos, and technologies, teens can create an electronic scrapbook of their most important moments in high school.
Telling Good from Bad in Movies and Television
In this activity, you can discuss with teens how they can tell the "good" characters from the "bad" ones by watching for clues that the movie makers have left.
Finding Poetry in Pleasure Reading
After reading a book or magazine, children and teens can choose a section and transform it into what's known as a "found poem."
Have You Seen the Movie Yet?
Before seeing a film based on a book, classic or contemporary, children can learn about filmmaking and create their own scenes based on their favorite moments from the book.
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was published in 1974.
Students are introduced to a Silverstein verse and asked for their impressions. They then draw that they imagine when they read one of his lines and then write a line or two to continue the passage.
Richard Wright was born in 1908.
Students read an appropriate excerpt from Black Boy, discuss the incident in which Richard gets into trouble, and write found poems.
Ernest Thayer, author of the famous poem "Casey at the Bat," was born in 1863.
In small groups or individually, students make baseball cards for the players in the poem "Casey at the Bat." Students can use a word processor or the Character Trading Cards interactive to create their cards.
Gary Soto, poet and children's writer, was born on this date in 1952.
Using one of Soto's stories, students take part in share stories about their families, describe their street/neighborhood, or compose an acrostic poem using the Acrostic Poems interactive tool.