National Poetry Month and Week-April

April is National Poetry Month!

The initiative was established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 as a month-long, national celebration of poetry. It is a time to celebrate poets and their craft. Various events are held throughout the month by the Academy of American Poets and other poetry organizations. It is a great time to explore the world of words with your kids! Introduce your students to a variety of poetic forms. Assign one or two students each day as “poet of the day” for the month of April. Then provide students with several models for creating different forms of poetry. Have each student select one form of poetry and write an original poem and illustrate. Assign a day and have students read their poetry out loud to the class.

"National Poetry Month (NPM) brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture." Visit the Academy of American Poets for more information. Scholastic features wonderful resources and activities here. Education Oasis's article, "Painlessly Bringing Poetry into Your Classroom includes a list of activities. Interested in combining technology and poetry? Check out "Creating Poetry Videos."

Young People's Poetry Week. April 14-20. Sponsored by the Children's Book Council, in collaboration with the American Academy of Poets and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Visit the following sites for more information, activities, and resources:
Academy of American PoetsThe Center for the Book Children's Book Council

Taken from: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/k%5F2theme/poetry.htm National Poetry Month Ideas
http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/worldpoetry.php Poetry Theme Unit
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=478 World of Words
http://farmschool.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/national-poetry-month-2009-essential-pleasures/ Blog Resources
http://www.squidoo.com/national-poetry-month-april Ways to Celebrate American National Poetry Month

http://geocities.com/mrsjacksonsclass/ See All of the Poetry Pages & Resources

Education World editors have gathered poetry resources from their archive to help teachers everywhere celebrate National Poetry Month. Below you will find the following archived resources on their site:
Poetry Lesson Plans
Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans
More Poetry Activities and Projects
Poetry Articles and Resources

Taken from:http://www.education-world.com/a_special/poetrymonth.shtml
Taken from: image © 2009 by The Academy of American Poets
Taken from: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/k%5F2theme/poetry.htm