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After-School Poetry
Clubs
Help students organize a club that meets
regularly to share and write poetry. Great sites to host poetry
clubs: school libraries, community libraries, and bookstores. |
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Anthologize
Explain to students that the original definition of anthology
is "a gathering of flowers." Have students compile either classroom or
individual anthologies of favorite poems. This project will be even
more meaningful if students write a personal introduction explaining
their theme and why they chose particular poems. (The introductions
Naomi Shihab Nye has written for her various anthologies would serve
as excellent models for upper-grade students.) |
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Around the World with
Poetry
Use push pins on a world map to
locate the origin of poets students have read or studied. |
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Balloon Poems
Read and write poems about
balloons. Send students home with a poem inside a balloon to share
with family members. |
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Billboard Poetry
Several years ago, sixty
billboards in the Los Angeles area featured something new—lines of
poetry instead of advertising! Students could adapt this idea and
place "poetry billboards" (anonymously, of course—that would be half
the fun!) around the school, library or bookstore. |
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Cookie Poems
Wrap a cookie up with a copy of Vachel
Lindsay's poem,
"The Moon is the North Wind's Cookie." Invite students to write
their own poems about the moon, or cookies! (Anita Wintz) |
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Fold a Poem Fold an origami creature and write a poem
on your creation. Display or give as a gift. See
FOLD ME A POEM. |
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Gift Wrap Poems
Wrap individual poems as gifts
and have a gift exchange. |
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Basket-of-Poems
Keep a basket of poems handy in
classrooms, libraries, or bookstores for quiet times.
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Coffee House Poetry
Organize a poetry reading
complete with microphone and hot cocoa. Great sites for poetry
readings: schools, libraries, and bookstores. |
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Fabulous First Lines
Design a bulletin board, paint
T-shirts, or build a mobile featuring evocative and intriguing first
lines from poems. (Such as: I can fly, of course…) (Bee
Cullinan) |
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Flashlight Poetry
There's something special
about listening to poetry in the dark. Dim the lights then read poems
about candles, flashlights, stars, or even that crack of light beneath
the bedroom door. See
Flashlight Poems in the Teachers' Guide for
TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: Camping Poems. |
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Haiku Fortune Cookies
compliments of
Esmé
Raji Codell
of
PlanetEsmé. (Just reading the recipe will make you smile!) |
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Hats! Hats! Hats!
Fill a shopping
bag full of old hats. Let every child choose a hat. Read "A Flower
Pot is Not a Hat" by Martha Moffett, "Ho for a Hat" by William Jay
Smith, and
"The
Quangle Wangle's Hat" by Edward Lear. Use rain hats, fur hats,
sports caps, straw sun hats, etc. as props. |
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Invite Local Poets or
Poetry Lovers to share their
favorite poetry. There is nothing like a "live" reading! |
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Listening Center Poems
Encourage students to record
their favorite poems for the Listening Center. See
Poetry Aloud for audio clips of
poems. |
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Loan-a-Poem
Favorite poems are laminated and
posted with Velcro™ at a "child's-eye" level outside Shoshy Starr's
Lilja School classroom in Natick, MA. Students from other classes stop
to read and are welcome to "borrow" poems to share with friends and
classmates. |
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Morning
Announcements Invite a
student or staff member to read a poem during morning announcements.
(Pat Spielbauer) |
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Music and Poetry
When I read my poem "Music Class"
from The Great Frog Race to children, I pass out triangles,
maracas, silver bells, and a tambourine. Many poems have a musical
"theme" and having a few simple instruments on hand will make reading
these poems a special treat. Organize a poetry event with a musical
theme. (See Poetry Aloud to
hear poems from HUMMINGBIRD NEST set to music.) |
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Nursery Rhyme Writers
Older students can write original
nursery rhymes and make a book to share with Kindergarten classes. |
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Pocket Poems
Have students carry (and be
prepared to share) a poem on a specific day. Students visiting a
library or bookstore who have a "poem in their pocket" could be
presented with a small gift such as a bookmark. |
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Poet Minstrels
Invite students
to stroll from class to class reading poetry. Include a strolling
minstrel at a library or bookstore event. (Those poetry lovers at
Adventures for Kids in Ventura, CA have been known to wander the
aisles reciting Edward Lear's "O' Frabjous Day!") |
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Poetry n' Punch
Invite parents, grandparents, and
friends to a Poetry n' Punch celebration like the one at
Babbitt-Embarrass Elementary in Babbitt, Minnesota. Have students
memorize a poem and choose props and costumes to complement their
selection. Using the microphone on the stage and a contest with
trophies and ribbons adds to the celebration. (Betty Klemensich, 3rd
Grade Teacher, Babbitt-Embarrass Elementary, Babbitt, MN) |
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Poetry Posters
Cover a large table with paper and have students write poems on
it. Finished poster could then be used as a large wall display. (Edith
M. Fuller, Librarian, Portland, OR) |
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Poetry Survey
Have students poll teachers and
family members (especially older members) for memories about their
favorite poems and report back to the class. Works well with "family
history" projects. (Margaret, Nashville, TN) |
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Poetry Trail
Student groups in
Barren County Middle School, in Glasgow, Kentucky
memorized a poem and prepared for a performance using props and
costumes. On the day of the "poetry trail" student groups were posted
across campus. As students followed the "poetry trial" they stopped at
each group to hear the poem performed such as the student group
playing basketball who performed a poem about basketball. |
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Poetree
Use ribbon to tie poems to the branches
of a tree. Display your "poet-tree" during Arbor Day or Earth Day.
Write a Tree-ific Poem to your favorite tree. See
OLD ELM SPEAKS TREE POEMS. |
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Poetry Safari
Cut out or draw pictures of
animals and find a poem about each animal. Arrange poems and pictures
on a bulletin board for a catchy display. |
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Postcard Poems
Students can mail poems to their
classmates or exchange poems with another class. |
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Post-it™ Poems
Each day, give a different student an
opportunity to find and bookmark a favorite poem from your classroom
collection. Then read the selected poem to the class. (Teresa Gibbons,
4th grade teacher) |
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Random Acts of Poetry
Random Acts of Poetry is just one
of many creative ways librarians Gail Bush and Andrea Hynes connect
students and school staff to poetry! Share a poem you love with a
student, fellow teacher, your family. |
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Scavenger Hunt
Build a display of ordinary items
featured in poems—balloons, kites, monkey wrenches, paperclips,
shoes—have students find poems featuring the objects. |
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Secret Pal Poems
Have students find and share
poems that a secret pal would enjoy based on the pal's interests. |
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Secret Notes
Invite
students to leave letters or
secret notes inside poetry books they loved that tell another kid why
they should read the book. (Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, poet) |
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Sponsor a Favorite
Poem Project
Check out this link for
everything you'll need to plan a successful event for a community,
school, library, or bookstore:
Favorite Poem
Project. |
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T-shirt Poems
Students decorate T-shirts with
lines of poetry or names of poets. |
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Theatrical Touches
A few simple
"props" such as a cape, hat, mask, etc., can spice up a poetry
reading. |
