50 Ways to Celebrate Poetry Month

National Poetry Month comes around every April and is an excellent opportunity to blend what students already know with the rich, educational history of poetry. While some students may balk at the classic poems, once you bridge the gap between then and now students will embrace the art of poetry.

Plus, once students see the easy connections between their world and that of poets from the past, they'll be more comfortable expressing themselves in poems of their own creation. Let's look at 50 ways to celebrate Poetry Month!

Start with a Focus on Poems

• Start a Poetry Journal - Make poetry journals with blank or lined paper and a cover folded over and stapled for each student (or create an online version). Then, every day of Poetry Month, give them a prompt or a poetic style and allow them the opportunity to write and experience poetry themselves. For the first few days or week, you may just want to let them use free verse or free form poetry to get comfortable.
• Nursery Rhymes - The nursery rhymes we sang as children are mostly written in poetic verse! Study them as an easy entry point into poetry.
• Start with Songs - Almost everyone loves music, and while their tastes will vary, one thing will be consistent: lyrics. All songs have some form of lyrical structure. Start Poetry Month by studying songs that students like, dissecting the lyric form, and showing how similar lyrics are to poetry.
• Poetry and Nature - Many poems are a true celebration of nature and the beauty all around us. Look at examples of poetry that focus on the natural world (such as poems by William Wordsworth) and give students the opportunity to write their own poem about seasons, nature, or something outdoors that moves them.