National Poetry Month, K-12

http://www.poets.org/index.php
National Poetry Month brings together literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its important place in American culture.
Check out this year’s programs:
Poem In Your Pocket Day: Join thousands of individuals across the U.S. by carrying a poem in your pocket on April 30, 2009.
Poetry & the Creative Mind: Check out this celebration of American poetry.
Free Verse Photo Competition: Capture and share bits of verse for a chance to win prizes.
Poem-A-Day: Great poems from new books emailed each day of National Poetry Month. Sign up for a daily dose of new poems from new spring poetry titles.
Spring Book List: Check out the new books of poetry available each spring.
National Poetry Map: Find out what is happening in Iowa by visiting the redesigned and updated National Poetry Map.
National Poetry Month poster: To request copies of posters, use the online order form. To view images of all our posters, old and new, visit the National Poetry Month poster gallery.

Additional Resources from Poets.org
Teacher Resources
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/103
Creative and inexpensive suggestions for making poetry a more important part of school life during April and throughout the year.
Teacher Librarian Resources
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/102
Low cost suggestions to develop greater visibility for poetry during April and throughout the year.
Poetry Read-A-Thon
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/318
Instructions for motivating students to enjoy poetry in the classroom are featured. The goal is to celebrate the reading of poems and writing about poems as well as to facilitate the development of student writing and comprehension skills. Students choose poems to read and then write prose “responses” to the poems they read. A response can be 75-100 words and students can respond to one or two of the following elements of the poem:
• images of the poem
• sounds of the poem
• subject(s) of the poem
• emotional effect(s) of the poem
• the poem’s meaning(s)
• questions about the poem
• questions the student would like to ask, if he/she could speak to the poet
30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/94
Features a month’s worth of poetry activities that any community can take part in.
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http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/22
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