"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." – W.H. Auden
Increase your student's love of literature and appreciation for poetry with these helpful resources for National Poetry Month this April. From Chaucer to Shakespeare, haikus to sonnets, and metaphors to meters, these handy poetry websites include information and activities that make learning poetry fun.
Academy of American Poets – Find poems, a poetry book list, mobile apps, a poetry map, and a poetry read-a-thon. Plus, sign up to receive a daily poem via email.
Scholastic – Great for parents and teachers, this website has a plethora of resources from writing workshops and author videos to PDF activities and poetry prompt ideas.
The Poetry Foundation – Download a free poetry app for your phone (or your student's), so you can take poems with you wherever you are! The app search function works with poetry lines and also finds poems by mood.
ReadWriteThink – Help your student be creative with this interactive poetry tool that lets your student pick words or phrases out of a poem and create a new poem. (Adobe Shockwave required.)
In addition to using these websites, here are a few ideas you can use to encourage the application of poetry daily and promote literary creativity in your student:
• Incorporate poetry into your student's English lessons, reading time, writing assignments, and personal journaling. Also, encourage your students to share their work with their teachers.
• Build your student's analytical abilities and examine a famous poem together, including its meaning, rhyming pattern, and the author's word choices.
• Take a trip to a local museum, art gallery, concert, or theater. Then, have your student write a poem about something he saw, heard, or felt.
As a parent, how do you encourage your student to read or write poetry?