In honor of National Poetry Month, students across the country have been writing away and learning about poetry. Teachers, for continued inspiration to have your students keep on writing and an opportunity to be published on www.poets.org, you should definitely know about this great curriculum from the Academy of American Poets.
From the organization behind National Poetry Month, Poet-to-Poet is a multimedia experience with poetry that has activities you can use in sequence or integrate whenever appropriate. And one of the coolest parts, there are videos of famous and incredibly accomplished poets reading their poems. They are perfect for students to view, study and respond to in their own unique way.
After all of this and the other wonderful activities I'm sure your students have participated in this month, there is no doubt in my mind that there are student poems worthy of publication on poets.org! Encourage your students to submit to the Academy and don't forget, all of those poems would be great for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards too! They will open again for submissions this fall and for aspiring poets there is another opportunity embedded in the Scholastic Awards. If you win a Scholastic Award in poetry on the national level, you'll be considered for the National Student Poets Program, the nation's highest honor for young poets presenting original work. I've had the pleasure of meeting the current class and they are excellent proof that poetry is alive and well among teens. I look forward to being continually inspired by future classes.
Keep on writing!
Photo courtesy of the Academy of American Poets
