April is National Poetry Month. In 2020, I reached out to current and past students to ask if they would join me in sharing a poem with me. After the reading, I asked them to give me their analysis and then explain why they picked this particular poem. I had a variety of answers to why they picked their poem.
A few reasons students find a love for a poem:
- Love the poet
- Relate to the theme
- Part of Nostalgia
- Like the message
- Student wrote it
Shakespeare Garden
I have been thinking about new ways to celebrate and/or teach poetry. Recently, I visited Walt Disney World (BIG SURPRISE!). It was the Flower and Garden Festival. All across EPCOT, the guests could enjoy the topiary of characters and the bright spring colors across the landscape. As I explored the United Kingdom pavilion, I was struck with excitement at seeing the Shakespeare Garden.
Shakespeare’s plays are written in verse, so we could easily use lines for a poetry lesson. Disney placed quotes and/or information around the garden near the symbolic or scenic flowers.
Poetry Lesson Plan
Similar to the way Disney did for me, let’s encourage students to start finding poetry around them, observe their surroundings more closely, and pay attention to the details that they might have missed before. If you live in an area like I do where the spring weather has been pleasurable, take the opportunity to get the class outside and explore the school grounds for poetic inspiration. You could also have students share a picture that is digital or printed and have their peers find a poem or verse that would go with the visual.
Depending on the age of your students, it might be cool to challenge them to create Instagram posts (whether real or pretend) of pictures they take with captions to verses from poetry. Tell them to use #nationalpoetrymonth.
Finding Poetry All Around Us
Poetry can be found all around us if we look closely enough. It can be found in nature, in our daily lives, and even in the most mundane things. You can find poetry in a sunset, a flower blooming, or even in the way someone speaks.
Here’s to hoping you take time, especially at this time of the school year, to find poetry around you.
See You Real Soon,
Erin
COME JOIN ME AND OTHER FUN, INNOVATIVE EDUCATORS THIS SUMMER IN ORLANDO, FL
You can come look for the poetry in the parks for a lesson!
I am in education. I love working with students and sharing a passion for learning. I need time for problem-solving and decision making. I’m looking to build on my professional career and/or pedagogy. I want to network with other teachers to find a community of support.