Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Thousands of Teacher-reviewed Resources!

The Perfect Time for Poetry

In celebration of National Poetry Month (April), first introduced in 1996 as a way to increase appreciation and awareness of poetry in the US, and Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 18th) this week we feature poetry related resources for the classroom.

Grades K-12

TeachersFirst's Poetry Month Editor's Choice Resources

Try the Poetry Idea Generator, discover new rhymes at the Poem Farm or No Water River, and create poems using the word mover or Diamante Poems found in this curated collection of poetry resources.

Grades K-12

CurriConnects Booklist: Poets and Poetry

Connect poetry to all areas of your curriculum using this collection of books. Share poetry books, biographies of poets, and poets' books about writing to make poetry more approachable and enjoyable for readers of all interests.

Grades K-6

Poetry Read-alouds

Give poetry read-alouds center stage this month! Find fabulous poetry books (divided by age level) and activities for before, during, and after reading in this TeachersFirst exclusive selection.

Grades 5-12

Poem in Your Pocket

Dedicated to the annual Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 18th), this site provides background information about the day and ways to participate. Simply, grab a poem and carry it in your pocket. See poems shared by others on Twitter, #pocketpoem.

DIY Poetry

Honor poetry with this four-pack of tools to create a variety of poetry forms: Haiku, Limerick, Acrostic, Concrete, Shape, Cinquain, among others. 

Grades 4-12

Poem Generator

Follow the prompts to add a topic and words to include in your selected poem type: Concrete, Line by Line, Narrative Poem, Tanka, Acrostic, Limerick, Sonnet, Haiku, Free Verse, Didactic Cinquain, and others. Click the Write Me A Poem link when ready!

Grades K-4

Theme Poem Generator

Practice the basic steps of writing a poem with this fun tool that puts your nature, school, celebrations, and sports themed poems into a related shape. Simple to follow steps make this a winner for primary grade poets.

Grades K-5

Kids Magnetic Poetry Kit

Channel your inner poet with this interactive magnetic poetry kit! Drag words from the word bank onto the blank board to build poems. Click the More Words option to find additional words for use. When finished, save or share your creation.

Grades 4-12

Poetry Generators

Leverage your content by having students create a poem using one of these poetry generators. The site includes nearly 20 options: Haiku, Limerick, Acrostic, Rhyming Poem, poems for special events, and a tutorial to create a poem about yourself.

Motivate & Engage Secondary Students

Hook your secondary students into poetry with these sites that include word comics and cartoons; a search engine for finding poems, lyrics, and quotations; a community for teens to process their emotions and social issues; and a searchable collection of 300+ poems related to social issues that are important to teens. 

Grades 6-12

Poems = Word Comics

Connect older students (and visual thinkers) with poetry using this site filled with engaging comics and cartoons! Challenge students to create comic strips in which the art helps to convey the meaning of the lines of poetry.

Grades 6-12

Poem Hunter

Try your hand at this search engine (and more) to find poems, lyrics, and quotations. If you only know part of a poem or quotation, type it in the search box to find the original source from this collection of over 500 poets and poems.

Grades 8-12

Power Poetry

Visit this community where young people of all backgrounds come together to process their emotions using poetry. Find challenges to write about social issues and to write a poem in only 140 characters. There are also tips for writing FanFiction poetry.

Grades 10-12

The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database

Search a rich collection of poems, designed for sharing poetry by socially engaged poets. Topics cover a wide variety of themes including aging, economics, and environmental issues. Use the filters to search by format, language, and more.

This Week at TeachersFirst

Come learn about the benefits of TeachersFirst Membership (FREE) this Tuesday, 4/23. Now is also a great time for middle school science teachers to learn about MySciLife for next year -- attend our Jumpstart webinar Thursday, 4/25. We encourage you to visit our Infusing Technology blog for a recent post in honor of poetry month. And, we invite you to share your thoughts about poetry in your classroom in this week's poll.