National Poetry Month Highlights and End of the Year Resources

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend May 2016 National Poetry Month Favorites and More   In this May installment of our Educator Newsletter, we’re sharing highlights from National Poetry Month, as well as resources for the end of the school year, including a new lesson plan featuring a poem by Edward Hirsch.

Incredible Bridges: Featuring Edward Hirsch   This new lesson plan includes a video of Edward Hirsch reading his poem “Cotton Candy” and reminds us all of the special place older people hold in our lives. It’s part of the monthly series Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community, a project we developed in partnership with EDSITEment, the educational website of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  Take a look at a collection of "Classic Books of American Poetry." Browse a selection of William Shakespeare poems, books, and other resources. Read Denise Levertov's thoughts on the role of the poet in society. National Poetry Month Recap   National Poetry Month is an umbrella for many innovative and inspiring local celebrations of poetry, that, together, reach tens of millions of people. We commend all the schools, libraries, publishers, organizations, and poets that took time to promote poetry in their communities this past month. Take a look at a sampling of some of our favorite events that took place. The Letters Are Arriving   For our National Poetry Month project Dear Poet, we invited young people to write letters in response to poems written and read by some of the award-winning poets who serve on our Board of Chancellors. Take a look at letters written by 826 National Students, the National Student Poets, and National Youth Poet Laureates. Poetry Glossary   We’re featuring a poetic term from Poets.org to help support your exploration of the art form. This month’s term is free verse, which is a poetry of organic rhythms, of deliberate irregularity, improvisatory delight. Read more.   Teach This Poem   Sign up for Teach This Poem and receive a poem, related interdisciplinary resources, and classroom activities in your inbox each Monday morning. Take a look at a recent installment, featuring Laura Donnelly’s poem “The Carolina Wren.” How I Teach Poetry in the Schools   “The teacher is the bellwether of the class, of its developed attention,” writes Jack Collum in his essay about teaching poetry. “When the teacher writes along with the student, or simply listens alertly, this participation catalyzes the whole room.” Read more. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038