Smore’s Monthly Theme Templates: National Poetry Month

Spring is the perfect time for poetry, because metaphor is everywhere you look! Need some inspiration for new poems to teach, or new ways to teach them? We’ve got you.

Our goal is to simplify your life by creating grab n’ go templates filled with engaging resources and ideas for lessons and units. Mindful of the circumstances in which schools are operating these days, there are resources in all of our templates for both distance and in-person learning.

For National Poetry Month, we’ve got the official poster for you to download and print out (did you know that this is an annual student competition? You can get your students in on that here), followed by a list of great resources for teaching poetry at a distance.

Choose some new poems

It’s fun to mix it up and choose some new poems to teach, so we’ve found some great lists for you, from pre-K to 12th. One assignment I’ve always loved is having students create their own poetry anthologies, on whatever theme they choose, and then write an introduction that explains the theme and how each poem fits in.

Write some new poems, too

Check out this site from Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt teaching how to write a variety of poetry forms (I love the cinquain, myself), followed by a video about Poem in Your Pocket Day, happening on April 29th.

Finally, an extra pop of fun: an audio link to poet James Berry reading a poem about his name — always a great starter prompt for poetry writing — and, for older kids, a goth poem generator.

If you teach a subject area that doesn’t typically involve poetry, find a way this year! Or make some time to write your own poems. It’s good for the soul.