75+ Poetry Books for Kids, Novels-In-Verse, and Books On Teaching Poetry for the Month of April
Teaching Poetry in the Middle Grades Every Month of the Year
Poetry has the power to be transformative, inspirational, and healing. Poetry is what I turn to when I find myself reluctant to read, or if I am having a bad day. It taps into the power of feelings, and most recently, the work I have done with graphic novels and novels-in-verse in my classroom has been the most impactful. Kids report at the end of the year that these two sets of activities are what stuck out to them as memorable, important, and meaningful. Especially during this time period, where many of us have found or are in the process of finding that our school year is cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we turn to the power of poetry. The work of teaching is now different in nature and in context. We turn to the ability to work remotely and still provide the same level of commitment and inspiration to our students. The buildings perhaps are closed, but the process of learning is still open. One thing I am turning to particular in the month of April is poetry. Arguably, we will need poetry as part of the process of healing long after this crisis is over. Yesterday, in my bullet journal plan-with-me post, I spent some time curating a personal collection of poems that made me excited about poetry. I think this is an important exercise to do at the beginning of this month and in the process of kicking off any poetry unit.
Go ahead and make your list now and come back to the rest of this post when you can. Really. Even if you aren’t a poetry fan, you might find some comfort and joy in the lines you read. Your list (hopefully) will get you excited, motivated, and ready to begin to think about how you want to teach poetry to your students.
Then, take what you need from this resource post. I have outlined my favorite poems to teach, my favorite teaching resources, 75+ collections of poetry, novels-in-verse, and picturebooks I love, and I have linked how I teach Where I’m From poems. Maybe you are the one who needs poetry right now. Maybe your students need the poems you will share. As we move forward through social distancing and a pandemic, let’s remember to come back to the power of words on the page as often as possible.
My Top 10 Favorite Poems to Teach
“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon
“How to Eat a Poem” by Eve Merriam
“This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams
“I, Too” by Langston Hughes
“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
“Ego-Tripping (there may be a reason why)” by Nikki Giovanni
“Birches” by Robert Frost
“Firefly” by Jacqueline Woodson
“Truth” by Nikkie Grimes (Golden Shovel Poem)
“Complainers” by Rudy Francisco
My Favorite Teaching Poetry Resources
Poets.org “Popular Poems to Teach”
Poets.Org “Poems for Kids” (A Curated Collection of Poems for Kids by Category)
National Education Association, “Bringing Poetry to the Classroom, Grades 6-8”
We Are Teachers, “Our Favorite Videos for Teaching Poetry in Middle and High School”
Edutopia, “6 Tips for Teaching Poetry Writing to Teens”
“Read Write Think, “April is National Poetry Month!
Writing Mindset, “Slam Poetry Videos You Can Use In Your Classroom Now”
Book Resource List
75+ Books of Poetry Collections, Novels-in-Verse, and Picture Books
10+ Teaching Books
Access Google Doc: Middle Grade/Middle School Novels-In-Verse and Books of Poetry for Kids
April Bullet Journal Plan With Me
Where I’m From Poems and I Am Poems Lessons
Host a Poetry Slam or Reading
Poetry slams are so much work, but the experience of one is so memorable. Kids love sharing. Perhaps take the time this month to think about how you would host a poetry slam, or how you would put one together in the future. Even a poetry gallery walk is a great experience for kids to preview other pieces of work. The very first event that I organized by myself during my first year of teaching was a poetry slam. Here are some photos from my first classroom:
Student poems for the poetry slam gallery walk.
Prepping student poems in frames from the Dollar Store.
I have been playing around with ideas on how to have a poetry sharing or poetry slam during the time we have to do remote learning. I am wondering if Flipgrid will have a role inside the classroom and also during the time of social distancing. I like the idea of being able to revisit a slam poetry performance later on for review. This event could be students sharing their thoughts on poems, poems that they like, and also original works. Feel free to link to the Nearpod presentation that I created to introduce the genre of slam poetry reading.
April 1st means it is officially poetry month! I woke up this morning to an email letter from Jennifer Benka, executive director of The Academy of American Poets or Poets.Org. In her email, she stated, “More and more people are turning to poetry at this moment, because amid fear and uncertainty, poetry can help bring needed strength. At a time of anxiety and alarm, poetry can help bring tranquility. Poetry has the power to bring us together.” Poetry is powerful. I have to admit that over the course of the past week or so, I had started reading a little less. I had tried to keep up with my journaling, I was writing away on the blog, but my reading was something that sort of fell off. On a day I was feeling particularly funky, I remembered a line from The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney where the main character asked, “What else is possible?” in response to not assuming the worst outcome right away. The poem stuck in my brain as being so important right now. There is always something that goes awry. Stubbed your toe? Slow down. Dishwasher broke? You have an opportunity to learn how to fix something. Unexpected school closures in the last third of the school year due to a pandemic virus? Perhaps there is a reason.
I repeat, perhaps there is a reason.
I immediately started to round up the poetry books and novels-in-verse that were in my house and on my bookshelf. I am making a plan for my reading this month focusing on novels-in-verse and poetry. I was scared I had left a ton at school. I had. However, I had more access to poetry and books than I realized. I made a giant stack, and then I spent the rest of the day making a plan for my journal around poetry. I got excited about collecting poems, making lists, and trying to find the right words. Then, I paused when I came across Sarah Kay’s Poem “The Paradox.”