April is National Poetry Month - Creative Poem Assignment Due: Wednesday, April 1st

The Academy of American Poets created National Poetry Month in 1996 to celebrate and promote the achievement of American poets. We can participate by selecting and “creating” a poem of our choice. I am asking that each student select a poem and copy it either by hand or on the computer. Additionally, I would like the students to be creative, either illustrating the poem, making a picture or collage out of it, etc. All “poem creations” must be 2D.

We have been learning about FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. Students must find a poem that contains at least TWO of the following: alliteration, hyperbole, idiom, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, simile. If you have any questions on whether or not the poem qualifies, please see or e-mail me. I am also encouraging students to memorize their poems. Although this will not be mandatory, any student willing to memorize and present his/her poem (week of April 13-17th) will earn 10 extra credit points! Rubric: Student correctly writes or types his/her poem, including its title and name of poet /10

Student successfully “creates” his/her poem. It is evident the student put forth time and effort in this assignment and he/she creates something reflective of the poem

/30

The student has selected a poem that contains at least two of the following: alliteration, hyperbole, idiom, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, simile

/10

Student memorizes and recites his/her poem *EXTRA CREDIT /10

TOTAL /50

Please find poets and poem suggestions on the back

Favorite Poets For Kids (and Adults, too!) Langston Hughes, ���Eloise Greenfield���, Paul Fleishman, ���Gary Soto, ���Naomi Shihab Nye, ���Lee Bennett Hopkins ���, Nikki Grimes ���, Eve Merriam, ���Myra Cohn Livingston, ���Karla Kuskin, ���J. Patrick Lewis ���, Shel Silverstein���, Jack Prelutsky

Some poem suggestions: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost The Dentist and the Crocodile by Roald Dahl On a Flimmering Floom You Shall Ride by Carl Sandburg Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam Sick by Shel Silverstein The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson Homework! Oh, Homework! by Jack Prelutsky O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman Hope by Emily Dickinson New Rhyming Poetry Books I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus ��� by Jack Prelutsky Every Thing On It��� by Shel Silverstein��� *printables on Shel Silverstein’s website A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young ��� by Marilyn Nelson and Pamela Espeland, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes A Stick Is an Excellent Thing Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play by Marilyn Singer illustrated by LeUyen Pham New (Mostly) Free Verse Poetry Books Take Two! A Celebration of Twins ���by J. Patrick Lewis (current Children’s Poet Laureate) & Jane Yolen, illustrated by Sophie Blackall The Hound Dog’s Haiku (lots of different dog breeds, see “Border Collie” above)���by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Mary Azarian Freedom’s a-Callin Me��� by Ntozake Shange Praise Song for the Day ���by Elizabeth Alexander, illustrated by David Diaz (The inauguration poem for President Barack Obama.) The Arrow Finds Its Mark, A Book of Found Poems edited by Georgia Heard, illustrated by Antoine Guilloppe A Meal of the Stars: Poems Up and Down ���by Dana Jensen, illustrated by Tricia Tusa Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn By Heart (amazing collection!!)��� by Mary Ann Hoberman (former Children’s Poet Laureate) illustrated by Michael Emberley BookSpeak: Poems About Books by Laurra Purdie Salas, illustrated by Josee Bisaillon Familiar Favorite Poetry Books For Kids Here’s a Little Poem A Very First Book of Poetry ��� edited by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children ��� edited by Caroline Kennedy, illustrated by John J Muth Poetry Speaks to Children (Book & CD)��� edited by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah, Illustrated by Judy Love and Paula Zinngrabe Wendland Hip-Hop Speaks to Children with CD: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat ���by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Alicia Vergel de Dios, Damian Ward, Kristen Balouch, Jeremy Tugeau & Michele Noiset The Place My Words are Looking For: What Poets Say About and Through Their Work ��� compiled by Paul B. Janeczko A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms ���complied by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Chris Raschka All the Small Poems and Fourteen More (see “Flamingo” below) ���by Valerie Worth, illustrated by Natalie Babbitt Riddle-lightful: Oodles of Little Riddle Poems ��� by J. Patrick Lewis Where the Sidewalk Ends ��� by Shel Silverstein