Poem-a-Day - Poems for the new school year

August 2022

As the summer ends and a new school year begins, share the following poems for back-to-school, and browse more kid-friendly poems:

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks
“Sick” by Shel Silverstein
“Before I Was a Gazan” by Naomi Shihab Nye
“Moonlily” by Marilyn Nelson
“Breaking Free” by Stuart Kestenbaum
“& After the Power Came Back” by Brenda Hillman
“Give Yourself Some Flowers” by Marcus Amaker
“American Syntax” by Ching-In Chen

The Academy of American Poets is awarding a combined total of $1.1 million to our 2022 Poet Laureate Fellows. These 22 individuals, each of whom will receive $50,000, have been named poets laureate of states, cities, and counties, and have made positive contributions to their communities in these roles and beyond.

Funds will support their respective public poetry projects in the year ahead, many of which include youth programming. Poet Laureate of Texas, Cyrus Cassells, will conduct a poetry contest for grades 6-12; Poet Laureate of Westchester County, NY, B. K. Fischer, will hold outdoor writing workshops for youth; and Poet Laureate of Mississippi, Catherine Pierce, will organize the Mississippi Young Writers Poetry Festival. We’ll be sharing more details about these and other youth-focused fellowship projects in the months ahead. Stay tuned!

In July, the Academy of American Poets presented Summer Camp, a weekly newsletter series that engages students and young people with meaningful activities and poetry.

Browse this year’s series, featuring activities, videos, and resources based on poetic movements, including the Harlem Renaissance, Surrealism, the New York School, and Jazz Poetry.

The Academy of American Poets is now on TikTok! Follow us @poetsorg for readings of poems, videos of poets, and more educational material.

Bring poetry into your classroom with the following lesson plans for introducing poetry:

“La Biblioteca is a Doula” by Magdalena Gómez
“To a No. 2 Yellow Pencil on May 1, 2020” by Kimiko Hahn
“On How to Use this Book” by Sarah Gambito
“Map” by Linda Hogan
“We Lived Happily during the War” by Ilya Kaminsky
“Why Whales Are Back in New York City” by Rajiv Mohabir

Teach This Poem returns August 29. Produced for K-12 educators, Teach This Poem features one poem a week, accompanied by interdisciplinary primary sources and activities designed to help teachers quickly and easily bring poetry into the classroom.

Sign up and get a new lesson plan every Monday, and browse over 300 past lessons.

S chool: Poems for Kids

S ummer: Poems for Teens

Teachers, thank you for your work in bringing poetry into the classroom year-round. We’re happy to be able to offer hundreds of free lesson plans, essays, and other resources, and we wish you and your students health and safety.

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Poem-a-Day - Poems for the new school year

Older messages

"Daytona 500" by Kayleb Rae Candrilli

"The Understudy" by Hieu Minh Nguyen

Announcing the 2022 Poet Laureate Fellows

"Rememory" by Diamond Forde

"Give Me a Boat That Can Carry Two" by Rajiv Mohabir

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