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

August 2021

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

“The Children of Beslan (To My Children)” by Irakli Kakabadze
“Sick” by Shel Silverstein
“Before I Was a Gazan” by Naomi Shihab Nye
“Moonlily” by Marilyn Nelson
“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes
“& After the Power Came Back” by Brenda Hillman
“First Gestures” by Julia Spicher Kasdorf
“American Syntax” by Ching-In Chen

Bring poetry into your classroom with the following lesson plans that touch on current events, or find more lessons for introducing poetry:

“Poem for the Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere” by Danielle Legros Georges
“To a No. 2 Yellow Pencil on May 1, 2020” by Kimiko Hahn
“Red Brocade” by Naomi Shihab Nye
“Map” by Linda Hogan
“We Lived Happily during the War” by Ilya Kaminsky

Teach This Poem returns September 6. 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.

This month’s poetic term is ghazal: a form with its roots in seventh-century Arabic poetry that is composed of five to fifteen structurally and thematically autonomous couplets.

S chool: Poems for Kids

S ummer: Poems for Teens

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Hit movie SUMMERTIME spotlights 27 students who were introduced to poetry through their English teachers and teen-literacy organization Get Lit - Words Ignite. Download your FREE SUMMERTIME Education Edition Lesson Plans and ignite your classroom with the power of spoken word.

Teachers, thank you for your work 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

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