Promoting Poetry

www.education-world.com/a_special/poetrymonth.shtml

This year, consider hosting a student poetry slam. Helping kids create PowerPoint visuals to enhance their “slam” poems is just one of the cool ideas provided on this Web page. Created by: Education World Inc. San Diego, CA. Detour: For more information about National Poetry Month and hints on how to celebrate it with students, go to www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41.

www4.ipl.org:8080/index.php/Main_Page

This librarian-created wiki is the perfect vehicle for sparking an interest in poetry by helping teens write and share their own poems, and read and edit their peers' work. Joining the wiki is free, and teens must register in order to play games on the site, and submit and edit poetry. There are rules relating to inappropriate language and vandalism. Created by: The IPL Consortium, Philadelphia, PA. Don't miss: The “Exquisite Corpse” game and “Wordplay” activities.

teenlink.nypl.org/WordSmiths-Current.cfm

Poetry created by teens is a feature of this library-based Web site, a deep resource with monthly online issues dating back to 1996. Teens (ages 12–18) can submit their work for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue. Created by: The New York Public Library, NY. Detour: Do you have some budding student poets? Direct them to “Online Opportunities for Young Writers”.

teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/poetry

Writing poetry is a challenge, especially for students. With each section of this site—Brainstorm, Draft, Review, Revise, Polish, and Publish—kids will learn firsthand the creative process. Created by: Scholastic Inc., New York, NY. Don't miss: Students can submit their poems, and Scholastic will post the best ones online. Detour: A “Poetry Idea Engine” and teachers guide is available at “Writing with Writers —Poetry” at teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm.

www.youngpoets.ca

This great Canadian Web site offers tons of poems and related resources. Click on the “Youth” link to access online poetry forums for teens. To take part in discussions or post poems, students must register. If this is a problem at your school, they can still derive a great deal simply by reading the existing posts. Created by: The League of Canadian Poets, Toronto, Canada. Don't miss: The “Teachers” section provides excellent poetry lesson plans, a great list of links and a bibliography. Detour: Poetry videos that would be great to show in class or the library can be found at the “Favorite Poem Project”.