April is National Poetry Month. For thirty days, we celebrate the value and joy that poetry brings to our world. According to the Academy of American Poets, the goals are:
- Highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets
- Introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry
- Bring poets and poetry to the public in immediate and innovative ways
- Make poetry a more important part of the school curriculum
- Increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media
- Encourage increased publication, distribution, and sales of poetry books
- Increase public and private philanthropic support for poets and poetry
All across the nation, school, teachers, students, libraries, and families celebrate by reading, writing, and sharing poetry. Here are websites that do all that and more. Share them with students on a class link page, Symbaloo, or another method you’ve chosen to share groups of websites with students:
Acrostic Poems
From ReadWriteThink–students learn about acrostic poetry and how to write it
Classical Poems for Kids
A collection of classical poems for children ranging from fun and lively to solemn and thought-provoking
Crocodile’s Toothache
Video of a Shel Silverstein poem
Famous Children’s Poems
Classical children’s poetry including Tyger, Teddy Bear, Paul Revere’s Ride, and more
Favorite Poem Project
Americans sharing poetry they love. This includes videos of poems being read, including Frost’s Stopping by a Wood on a Snowy Evening.
Fizzy Funny Fuzzy Poetry
An easy-to-maneuver website with fizzy funny fuzzy poetry by Gareth Lancaster
Glossary of Poetry Terms
Great collection of poetry terms that students can refer to. Includes domain-specific words like ‘blank verse’, ‘caesura’, ‘limerick’, and more
Kids Magnetic Poetry
Students drag-and-drop from a collection of words to a canvas, name their poem, then publish to Facebook or saved to student’s digital portfolio.
Magnetic Haiku poetry
A great way to write this ever-popular form of poetry. Can be printed from the site.
Musical poem—write poem, add music
Students write their poem and it is put to music available on the website. Can only be saved via screencast
Poetry Engine—writes poem for you
Step-by-step directions for writing a poem. Allows students to write haikus, free verse, limericks, and more.
Poetry for Kids
A funny poetry playground funny poetry playground from Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt
Rhyming Dictionary
Enter the word and find rhymes–it’s that easy
Shel Silverstein’s poetry website
Poems, books, games, and more
TED: Why Poetry (video)
The Griffin Poetry Prize founder, Scott Griffin, talks about the importance of poetry
Word Mover
Create poetry using pieces of existing poems
Write Poetry and Decorate it
Select words, add a background, and share your poem
If you’re looking for iPad sites, try one of these:
- Diamante Poems
- Acrostic Poems (iPad, Android – Free)
- Poems by Heart From Penguin Classics (iPad – Free with in-app purchases)
- Shakespeare’s Sonnets (iPad – fee)
- POETRY From The Poetry Foundation (iPad, Android – Free)
- Haiku Poem (iPad, Android – Free)
- Theme Poems (Free – iPad, Android)
- Word Mover app for iPad
What are your favorite poetry websites?
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 25 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days.
