Poetry (K-3)

Poetry

  1. Australian Children’s Poetry – https://australianchildrenspoetry.com.au/ – Dedicated to showcasing contemporary Australian children’s poets and their work. They do not publish collections, anthologies, assessment or editing services. The website presents a Poem of the Day. They accept information about children’s poetry activities and events in Australia and overseas, poetry links, competitions, interviews with poets or publishers and relevant articles.
  2. DLTK’s Poems – https://www.dltk-kids.com/poems/ – Very simple website with a collection of poems. Children can read for fluency practice but that’s about all. There are no lessons or activities connected to the poems – just themes.
  3. Eric Ode – https://www.ericode.com/ – Website of poet Eric Ode. There are educator workshops, virtual/actual author visits, a section highlighting books he has written and activities that students can do. Some content requires payment.
  4. Family Friend Poems – https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/famous/children/ – There is a wealth of classic poetry for students of all ages. Although there are no lesson plans or activities, the list of classic poems from poets like A.A. Milne, Shel Silverstein, Maya Angelou and Walt Whitman should be helpful to any teacher looking for examples to show the students.
  5. Favorite Poem Project – https://www.favoritepoem.org/classroom-resources/ – This website will soon enhance and expand the services for teaches in person and online—including lesson plans for all grades, collaboration and advice about FPP events, and new programs.
  6. Fizzy Funny Fuzzy – https://fizzyfunnyfuzzy.com/ – All about poetry for kids of any age. It is nicely organized and there is a lot of variety. There are no lessons or activities attached so it would be good for making examples of different poetry and for fluency practice.
  7. Funny Poems – http://www.robertpottle.com/poetry-index.php – Website of poet, Robert Pottle, with lots of examples of poetry. School visits can be arranged and there are a handful of activities provided. He also provides a poetry assessment rubric and report generator. Some of the material requires payment.
  8. GiggleVerse – https://www.giggleverse.com/ – This site is maintained by former Children’s Poet Laureate, Kenn Nesbitt, thanks to the generous contributions of poems from writers all over the world. The goal is to encourage children to read by providing them with new funny poems every weekday, on the website and by email.
  9. JogLab – http://www.joglab.com/ – A great tool to jog kids’ memories for associated words to use in specific types of poems. The poems emphasized on this site include acrostics and mnemonics. There is a word finder for students struggling to find words for their acrostic poem. Note: It’s best suited for students in grades 3–12.
  10. Library of Congress – Poetry 180 is a program that has been designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year. They are intended to be listened to and it is advised to check out the poem first to make sure that it is age appropriate for the grade you are teaching.
  11. Magnetic Poetry – http://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Kids/kit – Not really a teaching website but a great opportunity for young students to begin playing around with the idea of poetry through rhyming. The premise of this website is to play around with the words similar to the magnetic word kids for the refrigerator. It would be a good way of introducing poetry to emerging writers.
  12. Official Robert Munsch Site – https://robertmunsch.com/ – Showcases the material written by Robert Munsch. There’s a “Kid’s Stuff” section but no lessons or activities are included for educators. The biggest reason that this website gets a thumbs-up is that there are audio recordings of his books that can be played in the classroom. Some material require payment.
  13. Planet Poetry – https://www.planetpoetry.co.uk/ – A collection of poetry for children, teens and adults. There are sections for school and writing poetry as well.
  14. Poetry4kids – https://www.poetry4kids.com/ – Find lots of funny poems, classic children’s poems, games, poetry lessons and activities, a rhyming dictionary, videos, author visit information and more. Recommended for teachers with no budget.
  15. Poetry Guy – http://www.poetryguy.com/ – Poetry helps kids find their own special voices and share them with the world.  This website belongs to Ted Scheu, a poet that has published his works and visits schools to engage students with poetry. There aren’t any lessons or activities attached to this website for educators but it could help to engage students at the beginning of the unit. Some material requires payment.
  16. Poetry Minute – https://poetryminute.org/ – Poems for elementary school students for every day of the school year, written by today’s best children’s poets. Some are humorous while others are more poignant. Many rhyme, while others are free verse, concrete poems, or verse forms such as haiku or limericks.
  17. Poets.org – https://poets.org/materials-teachers – Find poetry lesson plans, essays about teaching, a glossary of poetry terms, and other educator resources on the Materials for Teachers page. Visit the Poetry for Teens page to find more selections of poems tailored to a high school audience. Encourage students to participate in the Dear Poet project and celebrate Poem In Your Pocket Day virtually on April 30th. 
  18. Project Gutenberg – https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16436/16436-h/16436-h.htm – This link takes you directly to the book “Poems Every Child Should Know”. It is filled with some of the most intersting and diverse collection of classic poets that cannot be found anywhere else. There are no lesson plans or activities – just the poems.
  19. Proud to be Primary – https://proudtobeprimary.com/teaching-poetry/ – The ultimate guide to teaching poetry to kids in the classroom. This poetry for kids guide includes poetry resources for teachers.
  20. ReadWriteThink – http://www.readwritethink.org – A very informative website that has a few lesson plans and activities on poetry.
  21. Rhyme Zone – https://www.rhymezone.com/ – Find rhymes, synonyms, adjectives, and more! Very simple website.
  22. Shel Silverstein Official Website – http://www.shelsilverstein.com/ – It is great to see this website showcasing one of the best poets for silly children’s poetry. Every educator should have at least one of his books of poetry to introduce to and engage students. There are lessons, activities and events kits available for some of his poetry. Some material requires payment.
  23. TeacherVision (Poetry) – https://www.teachervision.com/search/poetry – The K-12 resources cover important poetry terms, help with structure and formatting, holiday-themed activities, form poetry, literal and figurative language, sensory imagery, rhyming and free verse, and much more. Note: Premium membership will provide better access to the resource material; the free version is limited to 3 downloads per day.
  24. The Children’s Poetry Archive – https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/ – Poetry doesn’t just live in books – it lives in the sounds that words make. When poems are read out loud, we breathe life into them and can picture them in our imagination. The Children’s Poetry Archive is a place where you can listen to poems read out loud. There are educator resources available in the “Teach” section.
  25. The Funeverse – https://www.thefuneverse.com/ – Showcases a variety of children’s poetry and poets. There are no educator resources.
  26. The Poetry Society – https://resources.poetrysociety.org.uk/ – Find a wide selection of poetry lesson plans and activities covering the whole spectrum of grades and explore many themes and forms of poetry.
  27. The Poetry Zone– http://poetryzone.co.uk/ – Since 1998, The Poetry Zone has published around 30,000 poems by young people and has had millions of visitors – children and teenagers, real live poets and other adults – who want to check them out. Teachers use the Poetry Zone as a fun way of teaching poetry in their schools.
  28. Word Game Time (Poetry) – https://www.wordgametime.com/subject/poetry – Poetry introduces students to the power of words and the beauty of language. It helps expose them to figurative language and the difference between literal and non-literal meanings. Resources give students a chance to experience poetry in fun new ways while building critical vocabulary, reading, and writing skills. Note: Currently, the games are unavailable with the loss of Flash Player but the videos and worksheets are still active.



Lesson Ideas to Get You Started…