Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 18 (in 2024), and it’s a great time to bring some poetry into the classroom. I learned from the American Academy of Poets that the celebration began in New York City in 2002 and was expanded nationwide by the academy in 2008. It’s also been celebrated in Canada since 2016.
You might not literally carry a poem around in your pocket, but it’s a great day for kids of any age (and adults, too!) to read, write and explore poetry.
The American Academy of Poets has a PDF linked on the page above that has poems you can print out and carry, or there’s white space enough on the page to draw something related to the poem after you read it. These are probably better for older kids; check out their Poems for Kids for options for younger readers.
Happy Strong Home also has a printable booklet (that fits in a pocket!) of a few public domain poems you can use in your celebrations. Or get the bigger printable poems from Humility and Doxology.
Write Shop has some printable poetry bookmarks, and Classroom Freebies has a free pocket template printable you can use to add your poem, whether the kids choose their own or write one to go in their pocket as a classroom display.
Kids of any age can listen to poetry being read. The excellent Poetry Speaks to Children is a book and CD so you or the kids can read the poems, or you can listen to the readings (many by the poets themselves). Have kids act out a poem, draw a reaction to a poem, or write a letter to the poet about why they like (or don’t like!) that poem.
Of course it’s a great day for kids to write poetry, too. The classic forms we teach kids are acrostics, haiku, limericks and free verse, but you can change it up and pick a particular form you like or just let them write what they want. Pick a theme like nature or school, have the kids recite or write out their poems. You could even make a classroom book of poetry!
[Image by Dmitriy Gutarev from Pixabay]
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