TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Mar 28, 2021
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Amanda Gorman Inauguration Poem Lessons - #TeachLivingPoets
Grades
5 to 12
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Amanda Gorman captured the nation's attention with the recital of her inspiring poem, "The Hill We Climb," during Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration ceremony. This site shares lessons and...more
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Amanda Gorman captured the nation's attention with the recital of her inspiring poem, "The Hill We Climb," during Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration ceremony. This site shares lessons and teaching activities to accompany this poem. Resources include links to a hyperdoc that explores the poem's craft, lessons comparing inaugural poets and poetry, and a black poets video playlist. Scroll through the site to find many ideas for engaging students in poetry.
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site as a resource to find many ideas for engaging students in poetry. Use Amanda Gorman's poetry to spark your students' interest in learning about poetry. Start by watching and sharing Gorman's inaugural reading on YouTube. Ask students to share their reactions to the reading using Answer Garden, reviewed here. Post a question to Answer Garden that requires a short student response, such as, "What is the predominant emotion you felt as you watched Amanda Gorman read her poem?" As students add responses, view the word cloud that is created to discuss how poetry is used to deliver emotions. Use a video response tool such as Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to enhance learning by inserting questions and comments within the YouTube reading by Gorman. Include questions of your own and those found in the lessons shared on this website. Extend learning further by asking students to create and share poems. This Poem Generator, reviewed here, helps students develop confidence and learn the basics of poetry writing as they start on their poetry journey. Find many more ideas for teaching and sharing at TeachersFirst Poetry Month Editor's Choice Resources.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Verse by Verse - Google
Grades
7 to 12
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Verse by Verse is an experimental poetry-creation project by Google that uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help create poems using classic American poets' suggestions. Begin by selecting...more
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Verse by Verse is an experimental poetry-creation project by Google that uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help create poems using classic American poets' suggestions. Begin by selecting up to 3 muses for inspiration. If you aren't sure who they are, click on any image to view short biographical information. During the next step, choose a poem structure, syllable count, and rhyme. Enter the first line of your poem and become inspired by options presented by your muses! When finished, choose from options to copy the text or add a border, then download it as a PNG image. Make sure your students know to attribute the AI Generated poem. There are programs out there to detect AI created writing, see GPTZero, reviewed here.
In the Classroom
Introduce different forms of poetry and poets using Verse by Verse. Offer students time to explore and experiment with the different features to become familiar with the different types of formats and styles of the included poets. Have students share their poetry digitally by creating an audio podcast using PodcastGenerator, reviewed here. PodcastGenerator features easy to use tools for creating short audio podcasts. Encourage students to rehearse reading their poetry and add proper intonation, spacing, and reading techniques such as they would for an in-person poetry reading. Besides sharing poems, ask students to add images and record audio, read their poems, and then share their creative process when writing poetry. Share student recordings on a class blog created with a free blog tool such as Site123, reviewed here, or in a series of blogs based on different forms of poetry.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poetry Out Loud - Poetry Out Loud
Grades
8 to 12
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Encourage the study and creation of poetry using the national arts education program provided by Poetry Out Loud in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and other partners....more
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Encourage the study and creation of poetry using the national arts education program provided by Poetry Out Loud in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and other partners. Browse poems by collections, poets, or poetic forms and terms; each poem includes a short biography of the poet and links to their additional works. Choose from several offered lesson plans correlated to NCTE Standards. Immerse students further in poetry using the competition resources provided on the site. Information for poetry competitions includes options for competing on a classroom level or in regional and national competitions.
In the Classroom
Bookmark and use the resources from Poetry Out Loud as part of any poetry unit or to encourage students to explore poetry within any classroom subject. Use Padlet, reviewed here, to curate and share students' favorite poems. Divide your Padlet into columns to organize by genre, be sure to create a column for students to share their original work! Share the tips for reciting poems as you encourage students to learn performance techniques. Ask students to record their work using Flip, reviewed here. Flip has a built-in coaching tool that provides real-time feedback to users. Feedback includes information on the number of hesitations, use of filler words, and pacing of the presentation. Share this tool with your students to encourage students to reflect and improve any audio or video presentation.
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The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database - Split This Rock
Grades
10 to 12
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This searchable collection of over 300 poems is designed to share poetry by socially engaged poets. Poetry topics cover a wide variety of themes including aging, economics, and environmental...more
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This searchable collection of over 300 poems is designed to share poetry by socially engaged poets. Poetry topics cover a wide variety of themes including aging, economics, and environmental issues. Use the filters to search by format, language, and more. Many poems include audio and video versions, and international poets offer translations into English. Note: this site contains several adult themes including gender identity and sexuality. Be sure to preview any content before sharing with your students.
In the Classroom
Be sure to preview any work on this site before sharing with your students. Take advantage of this database for use when looking for contemporary poetry to use in your classroom. Enjoy sharing poetry with students as models for poetry writing and reading or to introduce poets to your students. Be sure to ask students what the poem says about the poet as part of a self identity unit. Once students have written their own poems, ask them what the poem says about their own self identity. Instead of asking students to create a written journal of poetry, replace the written journal and build a poetry portfolio by having them use a bookmarking tool like Wakelet, reviewed here. Use Wakelet to add links to student-created poetry, poems from their favorite poets, audio recordings of their poetry, and videos sharing different structures of poetry. As a final project, ask students to extend learning and classroom technology by creating podcasts discussing and featuring both their work and the work of favorite poets. Spotify for Podcasters, reviewed here, is a free, easy to use podcast creation and sharing site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poetry Generators - Poem of Quotes
Grades
4 to 12
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Are you stuck trying to write a poem? These generators will help you through the process. Choose from a variety of different formats including haiku, limerick, and acrostic to begin....more
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Are you stuck trying to write a poem? These generators will help you through the process. Choose from a variety of different formats including haiku, limerick, and acrostic to begin. Once started, fill in the provided blanks to add names and other information then view your completed poem. Copy the poem as created, edit to your liking, or choose the regenerate option to generate a new creation. New to this tool are several Artificial Intelligence (AI) poetry generators. Enter a word or phrase and the AI Generator will create a poem for you. Make sure your students know to attribute the AI Generated poem. There are programs out there to detect AI created writing, see GPTZero, reviewed here.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the poem generator to motivate students' interest in poetry and offer the opportunity to explore different types of poetry. As students become more confident in creating their poetry, use a digital portfolio tool like Spaces, reviewed here, for students to compile and share their poetry. Transform classroom technology use by having students publish their poetry using Book Creator, reviewed here. In addition to sharing poems, ask students to add images and record audio, reading their poems and sharing their creative process when writing poetry.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Commaful - UsePencil, Inc
Grades
9 to 12
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Commaful provides short stories and poetry presented in picture book style. Scroll through to find a story or choose from different categories including humor, poetry, and romance....more
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Commaful provides short stories and poetry presented in picture book style. Scroll through to find a story or choose from different categories including humor, poetry, and romance. After selecting a story, the content pops up in the form of a book with an image background. Click to continue reading, images change throughout the story. Share your original work by creating an account and following directions to upload content. Note: Some stories contain inappropriate language and content. Be sure to preview material before sharing with students.
In the Classroom
Share stories from this site with students as inspiration for creative writing and poetry projects. Be sure to preview all material before sharing with students. Enhance this learning experience before publishing student writing, by having peers provide collaborative feedback using Flip, reviewed here. Flip allows students to record video discussions on any topic easily. When complete, have students publish their work using this site or Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator offers tools for creating online books that include video, images, and audio recordings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Owl Eyes - Alex Bloomingdale
Grades
8 to 12
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Read, annotate, bookmark, and share literature, poetry, and nonfiction with Owl Eyes. Read any available selection without registration; however, free registration (with email) opens...more
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Read, annotate, bookmark, and share literature, poetry, and nonfiction with Owl Eyes. Read any available selection without registration; however, free registration (with email) opens up a world of options. Add any book to your library to add your own highlights or annotations. View analysis available on the site broken down by chapters and literary context. Options for annotating include adding highlights, questions, tags, and correlation to Common Core Standards. Create a classroom to assign books. Video tutorials reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
In the Classroom
Use this site to assign reading of classic texts, nonfiction, poetry, and stories. Take advantage of the included annotations found with literature selections to build Common Core skills analyzing informational texts. Use this site to post and share discussion assignments on texts and selections from the text. Share Owl Eyes with students for use with literature circles (or small groups reading) as a tool to collaborate, improve reading strategies skills, and to present their book to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Booklist: Poets and Poetry - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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This CurriConnects booklist features poetry books, biographies of poets, and poets' books about writing to make poetry more approachable and enjoyable for readers of all interests....more
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This CurriConnects booklist features poetry books, biographies of poets, and poets' books about writing to make poetry more approachable and enjoyable for readers of all interests. This list is a perfect companion to formal units about poetry or simply for anyone who would like to learn more about poets and how they write. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL levels and Lexiles''® (where available) to match with student independent reading levels to challenge, not frustrate. Be aware Lexile levels are based on prose (sentence length, words per sentence, etc.), and cannot be calculated for poetry, so Lexile levels are not available for poetry books. Don't miss other CurriConnects themes being added regularly.
In the Classroom
This list will fit well during National Poetry Month or any unit on poetry. Finding Lexiles for poetry can be a challenge, but this list includes them where available. Augment or modify classroom technology use (depending on assignment requirements) by having your students "collect" their favorite poems as they read from this list and share them as a multimedia poetry reading using copyright-friendly images or even their own artwork. Upload images and add the poetry in the student's own voice using a tool like Powtoon, reviewed here, or moovly, reviewed here. Go "low tech" by hosting a live poetry reading celebration in your classroom or during lunch in the school cafeteria.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids Magnetic Poetry Kit - McDonagh Brothers
Grades
K to 5
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Create and play with poetry using this interactive magnetic poetry kit! Drag words from the word bank onto the blank board to build poems. Click the more words option to ...more
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Create and play with poetry using this interactive magnetic poetry kit! Drag words from the word bank onto the blank board to build poems. Click the more words option to find additional words for use. When finished, save and share to Facebook or via email using the form provided.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Share this site on your projector or interactive whiteboard for students to see how to create a poem. Use this site to practice sight words. The magnetic poetry kit would make an excellent center activity for use during Poetry Month. Create a shortcut on classroom computers and let students create their own poems. Share completed poems on a class bulletin board or your class website. Take a screenshot (PrntScrn button, then PASTE on a WIndows machine or Command+Shift+4 on a Mac to save a screenshot) of the completed poems to put into a digital portfolio such as Seesaw, reviewed here. View all of TeachersFirst's Editor's Choices for Poetry Month here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Power Poetry - Power Poetry
Grades
8 to 12
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Encourage budding poets with Power Poetry. Power Poetry's mission is to close the literacy gap through poetry. This is a community where young people of all backgrounds come together...more
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Encourage budding poets with Power Poetry. Power Poetry's mission is to close the literacy gap through poetry. This is a community where young people of all backgrounds come together to process their emotions using poetry. Find challenges to write about social issues or to write a poem in only 140 characters. Scroll down the page and point out the topic "7 Famous Poetic Pop Songs" where students are sure to recognize current singer/song writers. Find many supportive community members to encourage you to develop your voice. From the dropdown menu on the top click Resources then Teachers to find lesson plans, a free "How to Teach Poetry" course, and lots more. Poets are free to write about any subject; however, there are site guidelines to prevent hate speech and other inappropriate content. Join with a username and email address. On your profile, there is the option of sharing your first name and last initial, profile picture, and a short biography. You can message each other within the site, but this feature can be disabled from account settings.
In the Classroom
Encourage your most avid writers to submit their poetry to this site. Use your whiteboard or projector to show them the "Take Action Guides." There you will find many issues of concern to youth today. Most students will enjoy uniting multimedia, poetry, and activism in one place. Challenge your students to choose a contemorary poet, either from this site's list or one they know of, and study their poetic form, then to write a poem in that poet's style. Enhance learning by having students keep a blog using a tool like Penzu, reviewed here, to write down their thoughts as they investigate different parts of this site. This will help them when it comes time to write their own poem. With Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. Then extend learning by having students either publish their poems on the site or by using a multimedia tool like Genially, reviewed here, and publish their poems on your classroom or school web page. Counselors may want to encourage disenfranchised students to join the site and write about their deepest feelings. This is a supportive community that encourages students to develop their own voice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poetry Month Editor's Choice Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected by our editors from the hundreds of reviewed poetry resources and creative tools listed on TeachersFirst. Now April...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected by our editors from the hundreds of reviewed poetry resources and creative tools listed on TeachersFirst. Now April can be Poetry Month in any classroom. Even if you teach science or math, there is a place for poetry in your curriculum. Poetry is as brief and economical as a number sentence, but with feelings or messages between the words. Why not throw some poetry lines amid your chemical or algebraic equations to connect with verbal/linguistic learners and spark a new way of seeing any subject? Take time to plan a "poetry break" using these ideas from the TeachersFirst Editors.
In the Classroom
Make Poetry Month a participatory experience. Have students compose a limerick explaining a science term or historic figure. Have students collect a list of words from your current unit. Then offer extra credit for a poetic interpretation to be shared as a daily "poetry break" during April. Use one of the tools featured here to share poetic visions of biology, geometry, and more during April. Cover a classroom wall with white paper for "curriculum poetry" during April. Encourage students to share poetry graffiti (classroom appropriate, of course). Or, replace the papered wall for an online bulletin board like Padlet, reviewed here. For more poetic ideas check out the "In the classroom" suggestions included in each review.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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