April is National Poetry Month. Are you ready to celebrate? This is seen as a time to celebrate the power of creative writing, specifically poetry. If you’re looking for ways to introduce students to this medium, today’s blog post has you covered. We’ll look at over a dozen Poetry Month activities that you can customize for your students.
Whether your students are seasoned writers of poetry or this genre is totally new to them, National Poetry Month provides a fantastic chance to experiment with words in this form. Of course, these Poetry Month activities are great at any time of year. If you’ve come across this post in April, fantastic! If not, you can use these with students to supplement an existing writing unit.
Let’s jump into the list of Poetry Month activities you can use any time of year!
Poetry Month Activities
This list is full of activities you can certainly customize for different grade levels, a variety of writing goals, and student interests!
Found Poetry
For a hands-on experience, you can provide magazines and newspapers for students to explore. Students cut out words or phrases and rearrange them creatively to form new poems. Encourage them to snap a picture and record their voice talking about their poem using a tool like Seesaw.
Magnetic Poetry
Create a classroom’ poetry corner’ with magnetic word sets. Students enjoy making poems collaboratively or individually during free moments. A baking sheet is great for keeping magnetic poetry in one spot.
Acrostic Poems
Have students compose acrostic poems where each line of the poem begins with a letter from a chosen word (like their name, the month, or a theme). It’s simple and a great starting point for students. For a techy twist, have them each make a single page in a book using Book Creator and combine the pages for a class anthology.
Sensory Poems
Encourage close observation to describe something using the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Then, ask them to choose one sense and write a poem based on that interaction. They might even record themselves reading their poem using a tool like Flip.
Artist Inspiration
Present famous paintings or other art pieces using a source like Google Arts & Culture. Students can write poems responding to their observations, emotions, or imagined narratives within the artwork.
Limericks
These Humorous short poems have a distinct rhythm and rhyme scheme (AABBA). You might introduce students to the Generative AI text-to-image tool in Adobe Express and have them create their own AI-generated image to go along with their limerick.
Picture Prompt Poetry
If your students aren’t using generative AI themselves, you might decide to use a tool like Adobe Firefly to create unique images for them. Then, students can choose one of your creations for inspiration and write accompanying poems.
Guest Poet Visit
Invite a local poet to visit your class in person or virtually. You might have students read their work ahead of time and prepare questions. They can ask about the process of writing poetry and their journey as a poet.
Poetry Performance
Organize an event where students perform original poems or one that they love. If students are hesitant to perform in front of an audience, you might provide them with the option to make a movie using a tool like Adobe Express to share instead.
Word of the Day Poetry
Display a “Word of the Day” during the month of April, encouraging students to incorporate it into a short poem. This could be part of a commitment to a cross-curricular connection, too. For example, you might choose words to share that relate to a social studies or science topic.
Poetry Stations
Set up various poetry-focused stations for students to rotate through during Poetry Month. For example, you might have one for haiku, one for magnetic poetry, one with picture prompts, or one with another Poetry Month activity mentioned in this post. Students rotate, experimenting with different poetic forms for short intervals.
Poem Parodies
Select well-known poems or nursery rhymes and have students write their own silly versions of these popular poems. You can model your own example to students or head to a chatbot like Gemini or ChatGPT for inspiration for your exemplar.
Note: For more ways to use chatbots like ChatGPT, use this link to download 60+ prompts to try out.
Musical Poems
If you want to help students compose a score to go along with a class poem, check out MusicFX. This is an AI-powered tool you can use to describe the type of music you want to play. For example, you can describe a mood and the instruments you would like to use to make a custom tune.
National Poetry Month offers a wonderful excuse to dive deep into the beauty of language. Don’t be afraid to make it creative, joyful, and meaningful! Experiment with the ideas on this list or use them as inspiration. Let this month be a reminder that poetry has a place in every classroom, sparking deeper engagement and a love for the written word.
By the end of Poetry Month, your students might surprise you–and themselves– with what they’re capable of creating. Just remember, the most important part is to have fun!
