NPM Day 1: Why Poetry?

Why should you share poetry with children specifically? I believe middle school and high school age students don't like poetry because they've been made to analyze poetry in depth looking for a hidden meaning in their ELA classes. 

For preschool and elementary age children, poetry is fun. The poems are often humorous and help expand the children's vocabularies and imaginations. Reading poetry written for children is often eye-opening for adults. Poetry doesn't have to rhyme or have a deeper meaning. 

"How to Build a Poem" by Charles Ghinga from The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko is the perfect introduction to poetry for children. I'll share it below.  

How to Build a Poem by Charles Ghinga 

Let’s build a poem 

made of rhyme 

with words like ladders 

we can climb, 

with words that like 

to take their time, 

words that hammer, 

words that nail, 

words that saw, 

words that sail, 

words that whisper, 

words that wail, 

words that open 

window         door, 

words that sing, 

words that soar, 

words that leave us 

wanting more. 

This quote from Douglas Florian in I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins also shows how wonderful poetry can be: 

"To define poetry is like defining love:

A poem is a glimpse. 

A poem is a glimmer. 

Something that makes your whole soul shimmer. 

A poem is a taste. 

A poem is a sip. 

Something that makes your whole heart flip." 

From the preface of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, Alexander says this: "Enjoy the poems. We hope to use them as stepping-stone to wonder, leading you to write, to read the works of poets being celebrated in this book, to seek out more about their lives and their work, or to simply read and explore more poetry. At the very least, maybe you can memorize one or two. We wonder how you will wonder." 

I've learned from my own experience that reading and writing poetry leads to more. I've challenged myself to write a poem every day in April. I'll probably read some poetry, too. I have a backlog of books to review in my office. How are you going to celebrate National Poetry Month? 

Resources 

• Find a teacher's guide and a poetry toolkit on the publisher's website for I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins. 
• Find a teacher's guide on the publisher's website for Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth. 
• Website for National Poetry Month

Links to my reviews: 

• The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems
• I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage
• Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

Bibliography

• Janeczko, Paul B. The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog: And Other How-to Poems. Illustrated by Richard Jones. Candlewick Press, 2019. 
• Lee Bennett Hopkins, et al. I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage. Lee and Low Books Inc, 2019. 
• Alexander, Kwame, et al. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick Press, 2021.