In this episode, you'll hear about creative retellings in a variety of genres and forms, including biographies, short story anthologies, verse novels, and picture books.
New Takes on Old Tales
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Celebrating Poetry for Teens
6 - 12
In honor of National Poetry Month in April, tune in for recommendations of a variety of poetry books for teens.
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Valentine's Day is today!
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
Students find examples of figurative language and write an original example of each device, illustrate, and share them with the class.
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Poet Robert Burns was born in 1759.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students read examples of traditional Scottish ballads and use this information to write and perform their own ballads.
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Langston Hughes was born in 1902.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students examine the poem "Dreams" and identify metaphors in each sentence. Groups of students then compose poems with metaphors for dreams.
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Poe's "The Raven" was published in 1845.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
As Poe's "The Raven" is read aloud, students note their reactions and discuss the changes or development of their first impressions as the poem continues.
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Poet Emily Dickinson was born in 1830.
9 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students discuss Dickinson's poem "This Is My Letter To The World" and use it to focus on how audience affects voice.
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Poet Yusef Komunyakaa was born in 1947.
8 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students examine imagery in the work of Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa.
Grades
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April is National Poetry Month!
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
Students are assigned to be "poets of the day" and are provided several models to create, illustrate, and present their different poems to the class.
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In 1928, Maya Angelou was born.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
After hearing Maya Angelou's poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," students infer information about the speaker and her feelings about America and reflect on how one's life and experiences can influence one's writing.
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Poet Robert Frost was born in 1874.
9 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students celebrate Frost's birthday by exploring his innovation in the sonnet form by studying poems and presenting them to the class.
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Science writer Seymour Simon was born in 1931.
3 - 8
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students select and explore a scientific topic in detail using Simon's nonfiction science books and then use what they learn to write original poetry on the topic.
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Children's author Patricia Polacco was born in 1944.
3 - 8
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students share family stories of their own by writing original poems and reviewing parts of speech using the Diamante Poems tool.
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Newbery Medal winner Christopher Paul Curtis was born in 1953.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students brainstorm a list of civil rights-related issues and use the Acrostic Poems interactive to create poems.
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Poet Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943.
1 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Using the poem "My First Memory (of Librarians)," students connect memory, their senses, and the language of poetry.
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Gwendolyn Brooks published Bronzeville Boys and Girls in 1956.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
After students have read and discussed several poems from Brooks' collection, they create a poetry anthology for their own family, neighborhood, or classroom.
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Poet and author Pat Mora was born on this day in 1942.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students study and write extended metaphors through the use of Pat Mora's book.
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Seamus Heaney was born on this day in 1939.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students focus on the figurative language in Heaney's poem, "Digging," and discuss the speaker's attitude, and how metaphor, simile, and image contribute to the poem.
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Today is Walt Whitman's birthday.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students write and illustrate their own children's stories using the text from a Walt Whitman poem.
Grades
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Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar was born today in 1872.
8 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students read one of Dunbar's most famous poems and explore how critical excerpts shape their understanding.