Wednesday, April 13, 2011

It's Lee's Birthday! Poems about Occasions


from April 2011


Happy birthday to Lee Bennett Hopkins!  Recipient of the NCTE Poetry Award, prolific anthologist, lifetime literary champion, and generous soul, Lee has introduced poetry to thousands of children, teachers, and families.  He has also held many poets' hands and hearts, lifting them into a community of writers.

Occasion Poems

Students - special days deserve special words.  And throughout history, people have written poetry and song for holidays and occasions.  Poetry helps us honor people, remember historical events, or simply hold a moment in our cupped hands and pause.

Think about your own life.  Who has a birthday coming up?  What important days or occasions does your family have on the horizon?  Just yesterday, an eighth grade boy I know wrote a fantastic poem about his hat, a hat made by his mom.  Wouldn't that poem make a great gift for her?  

Try finding poem ideas and spinning poems from the big days in your life and in the lives of those you love.

Here are a few such poems from this past year.


 from October 2010


 from January 2011


 from July 2011


 
from November 2010


Here are a few more poems that sprouted from important days.


All month I will continue to revisit different poetic elements and writing ideas through the poems of this past year's blog project.  I invite teachers and students alike to share your own poetry in the comments.  It would be delightful to feature some of this work in May or toward the month's end!

This Month's Poetry Revisits and Lessons So Far

April 1 -   Poems about Poems
April 2 -   Imagery
April 6 -   Free Verse
April 9 -   Poems about Science
April 10 - Rhyming Couplets  
April 11 -  Riddle Poems 
April 12 -  List Poems 
April 13 -  Today - Poems for Occasions & Special Days

Don't forget - tomorrow is Poem in Your Pocket Day!  What poem will you have in your pocket?

(Please click on POST A COMMENT below to share a thought.)

2 comments:

  1. Happy B-day to Lee and I love how you're incorporating 365 poems from April '10 to April '11 to your teachings this month.

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  2. Thank you, Charles! I thought it'd be good for me to take a tour through what happened last year. I honestly don't have much memory of it...a whirlwind! A.

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