POETRY FRIDAY: Praise for the POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY

On Monday, I received a much-anticipated delivery: my very own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology, Poems for the School Year with Connections to the Common Core, compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.

As a relative newcomer to the “Poetry Friday” party, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Poetry Friday posts by different bloggers each week—poetry has been one of my favorite written forms for as long as I can remember. Shortly after I started participating with my own blog posts, I realized that there was (gasp!) an actual Poetry Friday Anthology! I finally got around to ordering it last week, and when it showed up on Monday, I was thrilled. I started reading it that night, and have spent many hours this week working through the poems, learning more about the common core standards for poetry, and marveling at the amazing teacher (and parent) suggestions. My overriding thought, however, has been, “I wish I’d had this when I was teaching!” If I could afford to buy this for every single one of my kids’ former teachers, I would in a heartbeat. Needless to say, this is one of the end-of-year gifts my boys’ current teachers will be receiving in June!

The anthology begins with an overview of "Poetry and the Common Core," and then presents the common core standards for poetry in K-5, with 36 featured poems for each grade level—enough for each week of a standard school year. The book features a variety of poetic forms and devices, and includes original poetry by many of today’s most talented children’s writers. Each poem is accompanied by suggested activities and applications to supplement the lesson. The recommended activities are designed to help teachers meet the standards of the common core curriculum in fun, creative ways that will engage students and breathe life into the poetry. There is a lot of flexibility in this approach; teachers can spend just a few minutes on the poems and activities each week, or devote more time with the more involved activities listed. Either way, this anthology is a wonderful resource for anyone who’d like to incorporate more poetry into their school day—or into their reading time at home. (My boys will get to enjoy this during our “summer school” at home starting in a few weeks!)

So if you, like me, were woefully oblivious to this wonderful book, PLEASE check it out! It is available at online retailers everywhere. There is also a Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School (grades 6-8). For more information, visit PoetryFridayAnthology.blogspot.com or PomeloBooks.com.

Happy Writing!