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Welcome to our new interactive Poetry in the Classroom Calendar,
designed to inspire ideas for bringing poetry into your classroom
throughout the 2020–2021 academic year. Click the linked icons and
text to discover related resources.
For more than five decades, we’ve been dedicated to serving K–12
teachers through our programs and resources. Today, we’re the only
poetry organization that offers materials for teachers produced by
an education expert. Our Educator in Residence, Dr. Madeleine
Holzer, ensures that our education content is of the highest
quality.
Visit our website, Poets.org, and find over 3,000 biographies of
poets, over 11,000 poems discoverable by theme and occasion, plus
lesson plans, short essays on poetic terms, guides to poetic
schools and movements, and more...
Watch Our Video Guide to Teaching with Primary Sources Browse
Our Lesson Plans Read Our Tips for Teaching Poetry Remotely Sign Up
for Teach This Poem and Our Educator Newsletter Create a Poetry
Anthology to Share with Students Participate in the Dear Poet
Project Celebrate National Poetry Month Sign Up for Poem-a-Day Find
Poetry Near You Read Poems for Kids Browse Poetry Resources for
Teens
We hope you have a great school year. And we’re sincerely
grateful for all that you do! Here’s hoping our calendar makes it a
little easier.
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THEMES: Back to School National Hispanic Heritage Month National
Translation Month
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Labor DayInternational Literacy DayBIRTHDAY Sonia Sanchez (b.
1934)National Poetry Month Poster Contest BeginsBIRTHDAY H. D. (b.
1886)National Arts in Education Week BeginsBIRTHDAY Claude McKay
(b. 1889)BIRTHDAY William Carlos Williams (b. 1883)First Day of
AutumnNational Punctuation DayBIRTHDAY Shel Silverstein (b.
1930)BIRTHDAY T. S. Eliot (b. 1888)Banned Books Week Beginsv
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links to a related resource on poets.org
links to a related lesson plan on poets.org
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denotes a field trip opportunity to a historic site
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academy ofamerican poets
Poetry in the Classroom Calendar2020–2021
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Each birthday links to the poet’s biography on Poets.org
News from the Academy of American Poets National Poetry Month
Poster Contest Begins
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THEMES: Native American Heritage Month Thanksgiving
News from the Academy of American Poets
Fall–Winter American Poets Magazine Released
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BIRTHDAY Stephen Crane (b. 1871)Día de Muertos EndsNational
Author’s DayElection DayBIRTHDAY C. K. Williams (b. 1936)BIRTHDAY
Anne Sexton (b. 1928)Veterans DayBIRTHDAY Robert Louis Stevenson
(b. 1850)BIRTHDAY Wanda Coleman (b. 1946)BIRTHDAY Marianne Moore
(b. 1887)BIRTHDAY Ted Berrigan (b. 1934)BIRTHDAY Margaret Atwood
(b. 1939)ThanksgivingBIRTHDAY William Blake (b. 1757)
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World Teachers Day—Thank you for all you do!BIRTHDAY Amiri
Baraka (b. 1934)Teen Read Week BeginsIndigenous Peoples’
DayBIRTHDAY E. E. Cummings (b. 1894)Dictionary DayBIRTHDAY Oscar
Wilde (b. 1854)BIRTHDAY Jupiter Hammon (b. 1711)Black Poetry
DayBIRTHDAY John Berryman (b. 1914)BIRTHDAY Sylvia Plath (b. 1932)
Statue of Liberty Dedicated, 1886BIRTHDAY Ezra Pound (b.
1885)National Poetry Month Poster Contest ClosesHalloween
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https://poets.org/poet/stephen-cranehttps://poets.org/poet/c-k-williamshttps://poets.org/poet/anne-sextonhttps://poets.org/poet/robert-louis-stevensonhttps://poets.org/poet/wanda-colemanhttps://poets.org/poet/marianne-moorehttps://poets.org/poet/ted-berriganhttps://poets.org/poet/margaret-atwoodhttps://poets.org/poet/william-blakehttps://poets.org/collection/lesson-plans-about-politicshttps://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-poetry-marianne-moorehttp://www.poets.org/poetsorg/collection/we-poetshttps://poets.org/text/halloween-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/poet/amiri-barakahttps://poets.org/poet/e-e-cummingshttps://poets.org/poet/oscar-wildehttps://poets.org/poet/jupiter-hammonhttps://poets.org/poet/john-berrymanhttps://poets.org/poet/sylvia-plathhttps://poets.org/poet/ezra-poundhttps://poets.org/poetry-teenshttps://poets.org/text/ancestors-mapping-indigenous-poetry-and-poetshttps://poets.org/glossaryhttps://poets.org/anthology/black-lives-matterhttps://poets.org/poem/new-colossushttps://poets.org/lesson-plan/ghosts-and-spiritshttps://poets.org/lesson-plan/literature-warhttps://poets.org/poetshttps://poets.org/resources-teachershttps://poets.org/native-american-heritage-monthhttps://poets.org/poems-thanksgivinghttps://poets.org/poem/november-2-dia-de-los-muertoshttps://poets.org/american-poets-magazine/https://poets.org/lesson-plan/thanksgiving-richard-blancos-america
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ary THEMES: New Year, Handwriting
News from the Academy of American PoetsNational Poetry Month
Poster Contest Winner Announced
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New Year’s DayBIRTHDAY Carl Sandburg (b. 1878)BIRTHDAY C.D.
Wright (b. 1949)BIRTHDAY Robert Duncan (b. 1919) BIRTHDAY Philip
Levine (b. 1928) BIRTHDAY Robinson Jeffers (b. 1887)BIRTHDAY Laura
Riding Jackson (b. 1901)BIRTHDAY William Stafford (b. 1914)Martin
Luther King Jr. DayThesaurus DayBIRTHDAY Edgar Allan Poe (b.
1809)BIRTHDAY George Gordon Byron (b. 1788)National Handwriting
DayBIRTHDAY Robert Burns (b. 1759)BIRTHDAY Lewis Carroll (b.
1832)
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Rosa Parks Begins the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955World AIDS Day
BIRTHDAY Rainer Maria Rilke (b. 1875)BIRTHDAY Christina Rossetti
(b. 1830)Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941 BIRTHDAY James Tate (b.
1943)BIRTHDAY John Milton (b. 1608)BIRTHDAY Emily Dickinson (b.
1830) Human Rights DayBIRTHDAY Lola Ridge (b. 1873)BIRTHDAY James
Wright (b. 1927)BIRTHDAY Muriel Rukeyser (b. 1913)Boston Tea Party,
1773President Obama Signs the Native American Apology
ResolutionFirst Day of WinterGeorge Washington Crosses the Delaware
River, 1776BIRTHDAY Jean Toomer (b. 1894)
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THEMES: Women’s History Month Spring
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BIRTHDAY Robert Lowell (b. 1917)BIRTHDAY Dr. Seuss (b. 1904)
National Read Across America DayBIRTHDAY James Merrill (b. 1926)
National Grammar DayBIRTHDAY Elizabeth Barrett Browning (b.
1806)International Women’s DayBIRTHDAY Jack Kerouac (b. 1922)Pi
DaySt. Patrick’s DayFirst Day of SpringWorld Storytelling DayWorld
Poetry DayBIRTHDAY Robert Frost (b. 1874)BIRTHDAY Frank O’Hara (b.
1926)World Theatre DayBIRTHDAY Octavio Paz (b. 1914)
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THEMES: Black History Month Valentine’s Day
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BIRTHDAY Langston Hughes (b. 1902)BIRTHDAY James Joyce (b. 1882)
BIRTHDAY Gertrude Stein (b. 1874) BIRTHDAY Elizabeth Bishop (b.
1911) Valentine’s DayLibrary Lovers’ DayPresidents DayBIRTHDAY
Audre Lorde (b. 1934)World Day of Social JusticeBIRTHDAY W. H.
Auden (b. 1907)BIRTHDAY Edna St. Vincent Millay (b. 1892)Tell a
Fairy Tale DayBIRTHDAY Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (b. 1807)
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https://poets.org/poet/robert-lowellhttps://poets.org/text/poetry-dr-seusshttps://poets.org/poet/james-merrillhttps://poets.org/poet/elizabeth-barrett-browninghttps://poets.org/poet/jack-kerouachttps://poets.org/poet/robert-frosthttps://poets.org/poet/frank-oharahttps://poets.org/poet/octavio-pazhttps://poets.org/text/womens-history-month-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/text/spring-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/collection/poetry-irelandhttps://poets.org/lesson-plan/infinite-recesshttps://poets.org/text/world-poetry-day-march-21https://poets.org/poem/you-it-act-ii-scene-vii-all-worlds-stagehttps://poets.org/poet/langston-hugheshttps://poets.org/poet/james-joycehttps://poets.org/poet/gertrude-steinhttps://poets.org/poet/elizabeth-bishophttps://poets.org/poet/audre-lordehttps://poets.org/poet/w-h-audenhttps://poets.org/poet/edna-st-vincent-millayhttps://poets.org/poet/henry-wadsworth-longfellowhttps://poets.org/text/langston-hughes-discussion-questionshttps://poets.org/text/presidential-picks-abraham-lincolns-favorite-poetryhttps://poets.org/text/myths-and-fairy-tales-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/collection/lesson-plans-about-lovehttps://poets.org/text/libraries-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/text/video-civic-responsibility-poet-america-todayhttps://poets.org/listing/langston-hughess-hometown-lawrence-kshttps://poets.org/listing/langston-hughess-hometown-lawrence-kshttps://poets.org/listing/longfellow-househttps://poets.org/listing/longfellow-househttps://poets.org/listing/frost-placehttps://poets.org/bookshttps://poets.org/text/black-history-month-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/text/love-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/collection/lesson-plans-black-history-monthhttps://poets.org/text/womens-history-month-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/text/spring-poems-kidshttps://poets.org/collection/lesson-plans-womens-history-monthhttps://poets.org/collection/lesson-plans-springhttps://poets.org/text/grammar-poets
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THEMES: National Poetry Month! Arab American Heritage Month
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BIRTHDAY George Herbert (b. 1593)BIRTHDAY Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
National Library Week BeginsBIRTHDAY William Wordsworth (b. 1770)
BIRTHDAY Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)Abraham Lincoln Dies, 1865BIRTHDAY
Tracy K. Smith (b. 1972)Haiku Poetry DayPaul Revere's Ride,
1775BIRTHDAY Etheridge Knight (b. 1931) BIRTHDAY Charlotte Brontë
(b. 1816) Earth DayBIRTHDAY Louise Glück (b. 1943) BIRTHDAY William
Shakespeare (b. 1564) BIRTHDAY Yusef Komunyakaa (b. 1947)
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Have your class participate in our multimedia project Dear
Poet.Download our guide to celebrating Poem in Your Pocket
Day.Display the new National Poetry Month poster.Read “How to Read
a Poem” by Edward Hirsch. Host a student spoken word event at your
school.Have your students read and write sonnets.Read an excerpt of
The Life of Poetry by Muriel Rukeyser.Sign up for Poem-a-Day to
keep reading all year long.Sign up for Teach This Poem for free
lesson plans.Share your activities with us on social media:
#NationalPoetryMonthFeatured Digital Lesson Plan: Dear PoetLesson
Plans for Introducing Poetry30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry
Month is a Virtual Classroom
Featured Resources for National Poetry Month Visit Poets.org for
Ways to Celebrate
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THEMES: Asian/Pacific American HeritageMonth Get Caught
Reading
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May DayNational Teacher Appreciation Week BeginsChildren’s Book
Week BeginsBIRTHDAY Robert Browning (b. 1812)Mother’s DayBIRTHDAY
U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (b. 1951)BIRTHDAY Mona Van Duyn (b.
1921) BIRTHDAY Jayne Cortez (b. 1934) Limerick DayBIRTHDAY
Bernadette Mayer (b. 1945)BIRTHDAY Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)BIRTHDAY
Robert Creeley (b. 1926)Brooklyn Bridge Opened, 1883BIRTHDAY Ralph
Waldo Emerson (b. 1803) BIRTHDAY Frank Bidart (b. 1939)BIRTHDAY May
Swenson (b. 1913)BIRTHDAY Countee Cullen (b. 1903)BIRTHDAY Walt
Whitman (b. 1819)
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THEMES: LGBTQ Pride Month Graduation Summer
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BIRTHDAY Thomas Hardy (b. 1840)BIRTHDAY Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)
BIRTHDAY Federico García Lorca (b. 1898) BIRTHDAY Gwendolyn Brooks
(b. 1917) BIRTHDAY Nikki Giovanni (b. 1943) BIRTHDAY W. B. Yeats
(b. 1865) JuneteenthFather’s DayFirst Day of SummerBIRTHDAY Lucille
Clifton (b. 1936)BIRTHDAY Paul Laurence Dunbar (b. 1872)
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Summer Reading Sign up to receive Summer Camp, a weekly
newsletter with po-ems and fun activities for kids. Browse other
summer reading activities.
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