About This Lesson
April is National Poetry Month. It’s time to celebrate the power of words—whether they are combined to make a sonnet, haiku, narrative, free verse, or other style of poem. This month, encourage students to discover poetry through the lens of poets from different backgrounds. Antjie Krog is a female poet from South Africa. Joumana Haddad is a female poet from Lebanon who also founded Jasad, an Arabic-language magazine. Our favorite poet to highlight is Rita Dove, an African American poet who wrote the poem “First Book,” after which our organization was named.
Use this downloadable April calendar to help you start planning activities to boost cultural competence in your classroom or program next month. This resource was designed in response to First Book and Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) member feedback that revealed the challenges many educators face in finding time or resources to regularly celebrate culture, diversity & inclusion with their students. Visit www.fbmarketplace.org/free-resources to access the free, downloadable full 12-month calendar, and explore www.fbmarketplace.org/stories-for-all-project for diverse and inclusive books and resources curated by First Book.
