Poem of the Month
Welcome to Learning Through Literature’s Poem of the Month
Below is a link to the PDF document for the current Poem of the Month.
Click the button below to open the PDF and print or save to a device.
Never miss a Poem of the Month!
Enter your email address using the form below, click subscribe, and you’ll be signed up to receive Poem of the Month emails (plus Learning Through Literature newsletter emails).
Once confirmed, you’ll be redirected back to this page with the current month’s poem PDF document. We’ll send a link to each subsequent poem in an email at the beginning the month.
With POTM, you’ll get a PDF document once a month with the following:
- A poem
- Quick bio of poet
- Poetry terms to explore and discuss
- Examples of those terms from the poem
- Titles of other notable poems to explore (related ones or by the same poet)
Simply save or print the document and reference it when you’re ready to share the poem with your kids!
How to Use POTM at Home
We won’t tell you how you must use the Poem of the Month in your home, but we do have some ideas on how to make it fun and get the most out of using the resource.
Some tips for using Poem of the Month:
- Read for enjoyment. Start by reading the poem with the goal of simply sharing something wonderful with your kids. No pressure for them to understand or find sudden inspiration to major in English literature. Just enjoy it together and have light conversation about it.
- Encourage interest with snacks. It’s a scientific fact, right? Add food, and kids will be more interested in participating. Also, their mouths will be occupied, which frees up their ears to listen.
- Consider having Poetry Teatime (tea not required). Julie Bogart, from BraveWriter, created this concept. She encourages families to make a regular habit of gathering for tea, snacks, and poetry. It’s delightful, and weaving it into routine means it’s more likely to happen. p.s. – Lemonade is a lovely replacement if you don’t like tea.
- Memorize the poem as a family. It’s much more fun when everyone participates. A memorized poem becomes part of family culture. Don’t be surprised when one of you quotes a line and you all understand exactly what they mean.
- Keep it light and fun. Don’t make an academic study of it. Yes, we included poetry devices to learn and explore, but that doesn’t mean you need to dissect the thing word for word. (Please don’t.) The terms are included to build familiarity and to encourage engagement.