Participate in Poem in Your Pocket Day!
Event Description
Share a poem with everyone you meet on Poem in Your Pocket Day. As part of New York City's celebration of National Poetry Month, residents have participated in Poem in Your Pocket Day since 2002. Now the movement has gone national! Select a poem or compose an original work and carry it with you in your pocket all day, sharing the poem and the fun of National Poetry Month wherever you go.
Classroom Activity
Use the ReadWriteThink Stapleless Book tool to help your students celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets.
- Print, copy, and distribute copies of the Stapleless Book Planning Sheet. Ask students to brainstorm what they would like to include in their books of poetry.
- Have younger students select a poem, and space the poem a line or two at a time across the pages. They can add illustrations after they have printed. Older students can select a collection of poems they enjoy to include in the book.
- Give students time to type their poem(s) into the Stapleless Book tool.
- Have students print and create their books. They will need scissors to complete this step.
- Encourage students to take their books of poetry with them throughout the day, sharing them with people they meet.
- If time permits, print and prepare multiple copies of their books and have students put them in unexpected places throughout the building!
Websites
Part of Poets.org (online home of the Academy of American Poets), the Poem in Your Pocket Day page features the history of the event and ideas for celebrating-including a list of poems about pockets!
Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate, encourages students to take daily pleasure and inspiration from the collection of poems on this Library of Congress site. In addition to the 180 poems, Collins offers advice on reading poems aloud.
The Favorite Poem Project, cosponsored by Boston University and the Library of Congress, is dedicated to celebrating, documenting, and encouraging poetry's role in Americans' lives. Watch or listen to citizens read poems they love.
The Poetry Archive uses digital recordings of a diverse range of poems to help make poetry accessible, relevant, and enjoyable to a wide audience. The site features historic and contemporary recordings and offers resources for students, teachers, and librarians.