Resources for Black History Month and Get Your Free National Poetry Month Poster

February 2015 February Is Black History Month   To help celebrate, we’ve created a new lesson plan on the African American experience, as well as a collection of poems, historic audio recordings, essays, and more. Looking ahead, be sure to order your free National Poetry Month poster in time for April while supplies last!

Featured Lesson Plan   Our new lesson plan focuses on Academy Chancellor Toi Derricotte’s poem “The Weakness,“ in which she recounts the experience of a young African American girl and her light-skinned grandmother as they shop in a department store in 1945. To provide diverse learners with multiple entry points to the poem, we start with role playing, so that all students can have something to say in classroom discussion.     More Resources for Black History Month   Take a look at the collection ofresources we compiled in honor of the rich tradition of African American poetry, featuring historic readings byGwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, and Langston Hughes; poems by contemporary poets breaking new ground; and essays about poetic schools and movements.       Sing the Sun Up   Published by Teachers & Writers Collaborative and written for teachers seeking to inspire and motivate their students to read and write, Sing the Sun Up: Creative Writing Ideas from African American Literature includes a variety of exercises and lessons featuring the works of African American writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Bob Kaufman, and Derek Walcott, among others.       Read More Poems on the African American Experience Read More Lesson Plans Aligned with the Common Core Find Online Resources for Educators Get a Free National Poetry Month Poster for the Classroom   Be sure to order your official National Poetry Month poster, designed this year by National Book Award finalist and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast and featuring a line of poetry by Mark Strand. The poster is available for freethrough Poets.org while supplies last.       Dear Poet Project   Participate in this year's National Poetry Month education project Dear Poet, which invites students to write letters in response to poems shared by award-winning poets in a series of exclusive videos on Poets.org. Don't miss our Common Core-aligned lesson plan that accompanies the videos.