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The Poetry Society UK : check out the section for teachers! 

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The Poetry Society UK : check out the section for teachers! 

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On this site, you'll find a wide selection of poetry lesson plans and activities covering the whole spectrum of key stages, and exploring many themes and forms of poetry.

Each resource has been created by our team of poet-educators and poetry-passionate teachers; all with extensive experience of encouraging an enthusiasm for poetry in the classroom.

You can use these resources in conjunction with our other education programmes for schools and young people, from Poets in Schools, to the life-changing Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award for 11-17 year olds, and Young Poets Network 's tips and prompts for under 25s.

In these strange times, when many of us are learning or teaching from home, we are creating more multi-media poetry resources for you to use with your students, from stress-busters to unseen poetry exam tips. Visit our Learning from Home page for more.

Let us know how you find using our resources, and how you adapt them for your class. You can tweet us at @PoetryEducation or email [email protected] .

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On this site, you'll find a wide selection of poetry lesson plans and activities covering the whole spectrum of key stages, and exploring many themes and forms of poetry. Each resource has been created by our team of poet-educators and poetry-passionate teachers; all with extensive experience of encouraging an enthusiasm for poetry in the classroom.

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There are many advantages to be found in studying and reciting poetry: Poetry offers examples of mastery of language and stocks the mind with images and ideas expressed in unforgettable words and phrases. Poetry trains and develops our emotional intelligence.

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Gayle was born in New York City and, at age 8 months, moved with her family to Atlanta, Georgia. It was not until after she finished school that she learned about slam poetry. She embraced it almost immediately won the 1994 National Individual Slam Poet in Ashville, NC just months after being exposed to slam poetry. In Heidelberg, Germany, she became the 1996 International Slam Poet Champion.
The mission of Poetry Slam Incorporated (PSI) is to promote the performance and creation of poetry while cultivating literary activities and spoken word events in order to build audience participation, stimulate creativity, awaken minds, foster education, inspire mentoring, encourage artistic statement and engage communities worldwide in the revelry of language.
Slam combines movement, voice, drama and the written word for an unforgettable spoken word experience. Slam made its debut back in the late 1980's in Chicago when a local poet named Marc Smith grew tired of the stale presentations of poetry that seemed to pervade the coffee shops and libraries around town. Thus slam was born as a way of expressing oneself briefly, powerfully and impactfully.
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary
organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.
"If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis -- from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project V.O.I.C.E. -- and gives two breathtaking performances of "B" and "Hiroshima."
By turn hilarious and haunting, poet Shane Koyczan puts his finger on the pulse of what it's like to be young and ... different. "To This Day," his spoken-word poem about bullying, captivated millions as a viral video (created, crowd-source style, by 80 animators). Here, he gives a glorious, live reprise with back story and violin accompaniment by Hannah Epperson.

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Become a slam poet in five steps - Gayle Danley

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With enough passion and practice, becoming a slam poet is within your reach. Explore a distant memory on paper, then read it out loud. Edit. Try reading it out loud again, and add your finishing touches. Gayle Danley offers five steps to being a slam poet -- while being downright poetic in the process.

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Let's Begin...

What exactly makes a poem ... a poem? Poets themselves have struggled with this question, often using metaphors to approximate a definition. Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream? Melissa Kovacs shares three recognizable characteristics of most poetry.

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here "

Meet The Creators

Educator Melissa Kovacs

Director Richard O'Connor

Producer Richard O'Connor

Animator Taisiya Zaretskaya, Phil Powers

Illustrator Taisiya Zaretskaya

Composer Gareth Averill

Associate Producer Jessica Ruby

Content Producer Gerta Xhelo

Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal

Narrator Addison Anderson

See more creators

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What makes a poem ... a poem? - Melissa Kovacs

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What exactly makes a poem ... a poem? Poets themselves have struggled with this question, often using metaphors to approximate a definition. Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream? Melissa Kovacs shares three recognizable characteristics of most poetry.

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Article MO: ‘Juf, ik kan niets schrijven want ik voel niets’

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Article MO: ‘Juf, ik kan niets schrijven want ik voel niets’

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'Juf, ik kan niets schrijven want ik voel niets. Jongens horen ook geen emoties te tonen. Blijheid, verdriet en woede laten zien zijn tekenen van zwakte.' Het is één van de uitspraken van een vijftienjarige leerling in een Amsterdamse middelbare school. Op het moment dat het debat over toxic masculinity opnieuw op gang komt, blijft de opmerking me achtervolgen. Ik zoek naar een manier om met deze tieners, wiens leefwereld zo fundamenteel anders is dan de mijne, een verbinding te maken. En dat lukte. Dankzij hiphop.

De aanleiding voor mijn aanwezigheid in de klas is het columnfestival in Amsterdam: een event waarbij honderden scholieren worden uitgenodigd om hun ideeën, meningen en belevenissen in een column te gieten. Met een team gastdocenten schuimen we de verschillende middelbare scholen af om jongeren te coachen in het schrijven.

Op het moment dat ik enkele aanvankelijk ongeïnteresseerde jongens vertelde dat ze hun column ook in de vorm van een rap- of hiphoptekst mochten vormgeven, lichtten hun gezichten helemaal op. De creatieve kant van deze jongens die tot dan onopgemerkt bleef, kreeg opeens een plaats in de klas, op de school waar ze naar eigen zeggen zo "moe" van waren. En nu deden ze een vreugdedansje toen ze hoorden dat er ook Nederlandse hiphopartiesten in de jury van het festival zouden zetelen en dus misschien wel hun teksten zouden lezen.

De clips waarin rappers staan te pronken met luxe auto's, wapens en halfnaakte vrouwen bestaan nog steeds, maar er is een tegengeluid dat sterker is dan ooit.

Hiphop krijgt vooral media-aandacht wanneer de problematiek rond homofobe en vrouwonvriendelijke teksten wordt aangekaart of wanneer de vraag wordt gesteld of je al dan niet mag meezingen met het n-woord. Hoewel ik dit waardevolle en broodnodige discussies vind, blijf ik nog altijd op mijn honger zitten, wachtend op opinies en analyses die vertellen hoe hiphop de afgelopen jaren is gegroeid tot het populairste muziekgenre op deze planeet - ja, groter dan rock.

Of hoe hiphop er eindelijk in is geslaagd om mannelijke rolmodellen te bieden, die het stereotype van de rapper met gouden chains en diamanten grills overstijgt. De clips waarin rappers staan te pronken met luxe auto's, wapens en halfnaakte vrouwen bestaan nog steeds, maar er is een tegengeluid dat sterker is dan ooit.

Terwijl ik in de klas rond loop om de leerlingen te helpen met de eerste aanzet van hun tekst, kom ik bij een jongen, die helemaal nog geen idee heeft waarover hij zou willen schrijven. Ik vraag hem wat hij leuk vindt en hij antwoordt zonder aarzelen: hiphop. 'Oké, perfect. Wie is je favoriete artiest?', vraag ik. Hij kijkt me aan alsof antwoorden op mijn vraag hopeloos is. Ik zie en voel hem denken dat ik geen idee kan hebben wat er zich in de scène afspeelt. Hij blijft stil. 'Mijn favoriet in Nederland is Lijpe', zeg ik - toegegeven - met een beetje zelftrots. Zijn ogen worden groot en hij antwoordt met een uitgestoken arm en een vuist. Boks. 'Mijne ook', knikt hij instemmend.

Op dat moment maakte ik dankzij hiphop een connectie en ik was van plan om deze trigger in productieve ideeën voor zijn column in te zetten. 'Waarom vind je Lijpe zo goed?', vraag ik. 'Lijpe is gewoon écht. Ik voel hem. Hij rapt over het leven op de straat, over juiste en foute keuzes maken, ove religie. Weet je wat? Ik ga beginnen met een quote van hem die mij het meest raakt en dan uitleggen waarom.' Mission accomplished. Dat deze jongen er ook nog eens in geslaagd om zich emotioneel de verbinden met de lyrische kracht van hiphop toont aan dat er wel degelijk een shift aan de gang is.

Het onvermogen om emoties te tonen is vandaag een volwaardig onderwerp geworden in het ooit exclusief hypermasculiene genre dat hiphop een tijdje geleden was.

Het onvermogen om emoties te tonen is vandaag een volwaardig onderwerp geworden in het ooit exclusief hypermasculiene genre dat hiphop een tijdje geleden was. Dankzij artiesten zoals Drake, Kendrick Lamar en J. Cole toont hiphop vandaag dat mannen ook kwetsbare wezens kunnen en mogen zijn. Eindelijk! Drake rapt en zingt eindeloos over zijn liefdesverdriet. Kendrick Lamar - die voor zijn poëtische teksten trouwens als eerste artiest ooit een Pulitzerprijs won - dook in zijn nummer FEAR helemaal in de pyschologie van zijn diepste angsten en onzekerheden.

De nog onvolprezen J. Cole rapt in zijn nummer Folding Clothes het volgende:
'Put your frown on before they think you soft
Never smile long or take your defense off
Acting tough so much we start to feel hard'
Ook in de Nederlandse hiphop-scène is de verandering ingezet. Niet op zijn minst door Willem, voormalig lid van The Opposites, die met zijn album Man in nood zich helemaal blootstelde over zijn depressies en angstaanvallen. Wat als de jongen die in het begin van deze column stelde dat emoties tonen een zwakte is, naar deze hiphoppers zou luisteren? Wat zou er in hem kunnen veranderen? Hoe zou hij zich durven voelen? En dat is precies wat ik bedoel met de nieuwe rolmodellen die hedendaagse hiphop vandaag biedt.

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'Juf, ik kan niets schrijven want ik voel niets'

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'Juf, ik kan niets schrijven want ik voel niets. Jongens horen ook geen emoties te tonen. Blijheid, verdriet en woede laten zien zijn tekenen van zwakte.' Het is één van de uitspraken van een vijftienjarige leerling in een Amsterdamse middelbare school. Op het moment dat het debat over toxic masculinity opnieuw op gang komt, blijft de opmerking me achtervolgen.

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Performance poetry- Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye

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Performance poetry- Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye

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Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye "When Love Arrives"

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about

After "The Entombment" by Raphael

The night my father died, I sat on a stool
at the Buckhorn, gazing
out the window's cool counter seat.
Like a funhouse mirror, you appeared.
I have a familiar-looking face; my father used to say-
his wish for me to blend in.
Late after an argument, I fled
and was found bound to a prairie fence
after eighteen hours.
My body is like a sock in the wind
in a field just a mile from here.
My face blooms, velvety
and light like a lamb's ear,

frozen with blood; down
my neck, it goes. A medley of ants shuffles
away. My body is rich with the sour smell
of urine on my head like a crown of daffodils. stachys byzantina; my ears

Copyright © 2023 by Ruben Quesada. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 27, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.

One does such work as one will not,
And well each knows the right;
Though the white storm howls, or the sun is hot,
The black must serve the white.
And it's, oh, for the white man's softening flesh,
While the black man's muscles grow!
Well I know which grows the mightier,

O, rich young lord, thou ridest by
With looks of high disdain;
It chafes me not thy title high,
Thy blood of oldest strain.
The lady riding at thy side
Is but in name thy promised bride.
Ride on, young lord, ride on!

I'm in my room writing
speaking in myself
& I hear you
move down the hallway
to water your plants

I write truth on the page
I strike the word over & over
yet I worry you'll pour too much water on the plants
& the water will overflow onto the books
ruining them

If I can't speak out of myself
how can I tell you I don't care about the plants?
how can I tell you I don't care if the books get wet?

I have folded my sorrows into the mantle of summer night,
Assigning each brief storm its allotted space in time,
Quietly pursuing catastrophic histories buried in my eyes.
And yes, the world is not some unplayed Cosmic Game,
And the sun is still ninety-three million miles from me,
And in the imaginary forest, the shingled hippo becomes the gray unicorn.
No, my traffic is not with addled keepers of yesterday's disasters,
Seekers of manifest disembowelment on shafts of yesterday's pains.

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Home The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets.

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Rupi Kaur. 474,077 likes · 19,184 talking about this. author. poetess. spoken word performer. purchase the first book 'milk and honey' at: www.rupikaur.com/shop

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A Muslim and Jewish girl's bold poetry slam

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Get Lit: changing the world one word at a time

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Get Lit: changing the world one word at a time

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Changing the World, One Word at a Time! | The Queen Latifah Show

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This is my body is a spoken word piece by Agnes Torok, a commentary on people judging, grabbing and commenting on her body. She talks about the all the incredible things she can do with her body and how she shouldn't be seen as a sex object.

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Founded in 2006, our mission is to provide citizens with the knowledge and perspectives essential to creating a more beautiful, just, sustainable, and democratic society.

To dive in, click the Explore button above. You can filter by subject and category at the same time, and sort by newest, most viewed and top-rated.

Help us keep the quality of the site high by rating content 1-5 stars.

Add videos to our library! Half of our best content was added by members.

Have a question or suggestion? Feel free to get in touch.

Want to support us and watch some great films in the process? Our $5/mo Patrons get access to 15 of our favorite documentaries.

Why join Films For Action?

Goal: To rapidly transition to a just, ecologically sustainable, holistic way of living as fast as possible.

We believe the first step to achieve this goal should be an information delivery network that can amplify the impacts of all our efforts 1000 fold.

Although Films For Action is centered around film - its true objective is the transformation of the world. This means moving away from the unsustainable paradigm we have now to a regenerative paradigm, as fast as humanly possible.

Film is the medium of delivery -- the catalyst, the metabolizing agent to speed up, amplify and multiply the effects of every transition movement on the planet. And of course, "transition" contains it all - social justice, ecological regeneration, true democracy, egalitarian economics, universal empathy, less cultural insanity and more happiness and well-being.

All of these movements need a media ecosystem that supports this transition, rather than the media we have today which marginalizes it, ignores it, sanitizes it, suppresses it, or actively fights it. There is certainly good coverage across many different news outlets, and the quality and depth varies, but in terms of volume, the good stuff is easily lost in the deluge of superficial concerns.

Watch any network TV channel for 24 hours or read the newspaper for a week, and you will see what we mean. The dominant narratives which drive the national debate and become "common knowledge" is more often superficial, focused on symptoms rather than root causes, and reinforces the conventional "two sides" within the status quo. The lies and spin promoted by figures in power become well known, while voices that challenge and expand the range of debate rarely get heard. But most importantly, the level of repetition and volume of coverage is what counts. What gets covered day after day, and what gets covered once and is forgotten, or not covered at all? That's why we need a media movement that's dedicated to elevating the voices that aren't getting heard. We need media alternatives that make social change its primary focus. That's why Films For Action exists.

Ultimately, we're just one star in this growing constellation of new media, but we aim to do our part by cultivating the best video library dedicated to transition online, and we hope you'll join us.

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2 minutes | This is my body is a spoken word piece by Agnes Torok, a commentary on people judging, grabbing and commenting on her body. She talks about the all the incredible things she can do with her body...

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Founded in 2006, our mission is to provide citizens with the knowledge and perspectives essential to creating a more beautiful, just, sustainable, and democratic society.

To dive in, click the Explore button above. You can filter by subject and category at the same time, and sort by newest, most viewed and top-rated.

Help us keep the quality of the site high by rating content 1-5 stars.

Add videos to our library! Half of our best content was added by members.

Have a question or suggestion? Feel free to get in touch.

Want to support us and watch some great films in the process? Our $5/mo Patrons get access to 15 of our favorite documentaries.

Why join Films For Action?

Goal: To rapidly transition to a just, ecologically sustainable, holistic way of living as fast as possible.

We believe the first step to achieve this goal should be an information delivery network that can amplify the impacts of all our efforts 1000 fold.

Although Films For Action is centered around film - its true objective is the transformation of the world. This means moving away from the unsustainable paradigm we have now to a regenerative paradigm, as fast as humanly possible.

Film is the medium of delivery -- the catalyst, the metabolizing agent to speed up, amplify and multiply the effects of every transition movement on the planet. And of course, "transition" contains it all - social justice, ecological regeneration, true democracy, egalitarian economics, universal empathy, less cultural insanity and more happiness and well-being.

All of these movements need a media ecosystem that supports this transition, rather than the media we have today which marginalizes it, ignores it, sanitizes it, suppresses it, or actively fights it. There is certainly good coverage across many different news outlets, and the quality and depth varies, but in terms of volume, the good stuff is easily lost in the deluge of superficial concerns.

Watch any network TV channel for 24 hours or read the newspaper for a week, and you will see what we mean. The dominant narratives which drive the national debate and become "common knowledge" is more often superficial, focused on symptoms rather than root causes, and reinforces the conventional "two sides" within the status quo. The lies and spin promoted by figures in power become well known, while voices that challenge and expand the range of debate rarely get heard. But most importantly, the level of repetition and volume of coverage is what counts. What gets covered day after day, and what gets covered once and is forgotten, or not covered at all? That's why we need a media movement that's dedicated to elevating the voices that aren't getting heard. We need media alternatives that make social change its primary focus. That's why Films For Action exists.

Ultimately, we're just one star in this growing constellation of new media, but we aim to do our part by cultivating the best video library dedicated to transition online, and we hope you'll join us.

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The Most Dangerous People Always Claim They Want to Protect You From Dangerous People

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Founded in 2006, our mission is to provide citizens with the knowledge and perspectives essential to creating a more beautiful, just, sustainable, and democratic society. To dive in, click the Explore button above. You can filter by subject and category at the same time, and sort by newest, most viewed and top-rated.

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Solli Raphael, 12, becomes youngest winner of Australian Poetry Slam

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Solli Raphael, 12, becomes youngest winner of Australian Poetry Slam

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Solli Raphael, 12, becomes youngest winner of Australian Poetry Slam

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Royalty "Letter To Your Flag" | 2018 Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam

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Royalty "Letter To Your Flag" | 2018 Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam

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Royalty "Letter To Your Flag" | 2018 Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam

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Automatically generate imaginative poetry using your own ideas. Select from a variety of structures and we’ll do the rhyming, syllable counting and imagery for you.