Poetry anthologies are a great way to introduce students to a wide variety of poems and poets, and Forget-Me-Nots Poems to Learn by Heart selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Michael Emberley is one of my favorites.
This collection gathers a wide swath of both well-known and new poems, with a focus on poems that would work well for memorization. The book even includes an overview about poetry and poetry memorization, along with some useful tips and advice.
This is a book I turn to every April for National Poetry Month. In addition to Poem in a Pocket Day (April 30 for 2015), I also have students choose and memorize a favorite poem during that month. Kids love the challenge of memorizing a poem and enjoy hearing others share and perform.
I also love that this anthology includes some poems to support poetry memorization. I often use the poem above to introduce the idea to students (another great one is "Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers from Pocket Poems). It's amazing the thoughts and ideas that they have to contribute when you start a conversation about poetry and the benefits of memorizing poems.
Do you memorize poems?
I still remember a performance of Lewis Carroll's "The Jabborwocky" by my sixth grade teachers that inspired me to memorize that poem way back when. And I still have it with me!
This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Becky at Tapestry of Words. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.
Memorizing poetry is a wonderful way for kids to experience the richness of language. I will have to get a copy of this anthology to use in my April poetry presentations (I already use Pocket Poems!).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Becky. I share both of the Pocket Poems books with the kids too, but I love this anthology for including so many "classics" along with newer poems as well.
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