Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Design posters, flyers, memes, and more without registration using PosterMaker. Use the tools from this site to create designs including borders, backgrounds, frames, and much more. When finished, save in several different formats including JPG, PNG, and PDF.

tag(s): creativity (91), digital storytelling (141), images (262), posters (45)

Use Word Mover to assemble found poems from word tiles. Use word banks, existing famous works, or create your own word tiles. Experiment with word placement, size, font, color options, and twelve backgrounds. Register with a username and save to your device or computer, send as email, or print. Click on the Instructions in the top menu, or find an introductory video (and plenty of lesson ideas below that) here. Word Mover will work on any device that uses a web browser and Flash. There is also an app for both iPads and Android devices.

tag(s): creative writing (121), creativity (91), DAT device agnostic tool (143), grammar (133), poetry (189), sentences (22), writing (315)

Bring Shakespeare to young people with these K-8 resources and ideas. No matter the age of the young people involved, find everything needed to put on a scene from Shakespeare. Click on the selections on the left menu to find scenes from Shakespeare's plays edited for different grade levels. From the left menu you can also explore the exercises, a resource page that lists films, websites, and books. Find those by clicking on the resources in the right column of each landing page. Give young people the exposure to the dramatic arts and enrichment for their language arts skills. Help them experience an educational boost while developing self-confidence, teamwork, and discipline. At the bottom of the home page find links for parents and teachers. Don't miss how to "do" your own Shakespeare. Texas teachers will appreciate TEKS connections in the Teacher section.

tag(s): literature (217), plays (27), poetry (189), shakespeare (93)

Diamonds are forever, and so are diamante poems created on this free site. Find a great tool to shape up your poets through the structure of a seven lined diamante poem. Learn about the diamond-shaped poems that use specific types of words for each line. Rhyming isn't needed, but needn't be impeded. Describe a central topic or two opposing topics like night and day. View the examples before creating your poem. Each screen provides an organizer for any poet to complete. Click on the parts of speech for definitions while composing poems. Edit your poem, if needed, before printing, downloading it as a PDF, or sharing through email. Save your draft to continue at a later date. This site is a must during poetry month in April.

tag(s): antonyms (14), firstday (22), parts of speech (40), poetry (189), rhymes (21), synonyms (17)

Encourage budding poets with Power Poetry. Power Poetry's mission is to close the literacy gap through poetry. This is a community where young people of all backgrounds come together to process their emotions using poetry. Find challenges to write about social issues or to write a poem in only 140 characters. Scroll down the page and point out the topic "7 Famous Poetic Pop Songs" where students are sure to recognize current singer/song writers. Find many supportive community members to encourage you to develop your voice. From the dropdown menu on the top click Resources then Teachers to find lesson plans, a free "How to Teach Poetry" course, and lots more. Poets are free to write about any subject; however, there are site guidelines to prevent hate speech and other inappropriate content. Join with a username and email address. On your profile, there is the option of sharing your first name and last initial, profile picture, and a short biography. You can message each other within the site, but this feature can be disabled from account settings.

tag(s): poetry (189), social and emotional learning (81)

PoemHunter is a search engine (and more) for finding poems, lyrics, and quotations. Know only part of a poem or quotation? Type it in the search box to find the entire original source. Choose from hot poems or specific topics on the home page. View and explore the top 500 poets and/or the top 500 poems. Read the Poem of the Day that includes three poems: one classic, one modern, and one viewer submitted. Choose from the poets, poems, quotations, or lyrics tabs to narrow your search to specific topics. Become a member to save favorite poems for further reference. Be aware: many of the pages include comments from users. While all were appropriate at the time of this review, it is always best to preview!
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tag(s): authors (103), biographies (93), literature (217), poetry (189), quotations (20)

Explore and listen to poetry at No Water River. Click the Poetry Video Library to choose from many poetry videos offered to view and hear poems, some read by the actual authors. If you want to see the whole post for a particular poem (including an interview with the poet and extension activities) just go back to the home page and search the poem or poet via the search box in the right sidebar. Choose the resource link to find tips for performing poetry and for big lists of children's poets, poetic forms, and poetic terms. Some of the video clips are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): poetry (189), rhymes (21)