Poetry Program, Session II: Poem in Your Pocket Day

Every year, the Academy of American Poets invites us to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day (z.umn.edu/wbr58). This day is sparked by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers poem, Keep A Poem In Your Pocket. It begins: “Keep a poem in your pocket / And a picture in your head / And you’ll never feel lonely / At night when you’re in bed.”

Preparation

Step 1: Gather poetry books. Make sure to get a good, broad selection, such as A Poke in the I, Talking Like the Rain, Rolling Harvey Down the Hill, Meet Danitra Brown, Joyful Noise, Something Big Has Been Here, Little Dog Poems, Red Sings from Treetops, and Mammalabilia. Include some rhyming picture books, such as Little Blue Truck, My Little Sister Ate One Hare, and Maxi the Taxi Dog.

Step 2: Have Writing Boxes and 5″ by 8″ cards (colorful ones are nice) available.

Step 3: Choose a few poems that speak to you. Practice reading them aloud.

Step 4: Choose a mentor text poem—a poem you would keep in your pocket—and copy it on a colored 5″ by 8″ card.

Step 5: Memorize “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket”

Step 6: Copy a few poems to hand out as examples.

The Workshop

Step 1: Recite “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket.”

Step 2: Share the poetry books.

Step 3: Ask each of children to select a poem that speaks to them and copy it on a 5″ by 8″ card. Each child will create two cards, one to keep and one to post for anyone to take on Poem in Your Pocket Day.

Step 4: Have children practice reading aloud the poems they have chosen.

Step 5: Pair kids up and have them ask each other if they have a poem in their pocket, then have them read their poems to each other.

Step 6: Give a five-minute warning for cleanup. Remind the children when the Writing Boxes are available to use in the library. Clean up the area and put away supplies.

Step 7: Take a few minutes to share the poems