The schools that have had the greatest success during National Poetry Month are those in which individual teachers and librarians developed creative ways of making poetry a more important and visible part of daily life in school.

Start a favorite poem project in your school.
Invite one teacher each day to read aloud a favorite poem over your school's public address system. Or do what a school in Rye, New York did: During a morning school assembly in the month of April, one student read aloud his or her favorite poem. The favorite poems were then compiled into an anthology. The school created a poetry wall where poems were displayed throughout the school. Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project inspired this project. Click here for more information.

Plan a "Poetry Slam."
Have a community celebration around poetry by inviting students to memorize and perform poetry at a school assembly.

Redecorate with poetry.
Spruce up the halls, cafeteria, and restrooms in your school by inviting classes to select and illustrate poems to hang around the school.

Initiate a "Poem In Your Pocket Day."
The Academy of American Poets has made this easy to do by posting 24 well-known poems in preformatted templates on their web site. Select one a day for the month of April, or share several on April 30, which is National Poem In Your Pocket Day. Click here for more information.