April 1st: Penny Day

“Brown Penny” by W. B. Yeats

I WHISPERED, 'I am too young,'
And then, 'I am old enough';
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
'Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.'
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.

O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.

Finneran, Richard J. The collected poems of W.B. Yeats. New York, NY. Scribner. 1996.

• Go over meaning of poem: tossing a penny in a well to find out his love for a girl.
• Look up superstitions such as lucky penny.

April 2nd: International Children's Book Day

"Learning" by Judith Viorst

I'm learning to say thank you.
And I'm learning to say please.
And I'm learning to use Kleenex,
Not my sweater, when I sneeze.
And I'm learning not to dribble.
And I'm learning not to slurp.
And I'm learning (though it sometimes really hurts me)
Not to burp.
And I'm learning to chew softer
When I eat corn on the cob.
And I'm learning that it's much
Much easier to be a slob.

Prelutsky, Jack. The 20th century children's poetry treasury. Ney York, NY. Random House.

• Students are to write a poem about their favorite book that taught them something useful.
• Create a class book from all of the poems that were written.

April 3rd: Find a Rainbow Day

“My Rainbow from Heaven” by Sonji Rush

As I remember the time before our hearts met
Love seemed a stranger to me
For my heart had not known the beauty of true love
I did not know how wonderful life could be.

My days were once cloudy and dark
Yet never sweetened by the smell of rain
Then I saw you and I knew Heaven on earth
You brought sunshine into my life once again.

The air is so fragrant now
The sky is beautiful and blue
With a rainbow glowing down from Heaven
At the end of that rainbow is you.

Rush, Sonji. Simply love. Pocket Poetry Publishing. 2000.

• Discuss with students the connection between love and rainbows.
• Have students create a rainbow with a photo/picture of the people they love most.

April 4th: School Librarian Day

“What If Books Had Different Names?” by J. Patrick Lewis

What if books had different names
Like Alice in …Underland?
Furious George,
Goodnight Noon,
Babar and the Beaver, and
A Visit from Saint Tickle Us,
Or Winnie-the-Pooh Pooh-Poohs,
The Walrus and the Carp and Her,
The Emperor Has No Clue,
Or Mary Had a Little Clam,
And how about Green Eggs and Spam?
Well, surely you can think of one.
Oh, what extraordinary, merry
Huckleberry Funn!

Lewis, J. Patrick. Please bury me in a library. Orlando, Fl. Gulliver Books. 2005.

• Have students write a list of five reasons why libraries and librarians are important.
• Students are to write a poem about their favorite book and decorate it with drawings, glitter, etc.
• Present the poem to the librarian for librarian day.

April 5th: National Read a Road Map Day

“Always on the Train” by Ruth Stone

Writing poems about writing poems
is like rolling bales of hay in Texas.
Nothing but the horizon to stop you.

But consider the railroad's edge of metal trash;
bird perches, miles of telephone wires.
What is so innocent as grazing cattle?
If you think about it, it turns into words.

Trash is so cheerful; flying up
like grasshoppers in front of the reaper.
The dust devil whirls it aloft; bronze candy wrappers,
squares of clear plastic--windows on a house of air.

Below the weedy edge in last year's mat,
red and silver beer cans.
In bits blown equally everywhere,
the gaiety of flying paper
and the black high flung patterns of flocking birds.

Stone, Ruth. This art: poems on poetry: a Copper Canyon Press anthology. Port Townsend, Wash: Copper Canyon Press. 2003.

• Students must create a fast writing essay on: A time when I got lost.
• Students will break up in groups of four and look at a city map.
• Each student is to give directions from the school to their house giving details.

April 6th: Drowsy Driver Day Awareness

“Ask a Friend” by Janet Wong

You don’t always need
to go it alone.
Ask a friend
to give you a ride,
to help you out,
to get you home.

When you’ve found some better times,
you won’t forget, you’ll pay him back.
Let your friends be good to you.
Go along for the ride,
face the wind.

Wong, Janet. Behind the wheel: driving poems. Margaret K. McElderry. 1999.

• Teach students about the dangers of driving intoxicated and sleep deprived (show a clip or hand out statistics).
• Students are to work on a mini-research project on those dangers.

April 7th: No Housework Day

“What Goes Around” by Betsy Franco

I helped Bo,
Bo helped Mo,
Mo helped Mei,
Mei helped Ray,
Ray helped Bea,
And Bea helped me.
“What goes around comes around.”
That’s how it ought to be.

Franco, Betsy. Caring, sharing & getting along (grades PreK-1): 50 perfect poems for promoting good behavior in the classroom. Scholastic. 2000.

• Have students write about what they hate most about chores/housework.
• Students will discuss how helping one another relieves stress of cleaning and makes it fun.

April 8th: Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

“The Toucan” by Shel Silverstein

Tell me who can
Catch a toucan?
Lou can.

Just how few can
Ride the toucan?
Two can.

What kind of goo can
Stick you to the toucan?
Glue can.

Who can write some
More about the toucan?
You can!

Silverstein, Shel. Where the sidewalk ends. New York, NY. HarperCollins. 2004.

• Have students view different types of birds.
• Each student will create their favorite bird with construction paper and other materials and present it to the class.

April 9th: Winston Churchill Day

“We shall fight on the beaches” by Winston Churchill

'We shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields
and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills
but we shall never surrender.'

Churchill, Winston S. Never give in: the best of Winston Churchill’s speeches. New
York, NY. Hyperion. 2003.

• Give students biography of Winston Churchill.
• Have students discuss the importance of such a figure.
• Write a report about a famous Winston Churchill speech.

April 10th: National Siblings Day

“My Sister Thinks She's Santa Claus” by Kenn Nesbitt

My sister thinks she's Santa Claus.
It's really kind of cute.
She likes to shout out "Ho, Ho, Ho!"
and wears a bright red suit.

She carries lots of toys around
inside a great big sack
and keeps her eight pet reindeer
with her sleigh out in the back.

She even has a workshop
where she makes a lot of noise
directing all the elves who help
by making brand new toys.

Then once a year, on Christmas Eve,
she flies off in her sleigh
delivering her gifts around the world
for Christmas Day.

She'd make a perfect Santa
which is why it's just too bad
my sister can't be Santa Claus;
see, Santa is our dad.

Nesbitt, Ken. Santa got stuck in the chimney. New York, NY. Simon & Schuster. 2006.

• Discuss fond memories you have of your sibling.
• Write a short poem about your sibling’s favorite game to play.

April 11th: Education and Sharing Day

“My Best Friend and I” by Betsy Franco

Sometimes we’re smiley,
Sometimes we’re frowny,
Sometimes we’re uppy,
Sometimes we’re downy.

But mostly we’re caring
And mostly we’re sharing
And mostly we’re laughy
And yappy and happy!

Franco, Betsy. Caring, sharing & getting along (grades PreK-1): 50 perfect poems
for promoting good behavior in the classroom. Scholastic. 2000.

• Have students practice sharing their work materials by working in groups on creating a poem about sharing.
• In groups of four, each individual student must cooperate by writing one stanza for the poem.
• Learn about the negative effects of not sharing

April 12th: Look up at the Sky Day

“Stars” by Paul Paolilli

Silver seeds
Tossed in the air
And planted in the sky,
Reaching out of the darkness,
Sprouting wonder.

Paolilli, Paul. Silver seeds : a book of nature poems. New York, NY. Viking. 2001.

• Go outside and have students look up at the clouds in the sky and take a picture of an image they want to write about.
• Have students describe their photo in a short poem. They can describe the colors, the clouds, birds, etc.
• Students will first read their poem to the class and then show them the photo of their favorite section of the sky.

April 13th: Blame Someone Else Day

“The Blame Game” by Danny Shot

Who me? you? who? me?
who's to blame?
Who's at fault?
It's not my fault
Blame book readers
women with hairy legs
Blame nose rings
Hostess Twinkies
Japanese baseball
welfare mothers
and baggy pants.
Blame the 60's
the Kennedy's
union workers
who dare to ask
for more.
Pin the blame
on the donkey.
Blame Oliver Stone
for Nixon.
Blame your watch
for being late
as you wait
behind the locked gate
for your voice
to arrive.
Blame teachers
and students
and girls
in tight pants.
Blame them all
for the fall
of American skies.
Everybody now
play the blame game
blame them
not me.

excerpt from: Shot, Danny. Longshot. Hoboken, NJ. 1999.

• Discuss the importance of responsibility and accountability with students.
  
• Go over historical events where the blame was shifted.

April 14th: Reach as High as You Can Day

“The Early Morning” by Hilaire Belloc

The moon on the one hand, the dawn on the other:
The moon is my sister, the dawn is my brother.
The moon on my left hand and the dawn on my right.
My brother, good morning: my sister, good night.

Belloc, Hilaire. A family of poems: my favorite poetry for children. New York, NY. Hyperion
Books for Children. 2005.

• Explain to students the effects of metaphors. Ex: The poet is not actually reaching for the sky. The poet has achieved and accomplished goals.
• Go over metaphor examples in this poem with students.
• Students are to create their own poetry using metaphor.

April 13th: Scrabble Day

A Scrabble®-Tile Anagram Poem by Mike Keith

Keith, Mike. A Scrabble Tile Anagram Poem. 2000. http://users.aol.com/s6sj7gt/mikehome.htm.

• Have students get in groups of three. Each student will have their letter blocks. They are to create a poem about words and learning with the wood letters. One student will be responsible for recording the final poem on paper. All three students will present it to the class.
  
• Look up the history of the board game, Scrabble.

April 15th: Holocaust Remembrance Day

“The Butterfly” by Pavel Friedmann

The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing
against a white stone…

Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ‘way up high.
It went away I’m sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here,
In the ghetto.

Volavkova, Hana. I never saw another butterfly. New York, NY. Shocken Books. 1993.

• Assign one poem from I never saw another butterfly and discuss some of the experiences that the children of the Terezin Camp had.
• Students are to write a letter of encouragement to their assigned poet. They are also to create a butterfly that represents the soul of that poet.
• At the end of the lesson, students will find out whether or not their poet survived the Holocaust or not.

April 16th: Slavery Abolished in D.C.

“Night” by Rita Dove

Joe ain’t studying nobody.
He laughs his own sweet bourbon banner,
he makes it to work on time.
Late night, Joe retreats through
the straw-link-and-bauble curtain
and up to bed. Joe sleeps. Snores
gently as a child after a day of marbles.

Dove, Rita. On the bus with Rosa Parks: poems. New York, NY. Norton. 1999.

• Read biography of Rosa Parks.
• Discuss Rosa Park’s contribution to the abolishment of slavery.