Common Sense Media Review
Learn all about American poets and poetry.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
What's It About?
This site, presented by the Academy of American Poets, showcases not only poets but their poems as well. You'll find biographies and photos of more than 450 American poets, past and present. Each has a selected bibliography of publications, the complete text of a handful of representative poems, and sometimes, a link to an audio recording of the poet reading his own work.
Is It Any Good?
Poems were meant to be heard as well as read, and this site gives you that opportunity. Visit the online archive and hear more than 500 poems read by their authors. And teachers will appreciate the online Poetry Classroom section, with its lesson plans and links to local and state teaching standards for language arts. Parents should head for "Serious Play: Reading Poetry with Children" for ideas and suggested books and Web sites.
Looking for an appropriate poem for a graduation, wedding, or funeral? The "Poems for All Occasions" section of the National Poetry Almanac will point the way to suggested works. Careful: there's one section on "Poems of Passion and Sex" that is suitable only for mature audiences.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about different types of poetry and the forms they like best. Do you prefer poems that tell a story? Must a poem rhyme? What about free verse?
Parents can encourage their kids to express themselves by writing their own poetry.
Website Details
- Subjects : Social Studies : cultural understanding , Language & Reading : reading comprehension , text analysis , writing
- Skills : Self-Direction : academic development , self-reflection , Creativity : brainstorming , imagination , producing new content , Thinking & Reasoning : asking questions , making conclusions , thinking critically , Emotional Development : identifying emotions , labeling feelings , self-awareness
- Genre : Educational
- Pricing structure : Free
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate