The Poetry Friday Anthology (Common Core K-5 edition): Poems for the School Year with Connections to the Common Core

The Poetry Friday Anthology offers a set of 36 poems for each grade level, K-5 (a poem-a-week for the 9 months of the typical school year). Drawing on decades of experience in classrooms all over the world as well as volumes of academic research and writing, this book presents activities that are poem-specific, skill-based, developmentally appropriate for each weekly poem—and that connect to the Common Core standards for poetry instruction.

Much like "Casual Friday" in the corporate world, there is a perception in the world of literature that on Fridays we should relax a bit and take a moment for something special.

The Poetry Friday Anthology brings the Poetry Friday concept into your classroom and makes it easy for you to take five minutes every Friday to share a poem. Explore a poem, connecting it with children's lives and capitalizing on a teachable moment. Pausing to share a poem—and reinforce a language skill—on Poetry Friday is a simple and effective way to infuse poetry into your current teaching practice.

NOTE: This is the K-5 Common Core edition; there is also a K-5 TEKS version (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). The series also includes middle school versions for grades 6-8, science-themed editions (for teacher/librarian and also student use), and Celebrations books (bilingual Spanish). Other books by Pomelo Books include the Poetry Friday Power Books that emphasize reading + writing, and GREAT Morning: Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud.

Infuse poem-sharing throughout the day and throughout the curriculum. And don't be surprised if it's a wonderful poem moment that students remember most vividly at the end of the school year!

218 Poems by 76 Poets:

For each poem you share, we suggest another poem from the book that is related in some way. Of course you can feel free to share any and all of the poems with students at any time, in any order, and in any way. The 218 poems in this book represent the work of 76 of the best children's poets who are writing today.

Those poets are: Joy Acey, Arnold Adoff, Jaime Adoff, Kathi Appelt, Linda Ashman, Jeannine Atkins, Brod Bagert, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Robyn Hood Black, Susan Taylor Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Jen Bryant, Leslie Bulion, Stephanie Calmenson, Deborah Chandra, Cynthia Cotten, Kristy Dempsey, Graham Denton, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Margarita Engle, Betsy Franco, Carole Gerber, Charles Ghigna, Joan Bransfield Graham, John Grandits, Nikki Grimes, Lorie Ann Grover, Monica Gunning, Mary Lee Hahn, Avis Harley, David L. Harrison, Terry Webb Harshman, Juanita Havill, Georgia Heard, Esther Hershenhorn, Sara Holbrook, Carol-Ann Hoyte, Patricia Hubbell, Jacqueline Jules, Bobbi Katz , X. J. Kennedy, Michele Krueger, Julie Larios, Irene Latham, JonArno Lawson, Gail Carson Levine, Constance Levy, Debbie Levy, J. Patrick Lewis, George Ella Lyon, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Heidi Mordhorst, Kenn Nesbitt, Lesléa Newman, Linda Sue Park, Ann Whitford Paul, Gregory Pincus, Jack Prelutsky, Mary Quattlebaum, Heidi Bee Roemer, Michael J. Rosen, Deborah Ruddell, Laura Purdie Salas, Michael Salinger, Ken Slesarik, Eileen Spinelli, Susan Marie Swanson, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Lee Wardlaw, Charles Waters, April Halprin Wayland, Carole Boston Weatherford, Steven Withrow, Allan Wolf, Janet Wong, and Jane Yolen.

For more info on this and the many other books in The Poetry Friday Anthology series and Poetry Friday Power Book series, please visit PomeloBooks.com.

SYLVIA VARDELL is Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University and has taught graduate courses in children's and young adult literature since 1981. Vardell has published extensively, including 5 books on literature for children, as well as over 20 book chapters and 100 journal articles. Her work focuses on poetry for children, including a regular blog, PoetryforChildren. She is also the “Everyday Poetry” columnist for ALA’s Book Links magazine.

Vardell’s books include: Poetry Aloud Here: Sharing Poetry with Children and The Poetry Teacher’s Book of Lists.

JANET WONG is a children’s poet whose 30 books for children touch on a wide variety of subjects: writing (You Have to Write), "creative engineering" (Dumpster Diver), diversity (Apple Pie 4th of July), the pressures of testing (Me & Rolly Maloo), yoga (TWIST: Yoga Poems), and chess (Alex & the Wednesday Chess Club).

Together, Vardell and Wong are the creative forces behind The Poetry Friday Anthology series, the Poetry Friday Power Book series, and Pomelo Books.

The poets in this book are: Joy Acey, Arnold Adoff, Jaime Adoff, Kathi Appelt, Linda Ashman, Jeannine Atkins, Brod Bagert, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Robyn Hood Black, Susan Taylor Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Jen Bryant, Leslie Bulion, Stephanie Calmenson, Deborah Chandra, Cynthia Cotten, Kristy Dempsey, Graham Denton, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Margarita Engle, Betsy Franco, Carole Gerber, Charles Ghigna, Joan Bransfield Graham, John Grandits, Nikki Grimes, Lorie Ann Grover, Monica Gunning, Mary Lee Hahn, Avis Harley, David L. Harrison, Terry Webb Harshman, Juanita Havill, Georgia Heard, Esther Hershenhorn, Sara Holbrook, Carol-Ann Hoyte, Patricia Hubbell, Jacqueline Jules, Bobbi Katz , X. J. Kennedy, Michele Krueger, Julie Larios, Irene Latham, JonArno Lawson, Gail Carson Levine, Constance Levy, Debbie Levy, J. Patrick Lewis, George Ella Lyon, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Heidi Mordhorst, Kenn Nesbitt, Lesléa Newman, Linda Sue Park, Ann Whitford Paul, Gregory Pincus, Jack Prelutsky, Mary Quattlebaum, Heidi Bee Roemer, Michael J. Rosen, Deborah Ruddell, Laura Purdie Salas, Michael Salinger, Ken Slesarik, Eileen Spinelli, Susan Marie Swanson, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Lee Wardlaw, Charles Waters, April Halprin Wayland, Carole Boston Weatherford, Steven Withrow, Allan Wolf, Janet Wong, and Jane Yolen.

Learn more about this anthology at PomeloBooks.com.