Poetry is for all ages.  Since ancient times, poets have awakened us to life’s beauty and meaning, its joys and sorrows.

The nourishment that poetry can provide is necessary for all ages, including — and perhaps now especially — the young.  And so, while we soon say goodbye to April, National Poetry Month, we can teach and learn about poetry any time of the year.

PBS LearningMedia offers abundant resources to appreciate poetry at any age.  Poetry in America (Grades 6-8, 9-12) gathers distinguished voices and Harvard professor Elisa New to explore and debate 12 unforgettable American poems.  Video segments from the series Poetry Everywhere (Grades 6-8, 9-12) captures some of the voices of poetry, past and present to expose students to a broad spectrum of poetic voices and build their appreciation for poetry.

Langston Hughes, Pioneer Of Jazz Poetry (Grades 3-5, 6-8) looks at and listens to one of poetry’s leading pioneers, Langston Hughes. In the one-hour video for Write in the Middle Workshop 3 (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) we see two master teachers — Vivian Johnson, who teaches eighth grade, and Jack Wilde, a fifth grade teacher — help their students develop as readers and writers of poetry.

For young children, Between the Lions offers Doggy Days to learn vocabulary through an animated poem about a dog’s weekly activities.  There’s also the animated poem, Little Seeds, and Four Seasons, in which the Lions recite a poem describing — what else but the seasons!

These are but a few examples — Searching poetry at PBS LearningMedia and filtering by grades, media type and more, you’ll find much to nurture you and students!