Celebrating Black History Month

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In honor of Black History Month in February, the Garrett Park PTA celebrated the creativity and achievements of black poets and authors. Throughout the month, students heard inspiring poems and quotes from black authors on the announcements and we finished the month with a Virtual Poetry Slam! To view the full recording of the Poetry Slam with both the grades 4-5 and grades 2-3 versions of Amanda Gorman's The Hill We Climb, click here.​

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Poetry Resources

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Find poems written by Black youth, including The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

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These poems are available on EPIC (GPES students have access)

Langston Hughes - S. L. Berry

I Lay My Stitches Down - Cynthia Grady

America, My New Home - Monica Gunning

A Likkle Miss Lou - Nadia L. Hohn

Phyllis Wheatley - Deborah Kent

A Dictionary for a Better World - Irene Latham & Charles Waters

Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship - Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Voices from the March on Washington - J Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon

Here in Harlem - Walter Dean Myers

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Here are some resources for writing and performing poetry (also on Epic)

Wham! It’s a Poetry Jam - Sara Holbrook

Read, Recite, and Write Cinquains - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write Concrete Poems - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write Free Verse - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write Haiku - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write Limericks - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write List Poems - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write Narrative Poems - JoAnn Early Macken

Read, Recite, and Write Nursery Rhymes - JoAnn Early Macken

How to Write a Poem - Cecilia Minden and Kate Roth

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Websites

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Black History Month:  Poems for Kids 

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Poetry Foundation

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Social Justice Books:  Poetry