As advocates of writing and reading, we encourage you to check out the Academy of American Poets website this month for some great ideas to bring poetry into your classroom. If you teach grades 7-10, take a look at these free lesson plans that are aligned to common core. And while you're at it, sign up for a gorgeous free poster (while supplies last) to hang at your school.
We plan on celebrating this month with a nod to a true master of verse: William Shakespeare. Stay tuned for featured products, facts, and freebies that center around the Great Bard!
But for now, we'll leave you with a poem to celebrate the season. Enjoy William Wordsworth's famous ballad, "Lines Written in Early Spring" (1798):
Lines Written in Early Spring
by William Wordsworth
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
To her fair works did nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopped and played:
Their thoughts I cannot measure:——
But the least motion which they made,
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.
If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature's holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
