You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
Donate
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Wentzell from Portland, ME is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Wentzell is requesting

Putting Poetry in the Hands of Students

My students need these 21 contemporary poetry books.

  • $466 goal

This project expired on September 2, 2008.

This project expired on September 2, 2008.

Classroom photo
Ms. Wentzell Lyman Moore Middle School
Portland, ME Grades 6-8

Students actually love poetry, that is if you can give them poetry that they can connect to their own lives. To do this we need contemporary poetry along with the classics to inspire them to read and write poetry. I am the librarian at a public middle school, grades 6-8, in Maine. Our students are a mix of economic, social and racial backgrounds. We want to show them how inspiring, rewarding and fun poetry can be.

Our school budget was frozen in January 2008 and we want to be able to celebrate poetry during the last two weeks of April which is National Poetry Month. We need poetry books. Our collection of poetry books in the library is small, tattered, and old. I have four teachers who have great poetry projects planned and their students need poetry books in their hands that will inspire them. We, of course, will use the classics but students need to see poetry written for teenagers by contemporary poets too.

I have found 21 excellent poetry books. The variety of these books reflects the projects that students will be working on including: poems about the Earth, teenagers, American history, heroes, and sports as well as poems in different forms. These books, guided by teachers and me, will enable students to study poetry terms, immerse themselves in great poetry, collect favorite poems in poetry notebooks and, with this background, write their own poetry. We will be turning the library into a “Coffee House” for a day when students will read their own poems as well as their favorite poems written by others. The audience will be other students and parents.

I know students are going to be inspired if we can put exciting, new poetry books into their hands. They have no idea of the world of contemporary poetry that is out there. It is with your support that we can introduce our students to poetry that could possibly change their lives.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More than half of students from low‑income households

200 students impacted
Ms. Wentzell Lyman Moore Middle School Grades 6-8

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Portland, ME View local requests

More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

200 students impacted

Boost your odds

Add a profile photo in addition to your classroom photo. If you add a photo, it'll show up right here on your project page.

You are more likely to receive funding if you put a face to your name.

Upload a photo

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

You donate directly to the teacher or project you care about and see where every dollar you give goes.

Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Wentzell is requesting.

See our finances

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms Paul B. Janeczko (Editor), Chris Raschka (Illustrator), Christopher Raschka (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $14.39 1 $14.39
Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection Selected by Michael Rosen, Michael Rosen, Paul Howard (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $19.79 1 $19.79
Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing up Latino in the United States Lori M. Carlson (Editor), Oscar Hijuelos (Introduction) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Got Geography!: Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Philip Stanton (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $15.29 1 $15.29
She's All That: Poems About Girls Belinda Hollyer, Selected by Belinda Hollyer • Barnes and Noble $13.45 1 $13.45
Talking with Mother Earth: Poems/Hablando con Madre Tierra: Poemas Jorge Argueta, Lucia Angela Perez (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $14.35 1 $14.35
Heroes and She-Roes: Poems of Amazing and Everyday Heroes J. Patrick Lewis, Patrick J. Lewis • Barnes and Noble $15.29 1 $15.29
Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry Peter M. Fiore (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $24.29 1 $24.29
Hour of Freedom: American History in Poetry Milton Meltzer (Compiler), Marc Nadel (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $15.25 1 $15.25
I Feel a Little Jumpy around You: A Book of Her Poems and His Poems Collected in Pairs Paul B. Janeczko, Paul B. Janeczko (Editor) • Barnes and Noble $9.00 1 $9.00
The Pain Tree: And Other Teenage Angst-Ridden Poetry Esther Pearl Watson (Editor), Mark Todd (Editor), Esther Pearl Watson (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25
Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems Paul B. Janeczko, Christopher Raschka (Editor), Chris Raschka (Illustrator), Christopher Raschka (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $16.19 1 $16.19
Americans' Favorite Poems Robert Pinsky (Editor), Robert Pinsky, Favorite Poem Project, Maggie Dietz (Editor) • Barnes and Noble $24.75 1 $24.75
By Definition: Poems of Feelings Sara Holbrook, Scott Mattern, Scott Mattern (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $14.35 1 $14.35
I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices Paul Fleischman, Ken Nutt (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.39 1 $5.39
Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life Alan Wolf, Allan Wolf • Barnes and Noble $13.45 1 $13.45
A Fire in My Hands Gary Soto • Barnes and Noble $14.40 1 $14.40
Extra Innings: Baseball Poems Scott Medlock (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $15.30 1 $15.30
Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers Liz Rosenberg (Editor) • Barnes and Noble $21.55 1 $21.55
Wherever Home Begins: 100 Contemporary Poems Paul B. Janeczko • Barnes and Noble $15.25 1 $15.25
Opening a Door: Reading Poetry in the Middle School Classroom Paul B. Janeczko, Judy Lynch, Paul Janezcko, Foreword by X. J. Kennedy • Barnes and Noble $16.19 1 $16.19

Materials cost

$310.46

Vendor shipping charges

 $31.05

Sales tax

 $15.52

3rd party payment processing fee

$7.76

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$382.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$83.85

Total project goal

$465.85

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

View complete list Show less

Project Activity

Project Activity
Back to top

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Wentzell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

See how DonorsChoose works
{"pmaHash":"","showProjectRecommendations":true,"leadGenEnabled":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"ME","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":3,"name":"Middle School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"completingDonationAmount":466,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/-/169506/","mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":200,"isEquityFocusV1":false,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. Wentzell","isEquityFocus":true,"proposalHash":"-2093089995","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":0.00,"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"photosPublished":false,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"shouldTrackEquityFocusV2":true,"schoolCity":"Portland","teachersOnPage":[136498],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"minimizedLeadGenEnabled":false,"proposalId":169506,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"schoolId":65277,"schoolName":"Lyman Moore Middle School","authorIds":{"136498":{"owner":"Ms. Wentzell","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":0.0,"proposalsOnPage":[169506],"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherHasProfilePhoto":false,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":7,"teacherChallengeId":130449,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":[],"teacherId":136498,"schoolCounty":"Cumberland","fullyFunded":false,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"ME","name":"Maine"}}