Celebrate Star Wars Reads Day with POETRY

I may have mentioned before that I'm a big Star Wars nerd! I have loved the movies, characters, and lore since 1977 and even attend the conventions or Star Wars "Celebrations" with my family. So I was tickled that there is now a "Star Wars Reads" Day to promote reading being held for the 4th year-- on October 10. You'll find activities and reproducibles here and they have a Facebook page, too, of course. For kids and families who already enjoy the world of Star Wars, it's a chance for them to shine and to promote reading too (and there are lots of Star Wars-themed reading materials). And with the launch of a 7th Star Wars movie in December, it's a fun time to welcome new fans and celebrate science (and sci fi and mythology too). 

And of course I want to make a POETRY connection, in particular. There are heaps of science-themed poems to share and I've written about that before. In fact, I have an article about this topic coming out in BOOK LINKS in November with science poetry recommendations from 15 poets themselves. And Janet (Wong) and I will be announcing a new science poetry project ourselves very soon too! More on all that later.

Meanwhile, I thought it might be fun to take a few poems and "Star Wars-ify" them! To reinterpret them through the lens of Star Wars. So, if you're familiar with Darth Vader (the dark villain of the series), Yoda (the wise guru), and C3PO (a robot dedicated to languages and etiquette), you might enjoy the three following poems filtered from THEIR perspectives! 

For example, I have featured "Poem for a Bully" by Eileen Spinelli from The Poetry Friday Anthology previously over at Pinterest here. But what if we put that "Poem for a Bully" against an image of Darth Vader, a bully with a secret himself?

Or consider the wise Yoda character who teaches young Luke Skywalker to control his emotions and fears in order to face his enemy (and himself).  What if Yoda is the backdrop for the poem "Fear Factor" by Sara Holbrook from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School? You'll find a more traditional interpretation of the poem at Pinterest here and the Yoda interpretation below. 

Or finally, if you're familiar with the droid (or robot) character, C3PO, you know he is a prissy individual proud of his ability to speak multiple languages and know the rules of etiquette and behavior in many cultures. What if he is sharing a poem about making friends using greetings in several languages? Here's a more traditional interpretation of the poem, "How to Make a Friend" by Jane Heitman Healy from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations and below is the same poem shared by C3PO.

If you're working with children and families who love Star Wars like I do, challenge them to find a poem from a book on the shelves that fits a Star Wars character and then read it from the point of view of that character. It's a fun way to approach poetry and celebrate our Star Wars knowledge too! 

Now, join the rest of the crew over at Laura's site, Writing the World for Kids, where we're celebrating Poetry Friday.