In honor of National Poetry Month, we decided to post some helpful writing resources for you! Be sure to comment below and let us know how you're inspiring your students to write — we love hearing what creative educators are doing in the classroom.

Peter H. Reynolds' 8 Tips for Inspiring Students to Write

In his post "The Brave Heart: Protecting the Passion, Keeping Wings Outstretched for a Daring Journey," NY Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds discusses how the pressure to write "correctly" can cause many beginning writers to pack up their creative wings. Encourage your students to write with wings outstretched! Here are a few quick tips from Peter to inspire bravery in your students.

1. Step off the path and write with your wings outstretched. Break a rule or two as you go.

2. Don't let a jumbled thought stop you — plant it and keep going.

3. Don't let a misspelled word slow you down. Go back and attend to it later.

4. Listen to your inner voice and transcribe what you hear without trying to edit it.

5. Try writing for yourself. Not for your audience. Try to ignore the critics' voices you may hear.

6. Invent a word.

7. Skip punctuation or invent your own ...__...> and see what it feels like.

8. Borrow an idea from your favorite author and twist it a few times. Turn it inside out. Make it your own!

Download this guyku (haiku) poster by Peter H. Reynolds for free, now through May 9, 2012. Enjoy!

What do you do to encourage your students to write? Let us know!