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Interactive
Texas Education Agency (TEA)

How to Read and Analyze a Poem (English III Reading)

For Students 11th Standards
A poem is compressed speech, like a can of frozen juice with all the water pressed out. An interactive teaches users how to reconstitute the language, the structure, and the literary devices to appreciate all the subtleties the poet...
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Unit Plan
Trinity University

The Shakespearean Sonnet

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Looking for a great lesson to teach your class everything they need to know about Shakespearean sonnets? Here's such a lesson. "Sonnet #18" launches a study of the Shakespearean sonnet. Scholars watch two Prezi presentations that provide...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Ballad

For Teachers 7th Standards
Young balladeers analyze examples of ballads and generate a list of common traits (story, quatrains, rhyme schemes, refrains, etc.), then identify these traits in Robert W. Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and a ballad written by...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Revision

For Teachers 7th Standards
Young poets learn the value of using a thesaurus when crafting and revising poems. They examine poems rich in figurative language and then a revised version with the figurative language removed. To demonstrate what they have learned,...
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Interactive
Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Meter and Rhyme (English II Reading)

For Students 10th
Imagine an interactive that teaches young poets all the essential elements of poetry. This colorful resource does just that. Players are introduced to rhythm, meter, and rhyme schemes using famous poems. They practice marking the...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

"From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," Claudia Rankine

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Claudia Rankine's poem "From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," asks readers to consider direct and more subtle forms of prejudice. After discussing the format of the poem, its tone, and the emotions expressed, class members...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Poetry as Social Justice: Reading and Writing Poetry

For Teachers 9th
Words can be a powerful tool in the hands of a poet. Class members examine a poem written by Ross Gay in response to the death of Eric Garner and a news report of the same death. They then read an article about the death of Tamir Rice...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a  poem on the same subject...
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Unit Plan
Trinity University

Introduction to Poetry

For Teachers 4th
Introduce fourth graders to poetry with a three-week unit that has them examine the structural elements of poetry, analyze poems, and craft their own original poems rich in sensory details and other poetic devices. Young scholars study...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: “As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days” by Walt Whitman

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days" offers scholars an opportunity to practice their noticing skills. They first examine a postcard of the Newport News Shipyard listing things they notice about the image and how...
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Unit Plan
University of British Columbia

Pondering Poetry and Playing with Words

For Teachers 9th
First-year High school scholars explore the world of poetry with an 11-lesson unit that examines a range of poetry forms and tries their hand at crafting their own poems. Young poets then collect their work in a portfolio that they...
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Assessment
California Education Partners

Covers by Nikki Giovanni

For Students 1st Standards
Over three days, scholars listen to and read the poem, "Covers" by Nikki Giovanni. Learners complete a graphic organizer by sketching their visualizations from each stanza then discuss their pictures with a peer. Pupils answer...
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Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a Repetition Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
A repetition poem is the focus of a lesson that challenges scholars to compose an original piece. To add meaning to their poem, authors choose words to repeat at the start of most lines.  
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Unit Plan
Pearson

Langston Hughes

For Students 7th Standards
An author study provides learners the opportunity to explore in depth the life of, the influences on, and the works of a single literary figure. Introduce middle schoolers to Langston Hughes with a unit that models how to approach an...
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Handout
California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc

Poetic Devices

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Have everything you need to know about the elements of poetry with a nine-page handout. Split into four categories—word sounds, meanings, arrangement, and imagery—budding poets may reference terms, read definitions, descriptions, and...
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Assessment
BPE

Teacher Guide for Faster Passage: "Sympathy" and "Caged Bird" Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Prepare class members for formative assessments of student thinking in reading (FAST-R) with a resource that compares Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Sympathy" and Maya Angelou's "Caged Bird." Readers respond to 10 multiple choice questions and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Looking Closely at Stanza 2—Identifying Rules to Live By Communicated in “If”

For Teachers 6th Standards
Pupils take part in a close reading of the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, in which they delve deep into its meaning and identify its rules to live by. As the grand discussion progresses, learners then relate the poem's rules with those...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Notices and Wonders of the Second Stanza of “If”

For Teachers 6th Standards
Here is an instructional activity that asks pupils to analyze poetry and sparks discussion about two different types of texts: asking how is the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling alike and different from the story, Bud, Not Buddy by...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Looking Closely at Stanza 1—Identifying Rules to Live By Communicated in “If”

For Teachers 6th Standards
Here is a lesson plan in which pupils connect themes and rules to live by from the story Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis to those found in the poem If by Rudyard Kipling. First, scholars discuss their reading and review Bud's...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing “If” and Noting Notices and Wonders of the First Stanza

For Teachers 6th Standards
After reading chapter 14 of the story Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, scholars take part in a read-aloud of the poem If by Rudyard Kipling and compare it to the reading of Bud, Not Buddy. Learners then go deeper into the poem...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

The Poet's Toolbox

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
If you need a lesson plan for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities on...
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Worksheet
1
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Curated OER

Comparing Poems

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Young literary analysts compare two poems by the same author. Readers look for slant rhyme, observe the beat and rhythm of each, and search for repeated vowel sounds. After re-reading, they observe the lack of punctuation and the stanza...
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PPT
Curated OER

Elements of Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Prepare your learners to identify figurative language in poetry. Tips for reading poetry and what to look for are listed on these slides. Rhetorical devices are defined and plenty of examples are given. 
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PPT
Curated OER

Poetry Vocabulary

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Consisting of a thorough and straightforward list of poetry terminology, the first part of this presentation would be a good introduction to a poetry unit, or a review for an upcoming poetry project. The list of terms is quite extensive,...