Introduce the importance of prosody with a lesson that spotlights the free-verse poem "Sparklers" by Mark Vinz. Poetry enthusiasts begin with a discussion about using feeling and expression. They then take part in a vocal exercise that...

Follow poetry instruction with a four-category rubric designed to guide budding poets' writing of free verse poetry. 

Focus on poetry this summer to enhance those comprehension, fluency, and language skills with a set of resources intended to explore different types of poetry, specifically lyric poetry. The daily activities contain differentiation ideas...

What makes a poem a poem? The narrator of a short video wades into the debate with the contention that the three characteristics that poems share are musical qualities, condensed language, and intense feelings.

The blank page can be a huge hurdle to overcome when writing a poem. Take that hurdle away with an interactive format that enables pupils to write elegant diamante poems. After they add the first and last words in two separate fields,...

Looking to cover types of poetry and informational text in one lesson? Use a reading comprehension activity that focuses on explanations of rhyming poems, acrostics, quatrains, and haikus, while prompting third graders to answer...

Third and fourth graders examine the many writing crafts that poets use to convey their message, such as rhythm, imagery, and repetition. By dissecting a poem into stanzas and analyzing the lines in each stanza, young poets are able to...

Spice up your traditional approach to teaching poetic structure with a wonderful animated video, which not only covers such terms as foot, meter, verse, but also stresses Shakespeare's unique use of iambic pentameter to convey emotion...

Put the tips and tricks in this guide into practice in order to encourage your pupils to blossom into poets. A wonderful reference material for teachers, this packet includes definitions of poetic terms and forms as well as step-by-step...

Spell out your first day excitement with S-C-H-O-O-L! Use a worksheet to fill in words for each letter to create a unique acrostics poem.

Two sonnets, both alike in structure, are now the foundations of an assignment that asks young poets to examine the prologue to Romeo and Juliet, as well as "Sonnet 16," and then to craft their own following the rhyme scheme and rhythm...

Shall I compare this project to a summer's day? Perhaps not, but you might find your pupils making similar comparisons as they work on their own Elizabethan sonnets. The resource includes an assignment page, a clever student example,...

Not dreadful, but mighty, this worksheet for “Divine Sonnet X” (aka “Death Be Not Proud”) models for individuals how to recognize John Donne’s argument for why Death should not be proud and how to recognize the sonnet structure and rhyme...

Examine two of Sor Juana's sonnets in depth. Learners first listen to an audio recording or a reading of the sonnets and then analyze the structure and form, paying attention to elements of the Baroque and el gongorismo. Assess student...

How many different types of rhyme can you think of? This PowerPoint includes five different types, as well as six other poetry terms to learn. Each word has its own slide and is paired with a definition and example. Since all of the...

Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...

The beauty of poetry is explored in this video about sonnets. A group of learners composed a sonnet and created a video to describe it. It is a creative and interesting presentation that is bound to inspire your class.

Motivate your class with this example of a sonnet. This learner-made video can be used to describe what a sonnet is and the importance of imagery.

Expose your class to various poetic forms. Listed in and described in this slide show are: ballad, lyric poem, ode, dramatic monologue, sonnet, and villanelle. Some descriptions are more detailed than others. 

If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...

Define poetic devices and provide examples. The slides list information for rhyme, repetition, alliteration, simile, metaphor, free verse poetry, onomatopoeia, and patterned poetry.  The animation and sounds are a bit distracting, and...

Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...

In order to fully grasp the poetry of William Shakespeare, it's essential to study the sonnet and its meter and rhyme. Eight slides introduce basic terms like meter, foot, iamb, trochee, spondee, etc. Pair this presentation with a sonnet...

Poetry isn't all sonnets and rhyming couplets! Introduce your class to three fun types of poetry: shape poems, acrostic poems, and diamante poems. Each type is explained, and an example is provided. Challenge your class to write one in...