National Endowment for the Humanities
The World of Haiku
Students complete a study of Japanese culture through haiku. They read and interpret haiku poetry and write haiku of their own.
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Acoustic Poems
Students explore acrostic poems. In this interactive poetry lesson, students visit the ReadWriteThink.org website to view characteristics and samples of acrostic poems. Students develop acrostic poems by using the interactive site.
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Be the Poet
Students work through a Haiku Organizer to determine the characteristics they use to write eight haiku poems on a theme that they choose. They design presentation folders of their completed work.
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Creative Writing: Children's Building Blocks
Your class can participate in a writing program involving four building blocks. By exploring words, sentences, writing forms, and story organization, they improve their creative writing skills throughout this year-long unit. Early in the...
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Poetry
Explore the semantics of poetry with this higher-level presentation. With examples from Dickinson, Frost, and Dr. Seuss, the slides clearly explain the details of poetic structure, license, and schemes. You could use this in a language...
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Breaking up a Poem
Complete with a SMART board presentation and all necessary materials, this lesson guides seventh graders through the process of writing poems and utilizing line breaks. After reading through the presentation and different examples, they...
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Poetry Review
As a review of poetry and literary terms, this resource would be a great addition in a middle school classroom. There are questions involving sonnets, similies, haikus, and more. An instructor could use this resource as is, or add...
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10th Grade Poetry Unit
Immerse your students into the wide world of poetry with this presentation, which opens a poetry unit. By first introducing the art of poetry and then providing examples of poems with figurative language, the presentation guides students...
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Types of Poetry
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.
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Poetry: It's Rhyme Time!
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...
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Meter and Sonnets
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...
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Acrostic Book Report
Learners read the story Wild Horse Winter and construct acrostic poems. In this poetry lesson, students use adjectives and events in the text to develop an acrostic poem.
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Creating and Presenting Haiku With Kid Pix
Students research the history and characteristics of haiku poetry using books and the Internet. They use Kid Pix to create and present original haiku.
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Poetry From Photos: A Great Depression Activity
Students view photographs of migrant families during the Great Depression, try to interpret the photos to answer questions about the subject's life, and then write a Cinquain poem based on their interpretations.
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Analyzing Sonnets
Model for your class how to craft an analysis of a sonnet by examining the literary techniques used, the background of the poet, and critical reviews of the poem. As guided practice, learners are assigned a sonnet, complete a preliminary...
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Poetic Teapot Card
Students recognize the role of loved ones in their families and the many things their parents and others contribute to their lives. They write an acrostic poem about their mother, father, or other important person. They then make a...
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Haiku In Color
Learners engage in a lesson that is concerned with the concept of Haiku Poetry. They read a variety of samples of text to create the context for practicing the composition of new poetry. The lesson contains questions for the teacher to use.
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Epic Poetry: Literary Terms for Story Analysis
What do Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Odyssey have in common? Why, they are all epics, of course, and are presented here as examples of the literary term. If you are beginning a study of epics, consider previewing the terms included...
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Cinquain Syllables
Students identify and analyze various forms of poetry, then use information gathered from research to write their own cinquain poems. They then identify each syllable of their cinquain with a small icon that reflects the theme of their...
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Poetry: The Most Compact Form of Literature
Introducing or need to review literary devices and terms for a study of poetry? Though text heavy, the explanations and examples of key poetic devices will provide learners with the vocabulary they need to discuss and craft poems.
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Acrostic Poem Pals
Young scholars work in groups to determine a creative writing theme. They listen to each other to produce a group acrostic poem and then collaborate with their partners to recite their poetry. They then add drawings to add an artistic...
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Creative Writing: Haiku
Haikus by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki are used as models for a brief lecture on the importance of poetry in Japan's history and the structure of this poetic form. Students then go on a nature walk, record impressions, and return to the...
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Animal Acrostic
In this animal acrostic worksheet, students read a short poem. Afterward, they answer questions about the poem and then write their own acrostic poetry. Students share their poetry with a friend, and guess what type of animal is described.
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Emmett Till: A Classroom Sonnet
Who is Emmet Till? An important historical figure, your kids will be shocked by his story! Discover the details of his life and collaborate to write a crown of sonnets in the style of Marilyn Nelson.