Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days” by Walt Whitman
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...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "A New National Anthem" by Ada Limón
Ada Limon's poem, "A New National Anthem," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the US national anthem and the extent to which Key's vision applies to all Americans. After watching a video of Whitney...
Curated OER
Poetry - Stanzas
In this poetry worksheet, students read the definition of stanzas in poetry at the top of the page. They write a three stanza poem about three separate thoughts on lines provided. They write about being a baby, being in kindergarten, and...
Curated OER
Poetry - Stanzas - Seasons of the Year
In this poetry worksheet, students read the definition of stanzas at the top of the page. They write a 4 stanza poem about the seasons of the year.
Houston Teachers Institute
Alice in Wonderland: Nonsense and Logic in Literature
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is known for its fantastical imagery and nonsense verse. This unit plan offers a basic exploration into nonsense verse through poetry and teacher read-alouds. It incorporates activities involving poetry...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: What is the Topic?
For this reading comprehension worksheet, students read 3 stanzas of poetry by Lord Byron. Students then select the topics that each of the stanzas are about.
Curated OER
CTBS Reading Practice #4
In this reading practice worksheet, students read four different passages and answer nineteen total multiple choice questions related to the plot, meaning, and information from the passage.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for "The Ballad of Dirty Joe"
Upper elementary learners explore and practice identifying poetry in the ABAB rhyming format. In groups, they participate in choral reading of the poem, "The Ballad of Dirty Joe," emphasizing words appropriately and speaking in the...
California Education Partners
Covers by Nikki Giovanni
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...
BPE
Teacher Guide for Faster Passage: "Sympathy" and "Caged Bird" Poetry
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Walt Whitman to Langston Hughes: Poems for a Democracy
Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...
California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc
Poetic Devices
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...
Curated OER
The Poetry Archive
Listening to poems about feeling lonely and feeling like an outsider set the stage for a group activity that focuses on Stevie Smith's "Not Waving But Drowning." Groups examine the three stanzas of Smith's poem separately and identify in...
Great Books Foundation
War Is Kind
Ponder the complexities of war, peace, and country with Stephen Crane's "War is Kind." After reading the poem, learners answer six questions in a class discussion or as an individual assessment.
Curated OER
6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 1: Poem
While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry lesson could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and listen to an...
ReadWriteThink
What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose
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...
Curated OER
Repetitive Stanzas in Poetry
In this poetry worksheet, students read about the use of stanzas in poetry. They examine a three stanza poem and tell what they notice about the first three line of each poem.
Facing History and Ourselves
Responding to Difference in Democracy
Disagreements happen in a diverse democracy. It's what people do about these differences in a diverse society that the resource models. After listening to an eight-minute podcast about a woman who collaborated with people who have very...
Curated OER
The Raven
After a close reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" individuals copy the rhythm and rhyme scheme and rewrite the final stanzas of the poem.
Curated OER
The Seaweed Song
In this seaweed song activity, students read and sing a song about sea weed. Students read and sing 11 stanzas in this seaweed song.
Curated OER
Reading and Responding: Lesson 9
Eighth graders listen to a read aloud of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken." They examine the attributes of poetry focusing on stanzas, imagery, and punctuation. They participate in choral readings before completing the associated...
Curated OER
Reading Fluency Poetry Reading
Fifth graders observe video of poem recitations of a person reciting a poem. For this language arts lesson, 5th graders discuss rhythm and rhyme of poetry as well as pauses within poems. Students choose a poem, in a small group, and...
Curated OER
Poetry Genre Focus Lesson
Learners explore poetry by listening to readings, identifying and understanding the elements of poetry, as well as the types of poetry. Students respond to poetry through discussions and writing their own poem.
Curated OER
Poetry Appreciation – "The Raven"
Introduce your class to "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe with this series of activities, exercises, and worksheets. Class members examine an image, analyze a movie trailer, read a prose version of the poem, look up vocabulary, and pick out...