Geography 360°
Poetry Writing
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...
Scholastic
Writing An Acrostic
Invite learners to introduce themselves through poetry. After brainstorming and choosing details, pupils draft two acrostic poems using their names as the base. They then evaluate and revise their poems.
Curated OER
Creating a Memorial Day Poster Poem
Does your class know about the meaning of Memorial Day? Discuss the history of the holiday in this lesson, which prompts elementary and middle schoolers to create word webs of ideas about the holiday. Additionally, they create poems...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Violin" by Nikki Wallschlaeger
Nikki Wallschlaeger's Violin is the featured poem in a lesson that uses music and multiple readings to delve deep into its analysis. After a writing warm-up, learners watch and listen to a video that showcases Regina Carter Quintet's...
Southern Illinois University
I Can Write a Poem
It is so important for English language learners to be able to write for a variety of purposes. Specifically written for an ELD class, this activity provides explicit instruction for teaching learners how to write a poem. First, they...
Curated OER
Writing Poetry Like Pros
Students name classic and contemporary American poets. They explain one poetry idea in classic or contemporary poem. They explain poetry idea at work in their own poems.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “Home” by Bruce Weigl
A poetry lesson takes a close look at home. Scholars discuss with partners what they are most grateful for at their homes. A timelapse video showcases potato tubers growing. While watching, pupils write down what they notice. Learners...
Scholastic
Sky
Lead your class through a writing exercise that explores personification. After listening to the teacher read a poem that personifies the sky, they go step by step through the writing their own personification poems.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Tamales on Christmas" by Christian Robinson
A lesson spotlights the poem "Tamales on Christmas" by Christian Robinson. Scholars discuss their favorite foods and then examine a lively picture of a family preparing tamales. After listening to the poem twice, learners participate in...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Alice Paul" by Katharine Rolston Fisher
Powerful women need not look like Wonder Woman. After writing a paragraph about a strong woman they know, young scholars examine images of Alice Paul and then do a close reading of Katharine Rolston Fisher's poem "Alice Paul." Finally,...
Curated OER
Giving with Imagination
Demonstrate gift giving as an act of caring about someone versus gifts for show (or gifts from the purse). Elementary learners practice giving gifts from the heart by creating a poem for someone special to them.
Curated OER
Poetry: Walking With My Iguana
Bring a little excitement to your next poetry analysis lesson. Using the highly energetic poem "Walking With My Iguana," learners consider poem structure and rhyme. They listen to the poem, discuss the rhythm and tone with their...
ReadWriteThink
Alliteration All Around
Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem, write an...
Curated OER
Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "November 2: Día De Los Muertos" By Alberto Ríos
Scholars examine a colorful and detailed picture, then view an engaging video in preparation for reading the poem "November 2: Día De Los Muertos" by Alberto Ríos. Learners discuss their observations, feelings conveyed, and the...
Curated OER
Pretty Plants Point of View
Young poets use Kidspiration to draw a flower, personify the flower, and write a poem from the flower's point of view. Sharing these poems in small groups will reinforce learners' knowledge of personification.
Curated OER
Ocean Life Poetry: Limericks & Cinquain Poems
Young oceanographers conduct independent online research to learn about ocean life, explore limerick and cinquain poem structure and syllabication, and produce poetry that conveys the information they found. Links don't work, but it's...
Curated OER
Annotating Poetry
Use text marking and highlighting to explore the structure of a poem. After listening to Allan Ahlberg read "Please Mrs. Butler," learners locate stanzas and patterns on their copy of the poem using the text marking technique. Class...
Curated OER
The Palm of My Heart: Poetry By African American Children
Elementary students explore African American culture by reading children's poetry. They read the book, The Palm of My Heart which features poetry by an assortment of young African American boys and girls. Students define several...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Fabulous Fibonacci and His Nifty Numbers
Fibonacci numbers are not only found in the classroom but also in nature. Explore the concept of Fibonacci numbers through a series of lessons designed to gain insight into the mathematical reasoning behind the number pattern, and spark...
Curated OER
You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. For this haiku lesson, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku poem and write...
Curated OER
Best Part of Me
After listening to the story, The Best Part of Me, learners will identify a positive physical feature of themselves, and create a descriptive poem about their favorite feature. Photographs are taken, and a nice final draft of the poem is...
Curated OER
All Aboard!
Learners recognize and identify onomatopoeia. They will read the book All Aboard! A True Train Story, by Susan Kuklin. After reading the book, they list and illustrate examples of onomatopoeia. Then they write a poem or story using...
Scholastic
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Practice sequencing events using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem about the famous revolutionary hero. Learners read Revere's own account of the event, and compare/contrast the two texts using a t-chart. Finally, they imagine...