Curated OER
Mood
Young scholars learn how to distinguish between the mood of a piece of writing (how the work makes the reader feel) and the tone (the writer's attitude toward the material) in the sixth lesson plan in a poetry unit. After watching two...
Curated OER
Theme
A study of Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If," launches a lesson about theme. Class members read Kipling's poem and poems by other seventh graders to identify the themes.
Curated OER
Revision
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,...
Curated OER
Tone
Identifying the tone in a piece of writing can be tricky. Readers don't have the advantage of studying the images and colors used in a painting or the instruments and sounds of a song. The second lesson in this poetry unit teaches tweens...
Curated OER
What Is Poetry?
The first lesson of 12 in a poetry unit asks class members to develop their own definition of poetry. After crafting a response, they examine a variety of examples and decide if the resources are or are not poems.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Instructions on Not Giving Up" by Ada Limón
What do the myth of the phoenix bird and Ada Limón's poem "Instructions on Not Giving Up" have in common? Young scholars create a list of what they notice about both the myth and poem, then consider what the similarities might indicate...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" by E. E. Cummings
Scholars engage in a role-play exercise, compare their demonstration to a time-lapse video, and to a poem by E.E. Cummings. The ensuing discussion asks learners to consider the similarities among the three.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Once the Magnolia has Blossomed" by Ed Roberson
A free write, an image of magnolia leaves, and the Ed Roberson's poem "Once the Magnolia has Blossomed" ask scholars to use their noticing skills to reflect on the lesson beauty teaches about loss and grief.
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Know Your Literature Genres
Open the library for young readers by introducing them to the main genres and sub-genres. A podcast and two presentations identify the characteristics of the different genres. Groups then sort through a box of books and, using evidence...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Leadership and a Global Stage
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is, among other things, the study of a ruler's ambitions. Young scholars watch videos, read articles, and keep a Commonplace Book while studying the play. At the end of Act III, pupils stage the play that...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
7th Grade Poetry: Sonnet Poem
Two sonnets provide seventh graders with examples of Shakespearean sonnets. After discussing the story of the poems and analyzing their rhyme scheme and rhythm, young poets craft a Shakespearian sonnet and share their work with two...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
7th Grade Poetry: Ode Poem
Walt Whitman's "Captain, My Captain" and Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" provide seventh graders with examples of odes. After reading and discussing these and other examples, young poets craft an ode and respond to the ode of a...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
7th Grade Poetry: Metaphor Poem
The second lesson in a five-part poetry unit asks seventh graders to construct a metaphor poem. First, pupils examine Emily Dickinson's "The Railway Train" and identify the metaphor. They then select an object and an animal and craft a...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
7th Grade Poetry: I Am Poem
A study of Alfred Noyes's poem "The Highwayman" opens a lesson about narrative poetry. Scholars read the poem and compare it to the animated video version using a worksheet. Learners look at models and use a template to craft an "I Am"...
!["From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," Claudia Rankine Lesson Plan](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/456347/large/u2nyzwvuc2hvdf8ymdizltazlte3x2f0xzeyljexljq2x1bnlnbuzw.png?1679080322 "\"From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing],\" Claudia Rankine Lesson Plan")
National Endowment for the Humanities
"From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," Claudia Rankine
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...
Teach Engineering
Cosmic Rhythm
Young engineers turn poets with a hands-on activity that challenges them to apply the concept of rhythm to crafting a poem.
Anti-Defamation League
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act
You, too, can prevent hate crimes! Middle and high schoolers read short biographies of Mathew Shepard and James Byrd, the two men for whom the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) is named. After learning...
Anti-Defamation League
Slurs, Offensive Jokes and How to Respond
How to respond to slurs and offensive jokes is the topic of a lesson designed for middle and high schoolers. After journaling about their experiences with slurs and nasty jokes, participants read an article about a Florida State Senator...
Anti-Defamation League
60 Years Later: The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education
Although the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education declared segregated schools unconstitutional, huge inequalities still exist in U.S. public schools. Learners analyze and discuss data presented in two...
Learning for Justice
Challenging Gender Stereotyping and Homophobia in Sports
Young learners are asked to challenge what they see as stereotyping and homophobia in sports and the arts. Participants read an article about sexual orientation in the NFL and statements from public figures like Theodore Roosevelt. They...
Curated OER
Abigail’s War: The American Revolution through the Eyes of Abigail Adams
Four lessons, performed over four weeks, pay special attention to Abigail Adams. Fifth graders analyze primary and secondary sources, read texts, discuss and write about Adams' experience during the Revolutionary War—the Battle of Bunker...
Anti-Defamation League
Pink Collar Jobs: Gender Segregation and Pay Inequality in the Workplace
Cartoons showing women in the workplace spark a discussion about being a business executive and claiming the corporate ladder. Small groups analyze data and create graphs that display essential information from the handouts. The class...
Anti-Defamation League
Gossip, Rumors and Identity
A thoughtful discussion prompts middle schoolers to reflect on gossip and rumors, what they are, their experience with them, and how some groups experience it more than others. Scenarios challenge participants to consider the impact of...
Anti-Defamation League
What is the Soul Cap and Why Was it Rejected for Olympic Use?
In 2021 the FINA, the International Swimming Federation, banned using Soul Caps in the Tokyo Olympics. Middle schoolers investigate why the committee made this decision and the resulting backlash, including charges of discrimination and...