The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...

Develop fluency with a variety of works. Help kindergartners use multiple strategies to understand text and decoding. They will create an alphabet poem book on Kid Works 2 to illustrate and write their own poem. In the end, they will...

Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Define the word perseverance to have learners understand why it is important in reaching goals. Young scholars research how Martin Luther King needed perseverance to accomplish his goals. They write acrostic poems using the word...

Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...

Students explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.

Students in a special education classroom use the internet to research the characteristics of the rainforest. Individually, they decide whether to write a short story or poem with a main character who lives in the rainforest. To end the...

After examining several Haiku and noting characteristics of the form, class members create five of their own poems. Use this resource for extra practice or review.

Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...

Students analyze the key elements of poetry using a mnemonic device.  The device: TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title and theme).

Students identify distinguishing features of poetry. They identify and use literary terminology including symbol, theme, simile, and alliteration. They recognize the effects of language.

Students investigate the characteristics of wind. In this weather lesson, students use poetry and van Gogh's paintings to discuss the movement of wind. Students are introduced to the Beaufort Scale and use the tool to measure the wind...

Sixth graders identify major cell organelles found in both animal and plant cells. Pupils observe a PowerPoint presentation based upon the features of a haiku. They create haiku science-based poem which describe the characteristics of...

One of the most fun characteristics of a poem is rhythm! Little ones will clap along as you read a poem, to determine the rhythm of the piece. The book In the Swim is used throughout the activity; it contains fish themed poems that kids...

Do your language arts students love to draw? Use this lesson plan to reinforce poetic techniques with illustration. After drawing what they think poem would look like with no words, middle and high schoolers work on several different...

Students use paper cups and colored chips to observe properties of operations with real numbers. As a class, students brainstorm and use manipulatives to demonstrate associative, commutative, distributive identity and inverse properties....

Students identify characteristics of good poetry and compose their own.  In this marine poetry instructional activity, students are introduced to several different types of poetry with a marine theme.  After discussing the...

Students examine the major differences between earstern and western dragons and their association with the Chinese New Year. They view and discuss a video, read New Year poems, explore various websites, and create a lion mask.

Students play a game where they classify the different characteristics of trees. In this tress lesson plan, students also use tree vocabulary and describe benefits of trees.

Second graders explore language arts by analyzing poems in their class. In this word play lesson plan, 2nd graders define the terms rhyme, rhythm and alliteration and identify their uses. Students utilize class word lists to write their...

Young scholars explore concrete poetry. In this lesson about poetry, students read A Poke in the I, by Paul B. Janeczko, and are introduced to concrete poems. Young scholars read several different kinds of concrete poems including...

Students identify the major folk regions of Louisiana and the relationship between folklife, geography, and ecology. They give deeper thought to what makes their own community unique, what their sense of place actually is. Students...

Reinforce the actions, emotions, and characteristics that determine what a character is like by having your middle schoolers create a biopoem using the model presented here. You could engage them first by having them write a poem about...