Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian In Your Classroom: The Music in Poetry
Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...
EngageNY
Revisiting Big Metaphors and Themes: Revising and Beginning to Perform Two-Voice Poems
Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...
EngageNY
Gathering Evidence and Drafting a Two-Voice Poem (Chapter 13: "Los Duraznos/Peaches")
Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...
Curated OER
Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet
Students investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.
Teachers.net
Figurative Language
When is a staple remover a fanged monster? In your ELA classroom when you're teaching this fun figurative language lesson, of course! Get your young writers using figurative language by making a game of it. Give groups a paper bag full...
Curated OER
Searching for Meanings Beneath the Surface of the Poem
Learners examine poems from Latin America and the Caribbean. They compare different perspectives and subjects in the poems. They research Peace Corps volunteers as well.
Curated OER
Poetry: An investigation of Life
AP English Language and Composition requires that class members be able to formulate an argument and support it. Use this resource to focus on the life of Emily Dickinson. It requires individuals to research her life and make inferences...
Curated OER
The Learning Network: Poetry Pairing July, 21, 2011
Although not a complete lesson plan, this set of emotionally powerful texts could be used in a variety of lessons. From The New York Times' Learning Network site, the resource includes a poem, an excerpt from a New York Times article and...
Curated OER
Lincoln is in the House! ("Name-Dropping" Poems and the Power of Connotation)
“What’s in a name?” Just about everything. Barack Obama, Vincent van Gogh, Justin Bieber. Famous names evoke a multitude of reactions and poets often use the names of famous people in their works precisely because names carry...
Curated OER
Musical Poetry
High schoolers analyze lyrics of their favorite songs as examples of alliteration, metaphor, Onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and simile to determine the purpose of these devices in poetry. They use their analysis to create a...
Curated OER
Allusion in Poetry
Emerging writers identify allusion in poetry by listening to recorded poems, like Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town. They also discuss what makes writing satirical and how writers use allusions to make satirical points.
Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
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...
Curated OER
The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Curated OER
Poet Analysis: Ciaran Carson
Students analyze lyrics and narration by reading poetry. For this language arts lesson, students read and examine the poem Belfast Confetti. Students discuss the topics and questions asked by the author Ciaran Carson.
Curated OER
Guided Reading: Three Little Pigs (Plus Wolf: Javalinas)
Guide your class through reading various versions of The Three Little Pigs. Talk about the traditional story line and then discuss a different point of view: Maybe the wolf was just an innocent bystander! This lesson plan, which has...
Curated OER
Teaching “Level of Difficulty” through Close Reading, Reflection, and Performance
What makes a poem difficult? Explore that topic and more with your class as you work through the lesson detailed here. Using materials from Poetry Out Loud, a national recitation contest, individuals or small groups examine poems and...
PBS
Exploring Selected Haiku by Issa
If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...
Curated OER
"Leap, plashless": Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination
Students examine different poems from Emily Dickinson. They practice listening for meter in the poems and make connections between the texts. They also practice their own creative writing skills.
Academy of American Poets
We Sing America
Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...
Curated OER
Poets Got Them Blues
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
Curated OER
Poetry Alive! Interpreting Poetry Using Digital Images
Students investigate poetry by incorporating images into the words of a poem. In this language arts lesson, students discuss poetry writing devices and self expression with their classmates. Students create a film about the...
Curated OER
Poetry Power
Second graders explore language arts by analyzing poems in their class. For this word play lesson, 2nd graders define the terms rhyme, rhythm and alliteration and identify their uses. Students utilize class word lists to write their own...
Curated OER
The Internet of Things: IoT
How has the Internet of Things affected our lives? Scholars examine the massive influence of mobile devices in this analysis lesson plan, which begins with a seven-minute documentary clip. They also read a New York Times article (linked)...