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...

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...

High schoolers investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.

Students examine how place in poetry helps give clues about character. In this poetry lesson, students read a poem while focusing on the descriptions of the room that is being described and predict what type of person would live there....

Pupils read "The Odyssey" and "The Morte Darthur". In groups, they research the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology and the history of the places mentioned in the stories. Individually, they are to write a paper about a hero they...

Students have an appreciation of Langston Hughe's poetry and his use of jazz rhythms, have the ability to read poetry closely, and freewrite to gain a fresh perspective on music and literature.

Students are introduced to the term imagery. Individually, they read "The Dream Deferred" and note examples of imagery in the poem. To end the lesson, they write their own poem making sure to use the five components of imagery.

Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. In this haiku instructional activity, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku...

In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...

Students reflect on emotions commonly expressed by outsiders. They identify feelings of people who have just arrived in America. They read and analyze a poem about immigration.

Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

Students explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. For this fiction writing lesson, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with the story and...

Students create a water transportation device powered by wind. In this wind power lesson, students research transportation concepts after reading the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield. Students design the fastest sailboat they can...

First graders describe the characteristics of a tree. In this science lesson, 1st graders create predictions about a book they will be listening to, Have you Seen Trees. Additionally, students describe their trees using their 5 senses....

First graders investigate the organism known as a snail. They use snails to make observations of the body structure and the basic needs. The class is shown a chart and the teacher uses questions to induce student thinking. Then they...