Launch your poetry unit in a very dramatic way. Divide your class into groups, and give each group a different poem. After discussing the poem, each group member selects a stanza to study. The group then develops a skit that represents...

Students explore the visual, auditory, and verbal worlds offered by iLife applications to create a project that engages all learners and learning styles. They create a class book and CD of nature poems and artwork.

If you're looking to tie rap music into poetry writing, this would be a good presentation to use as you kick off your mini-unit. Learners are given a brief, but descriptive, history of rap music and rap poetry. The slides include...

Students read various examples of poetry and create a poetry portfolio. In this poetry writing lesson, students work at their own pace to complete a poetry portfolio with examples of the different poetic forms demonstrated. ...

The photograph, Nellie and her Italian Soda is viewed and discussed by the class. They are instructed to use the photograph as inspiration to write a poem about non-events, or things that are beautiful in every day life. Pupils use...

In need of a few great ways to teach an arts-enriched lesson on astronomy? This resource contains several interesting ideas that link poetry to the stars in the sky. These suggestions are very simple and could use a teachers touch, but...

Young scholars explore nature by participating in a poetry writing activity. In this forest investigation lesson, students identify images and feelings they experienced while they were in a forest on a class trip. Young scholars identify...

Remember learning to spell “encyclopedia” by singing along with Jiminy Cricket? How about using a singing exercise to learn the names of the presidents? “The Presidents Song,” includes the names, in order, from Washington to Coolidge....

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

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...

Students write diamonte poems that correspond to the double-exposed photograph they created.  In this poetry and multimedia artwork lesson, students use the photographic process to create a double-exposed photo then create...

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Engage your middle schoolers with Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous poem that begins, "First they came for the communists." Now that you have their attention, send learners to the various work stations you created to have them explore...

Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...

Learners collect memorabilia and create shadow boxes in the style of David Stewart. They also compose a poem and explain their identity in an oral presentation. This is a rare lesson that works quite well for a variety of age levels.

Explore works of art with your class by engaging them in a variety of artistic activities including papier-mache sculpture, poetry, performance, and more. After viewing and discussing four paintings of the sea by Robert Harris, learners...

Students construct Mother's Day cards. In this holiday lesson, students use art supplies to create Mother's Day cards. Students may include an acrostic poem about their mother or a coupon book for their mother.

Students determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln activity, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....

Fifth graders experience the movements required to perform social, folk and square dancing. They describe each dance movement. Students discuss the elements found in folk art, folk music, and fold dance.

Making a book is a fun art activity that can extend itself into so many different core subjects. Listed are the instructions and materials needed to create accordion-style books. Learners can use the basic tools to construct small books...

Fifth graders explore U.S. history by reading an award winning book about World War II. For this Japanese internment camp lesson, 5th graders read the book Under the Blood-Red Sun and discuss the entrapment of Japanese-Americans on our...

Students analyze, discuss, and research Georgia O'Keeffe and her flower paintings. They select a flower to paint and create a watercolor painting in the style of Georgia O'Keeffe. Students compose a poem describing their painting.

Learners research the background of Jacob Lawrence and study the music, poetry, and spirit of the Harlem Community that was present during Jacob Lawrence's formative and subsequent art productions. They create a piece of artwork...