Curated OER
Reading Poetry in the Middle Grades
Bring the beauty of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost to middle school language arts. After learners read a copy of the poem, they follow an instructional sequence that focuses on sound, figurative language, and theme.
Curated OER
The Sound of…Poetry!
Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing lesson. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound words and then...
Poetry4kids
How to Write an Exaggeration Poem
The best poetry writing lesson of all time is here for you! Learn all about the art of exaggeration with a lesson on exaggeration poems, which instructs students to use wild imagery to convey their message.
Curated OER
Whale Song Acrostic
What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Nature: Friend and Foe: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 6)
If readers don't understand key portions of a text, it may seem more like a foe than a friend. The second resource in a series of three ESL lessons designed to accompany the texts in Nature: Friend or Foe makes the texts easier to...
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
Poetry Lesson Plans
Need some ideas for poetry lessons? Check out this packet loaded with suggestions for elementary, middle, and high school writers.
Scholastic
Writing An Acrostic
Invite learners to introduce themselves through poetry. After brainstorming and choosing details, pupils draft two acrostic poems using their names as the base. They then evaluate and revise their poems.
Poetry Society
War Horse and WWI Poetry
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library. As part of their study of War Horse individuals create an anthology of World War I poetry.
Scholastic
Comprehension During Independent Reading
Ideal for a language arts class, literary unit, or independent reading assignment, a set of reading worksheets address a wide array of skills. From poetic elements to nonfiction text features, you can surely find a valuable resource in...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 11
The capitalization rules are strict and inflexible—until you experience the fluid beauty of an Emily Dickinson poem. Ninth graders test their existing knowledge of language arts conventions with the many bent grammar rules in "I Felt a...
Winterhill School
Poetry Analysis
Gain greater insight into poems using a poetry analysis worksheet. Here, scholars follow steps and answer questions to dissect any poem. Topics include the poem's meaning, theme, technique, and structure, as well as personal thoughts and...
Curated OER
Figurative Language iMovie
In order to understand figurative language, learners read 5 poems, each exemplifying a different literary device. They discuss and write responses to each poem. They then choose one literary device which they will use as the basis for a...
BW Walch
“Outsider” Poet Kay Ryan Goes from Poetry Club Reject to Poet Laureate
The cat might have got your tongue, but you can’t avoid the elephant in the room while you wait for the other shoe to drop. After all, the early bird gets the worm and the chickens are circling. After researching Poet Laureate Kay Ryan...
K12 Reader
Adding Alliteration to Poetry
Alliteration can make the language of a poem flow. Add adjectives to several blanks in two poems to form alliterative phrases.
University of North Carolina
Poetry Explications
Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The...
Poetry4kids
Onomatopoeia Poetry Lesson Plan
Two exercises boost scholars' knowledge of a onomatopoeia with excerpts from famous poems. In exercise one, participants circle onomatopoeia words. Exercise two challenges writers to choose three words to use in an original poem.
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Repetition Poem
A repetition poem is the focus of a lesson that challenges scholars to compose an original piece. To add meaning to their poem, authors choose words to repeat at the start of most lines.
Teachnology
Shape (Or Concrete) Poems
Poetry comes in all shapes and sizes. Young writers pick a shape, select words and phrases that describe how the shape makes them feel, and create a shape poem. A raindrop example and step-by-step instructions give your budding poets a...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Free Verse Poem
Budding poets compose an original free verse poem. Encouraged to use personification and alliteration, scholars read over three tips and examples then try their hand at drafting a poem of their own style.
Poetry4kids
Personification Poetry Lesson Plan
Scholars take part in two exercises to boost their knowledge of personification. After reading a detailed description and excerpts from famous poems, writers list action verbs and objects then combine words to create a humorous...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Tanka Poem
Take your haikus to the next level with tanka poems, another form of Japanese poetry that regulates the length and rhythm of each line by syllables. Young writers read the explanation, examples, and tips for tanka poems before writing...
Hamilton Schools
Figurative Language
What's the difference between a simile and a metaphor? Show language arts learners a presentation that identifies different types of figurative language used in poetry.
Teacher's Corner
Shape Poetry
Calligrams, or shape poems, are the focus of ninth exercise in a ten-part poetry writing series.
Teacher's Corner
Acrostic
Do your students suffer from metrophobia? Assuage their fears by asking them to craft an acrostic, a form poem that begins with a single word. The first in a series of ten poetry writing exercises.