Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
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...
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
Trinity University
The Shakespearean Sonnet
Looking for a great lesson to teach your class everything they need to know about Shakespearean sonnets? Here's such a lesson. "Sonnet #18" launches a study of the Shakespearean sonnet. Scholars watch two Prezi presentations that provide...
Curated OER
Reading: If, A Poem
In this poetry worksheet, students read If by Rudyard Kipling and study the verse by verse paraphrasing. Students answer 2 comprehension multiple choice questions about the poem.
Curated OER
Reading: No Home on the Range
In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students read a poem called "No Home on the Range" by LaVonne Houlton. Students answer 8 multiple choice questions about the poem.
Curated OER
Edward Hopper's House by the Railroad: From Painting to Poem
Pupils analyze Edward Hopper's painting and Hirsch's poem to explore the types of emotion generated by each work. In this literary and art analysis lesson, students discuss how Hopper establishes tone and analyze Hirsch's use of diction...
Art Institute of Chicago
Lesson Plan: A Writer’s Odyssey
Looking for a fresh approach to an end-of-unit project for The Odyssey? Check out a resource that has class members write their own hero's journey short story and then craft an illustration that depicts their tale. Apollonio di...
Bulgarian Creative Writing Competition
Creative Writing Prompts For Every Season and Month
Winter, spring, summer, and fall! Every season is covered in a 14-page list of writing prompts. Included are story starters, reflection questions, poetry topics, and more.
Curated OER
Be the Poet
Learners work through a Haiku Organizer to determine the characteristics they use to write eight haiku poems on a theme that they choose. They design presentation folders of their completed work.
Curated OER
In Search of Afro-American Poets in Modern Times
Students develop an awareness of pride in the many contributions made by Afro-American poets. They gain an appreciation for poetry and express orally and in written form their feelings and emotions. They determine that poetry is age...
Curated OER
Poetry: A Mirror in Which to See Myself
Fifth graders focus on their self-esteem and strengths while reading poetry. In groups, they research the contributions and achievements of African-Americans and discuss how they overcame obstacles. They are read a poem, define new...
Curated OER
Stars and The Modern Telescope
In this stars and the modern telescope worksheet, students use a photograph taken by the 2MASS telescope to calculate the number of bright stars and faint stars in the picture, the size of the picture, and the number of stars expected to...
Curated OER
The Poetry of Form: Frank Lloyd Wright and Haiku
Students will develop original haiku pieces. Students will have an opportunity to explore the connection between the visual art of architecture and poetry. This will lead students to examine man's relationship to the natural world as...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
Curated OER
Modern American Poetry
Students identify different types of literary terms in poems. They read different poems and create a packet summarizing them. They write a poem of their own and a biography of one of their favorite poets.
Curated OER
Brave New World: Biopoem
“Words can be like x-rays if you use them properly—they’ll go through anything.” Readers of Brave New World will be pierced by an activity that asks them to use details from the text to craft a biopoem for one of the characters in Aldous...
Curated OER
Much Ado About Shakespeare
Lesson ideas to introduce pupils to the life, language, and works of William Shakespeare.
Curated OER
Poet Analysis: Ciaran Carson
Students analyze lyrics and narration by reading poetry. In 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
A Child's Christmas in Wales Quiz
Examine Dylan Thomas' poem "A Child's Christmas in Wales" with this quiz. This quiz refers to the narrator as the poet, which is largely agreed upon.
Curated OER
Litter
Learners discuss and research litter and write an anti litter poem. In this litter lesson plan, students also discuss what they can do to stop litter.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises
Dr. Seuss in the Classroom
Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...
Curated OER
Sonnets
Students examine the structure of sonnets. They compare and contrast them with modern day poetry. They write their own sonnet after changing the language in another sonnet to see why the author choosed certain words.
Curated OER
Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...