Students identify distinguishing features of poetry. They identify and use literary terminology including symbol, theme, simile, and alliteration. They recognize the effects of language.

The characters in Lois Lowry's The Giver are rich and complex as they weave their way through the plot. Examine the character traits of one chosen person with a biopoem, which enables learners to follow a poetic format in writing a...

Combine poetry and reading comprehension with an engaging writing assignment. Readers of The Winter's Tale craft a sonnet in the voice of one of the characters in Shakespeare's play.

First and second graders explore writing conventions. They add question marks or periods to the end of teacher generated sentences on sentence strips. They locate punctuation marks in poems and write original sentences using appropriate...

Students read an example of a cinquain and look for patterns. For this cinquain lesson, students repeat the process with another poem and then compare the two. Students will review the process and form of writing a cinquain as presented...

Eighth graders gather ideas generated from other poems and their own inspiration, to create original poetry. A celebration is included as students bind and submit poems for publication.

Students listen to the poem "Shapes" by Shel Silverstein in order to accurately and specifically describe shapes' rules/traits in their journals. They illustrate the poem and take turns reading during a creative shared reading session.

In this poetry analysis worksheet, students read a paragraph regarding Langston Hughe’s use of collective voice in the poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers Theme of Memory and the Past.” Students then answer 4 discussion questions about the...

In this instructional activity, PhotoStory 3, learners create a story board of an original poem through the use of PhotoStory 3 presentation. Students write a poem and use it to develop their storyboard. Learners publish and share...

Students investigate the performance aspect of poetry by reading, writing and discussing poetry pieces.

Eighth graders read excerpts from a variety of poems by Hispanic and Spanish authors in Spanish. Individually, they identify any vocabulary they are unfamiliar with and view examples of poetry elements. To end the lesson, they research...

Young scholars watch NEW YORK VOICES special "New York Sports: Big Shots and Bad Guys," read excerpts from famous novels/essays in hopes of understanding the feelings that sports stadiums inspire, and create a tourist brochure that...

Third graders compare boring and vivid words: adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. They list them and come up with 10 vivid words on cards. They shuffle all the cards and use 10 to write "vivid" poetry.

Students encounter the fluency formula that states that it is important for kids to read and reread decodable words in a connected text. They must become effortless decoders in order to read fluently, and fluency in reading allows the...

Students describe James Whitcomb Riley's poems and identify the themes they portray. For this poetry lesson plan, students read the history of James Whitcomb Riley and read some of his poems.

Learners explore Emily Dickinson's poem "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers." In this Dickinson poem lesson, learners analyze the poem as proof of Dickinson' awareness of her reader. Learners analyze her style and identify her editorial...

Students listen to the story Jeffrey and Sloth and explore the six traits of writing. In this six traits of writing lesson, students practice doodling as a method of brainstorming ideas. Students then discover the importance of...

What would the world be like with no insects? Ponder this question using a research-based STEM unit that encourages scholars to investigate insects from both a beneficial and hazardous perspective. They learn about insect behaviors,...

Students read and listen to various poems as they are read by different readers using different tones. They read "Jabberwocky" and in groups, determine what they think the nonsense words in the poem mean. The groups compare thier ideas...

Students explore poetry by completing a webquest in which they hear poets reading their own work. Later, they examine the dramatic impact of reading poetry out loud. Finally, they practice reading poetry aloud and performing.

Who are we and what shapes our identities? Seventh graders work to answer this question as they learn how to write a memoir. Full of non-print resources and supplemental texts that range from fiction to non-fiction, scholars write their...

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

Students see how nature and honey bees are presented in literature. They find and read poetry that include references to bees. Have them write their own poetry or Haiku.

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...