How do authors employ specific word choices to describe complex relationships? Scholars read and analyze the first stanza from Audre Lorde's contemporary poem "From the House of Yemanjá." Pupils determine the meanings of figurative and...

Twelfth graders analyze "Dedication" and "Child of the Americas" using a double-journal format. They compare responses and infer meaning from the connotations of select images in the poems write a paragraph describing the importance of...

Students read Wordsworth sonnet, "The World is Too Much With Us," and complete reader response criticsm worksheets. They examine the poet's ideas and techniques then write a letter to Mr. Wordsworth and explain how he might feel about...

Students become acquainted with work of poet, William Blake, as they listen to his poem entitled The Tiger, discuss tiger as symbol of power, explore human fascination with and powerful responses to nature, and act out poem as it is read...

Fifth graders preview different poetry selections form different poets to narrow their criteria for a favorite poem. They use the web and written sources to find a favorite poem and then give an oral interpretation of their poem in class...

For this "Ode to a Nightingale" worksheet, students discuss Keats view of nature. Students follow the poet's progression into the world of nature and the images used to convey his feelings.

In this "Ode to the West Wind" activity students discuss the poet's hope that the wind will transform him.  Students answer three questions about the transformation.

In this "Ode to the West Wind" activity, students discuss the speaker's concern that his ideas will die with him. Students answer three questions about the poet's plea to the West Wind to take his ideas and spread them throughout the world.

In this "One Art" instructional activity, students discuss the poem as an exercise in self-deception.  Students answer four questions about the poet's view of loss and her attempt to come to terms with it by making it seem trivial.

Third graders read and appreciate the writing of great American Authors. use technology to garner information about famous American authors. They have selected sites to explore. The information they save be used for a future Powerpoint.

Students identify a poem by Emily Dickinson for analysis. They apply a set of critical questions to a poem in order to interpret poem and find literary elements used by author. They organize information for a PowerPoint presentation...

Students read the book The Snowy Day and discover various winter themes. In this winter lesson, students develop movements to express the feeling of a snowstorm. Students also construct winter-themed art pieces.

Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson plan, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.

High schoolers write a speech.  In this dreams lesson, students define the word dreams and list their own dreams.  High schoolers read and discuss Langston Hughes work, read and discuss excerpts from speeches by JFK and Martin...

Tenth graders write a poem. In this poetry lesson, 10th graders read the poem The Road Not Taken written by Robert Frost, answer discussion questions, add new stanzas to the poem and share them with the class.

Students investigate African American history by researching culture. In this Harlem Renaissance lesson, students identify the teachings, music and art associated with African Americans in Harlem in the early 20th century. Students...

In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Students may submit their answers to be scored.

If you are teaching a unit on Robert Frost's poetry, you might consider this quiz. These 10 questions require identifying missing words from lines of poems and demonstrating understanding of several different poems including "Oven Bird,"...

To understand the consequences of the 1704 attack on Deerfield by combined French and Native American forces, groups research primary and secondary resources related to four Deerfield families involved in the attack.

Tween find out what it means to give and get respect. After reviewing the Recipe for Relationships studied in a previous lesson, groups create a dramatization of two-minute scenario in which an individual behaves inappropriately in a...

Students explore Walt Whitman and about poetry. Most importantly, it teach them that poetry is something anyone can write and encourage them to tell the story of their own community in verse

Students analyze the poems of Emily Dickinson and write their own nature poem. In this poetry analysis lesson plan, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the use of imagery, sound, and metaphor. Students write their own nature poem...

Students analyze Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken." In this poem analysis lesson plan, students review vocabulary for the poem and read the poem. Students discuss the meanings in each stanza, the theme, and its rhyme scheme....

Students listen and explore how African-American culture relates to learning Spanish as a foreign language. Poetry, music, and history are utilized while learning about Langston Hughes and Nicolas Guillen.