Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...

High schoolers examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis...

Ninth graders compare the development of text in Book 5 of "The Odyssey" to Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lotus Eaters." After discussing the comparison's of the two text within a group, they create an original piece of work or...

Looking to improve your classes literacy program? Then look no further. This comprehensive collection of resources includes worksheets and activities covering everything from r-controlled vowels and consonant digraphs, to the...

Sixth graders explore their individual identities. For this personal identity lesson, 6th graders write biopoems using the provided template. Students share their poems and respond to the poetry shared.

Students compare revolutionary actions of Jose Marti and Pete Seeger. In this Cuban folk song lesson, students listen to the song "Guantanamera" and discuss the content. Students read articles on the poet and the songwriter and create a...

Third graders try their hands at writing Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry. Haiku is usually 17 syllables in three-line form. This engaging lesson has many excellent worksheets and website imbedded in the plan. They share their finished...

Third graders become familiar with the poetry of Issa. In this haiku instructional activity, 3rd graders recognize the format of a haiku and learn about the life of Issa (the poet) through focused questions, vocabulary and reading...

Students review the Show Don't Tell method of writing haiku poetry. They practice distinguishing poetic language from academic language and create poems based on images, not explanations.

Students explore crystals through the story Snowflake Bentley and then create crystal pictures of their own. In this interdisciplinary lesson, they create a crystal web chart on chart paper, design artificial snowflakes, and write poems...

Can literacy get any more fun than this? Learners not only have fun, but gain confidence as well when presented with familiar text in another language. Select books, songs, poems, even recipes written in another language, and using the...

It doesn't matter if you're a new teacher trying to set up your classroom for the first time or a veteran teacher looking for new ideas to freshen up your teaching, this resource has something to offer everyone. After...

Billy Collins' "Rain" introduces the Random House 104-page magazine for educators that focuses on censorship and banned books. The resource is packed with teaching guides, articles by noted authors, and links to...

Students read and write poems for two voices about the Civil Rights Movement.

Ella in Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted receives the gift of obedience and must do what others tell her, but her strong personality struggles with this gift. Scholars review how Ella handles her fate by completing...

Young scholars engage in a lesson that is concerned with the study of poetry while focusing on Haiku as a format. They practice reading a variety of different pieces of literature in order to increase exposure. Students discuss the...

Your young poets will jump at the chance to demonstrate their understanding of stanzas. Cue up “Seven Jumps,” a track on Michael Herman’s CD, International Folk Dances. Class members move to the music of each stanza and freeze when a...

Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis instructional activity, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them....

Awesome! Teach your writers and researchers how to create a works cited page by giving them this activity. Their assignment is to create a proper works cited page that uses a list of different magazine articles, books, and poems. All of...

Inntroduce primary learners to essential critical reading strategies with an activity based on James Reeves' poem, "The Wind."  Learners listen as the poem is read, first as a riddle, and then re-read with the title visible. The...