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
Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet
Learners investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.
Utah Education Network (UEN)
8th Grade Poetry: Sonnet Poem
The third lesson of five in an eighth-grade poetry unit has young scholars comparing Shakespearean sonnets with Petrarchan sonnets. To begin, they examine the different structures of the two forms and their different rhyme schemes. After...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
7th Grade Poetry: Sonnet Poem
Two sonnets provide seventh graders with examples of Shakespearean sonnets. After discussing the story of the poems and analyzing their rhyme scheme and rhythm, young poets craft a Shakespearian sonnet and share their work with two...
Novelinks
The Winter’s Tale: Sonnet Strategy
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.
Curated OER
Emmett Till: A Classroom Sonnet
Who is Emmet Till? An important historical figure, your kids will be shocked by his story! Discover the details of his life and collaborate to write a crown of sonnets in the style of Marilyn Nelson.
Curated OER
Analyzing Sonnets
Model for your class how to craft an analysis of a sonnet by examining the literary techniques used, the background of the poet, and critical reviews of the poem. As guided practice, learners are assigned a sonnet, complete a preliminary...
Curated OER
Sonnets
Explore the concept of rhyme scheme within a Shakespearean sonnet. After writing out their favorite (appropriate!) rap song and explaining why they like it, middle schoolers define a rhyme scheme. Afterward, they examine a Shakespearean...
Curated OER
Sonnet Worksheet
Are your middle schoolers writing a sonnet? Here's a worksheet to help them craft their first sonnet! Make edits as you see necessary.
Curated OER
From George to Martha: Writing a Sonnet Using Primary Sources
What was the relationship like between George and Martha Washington? To protect their privacy, Martha Washington destroyed all her husband’s letters after his death so historians have little evidence of their lives together. Two letters...
Curated OER
The Sonnet Challenge
Students are given information about two popular sonnet forms-English and Italian. They are given the rules for writing a sonnet. Students are asked what type of sonnet they would use. They are each given a sheet of paper and asked...
Education Oasis
Creative Writing Unit: Analyzing, Interpreting, Discussing and Writing Various Genres of African-American Literature
A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Sor Juana, la poetisa: Los sonetos
Examine two of Sor Juana's sonnets in depth. Learners first listen to an audio recording or a reading of the sonnets and then analyze the structure and form, paying attention to elements of the Baroque and el gongorismo. Assess student...
Poetry4kids
Rhythm in Poetry: I Am the Iamb
It's fun to write a poem with iambs! Practice using iambs in all types of different poems with an online poetry lesson.
Curated OER
Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet
High schoolers experience and enjoy the sounds of poetry. They erform sound experiments with sonnets and closely read and analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare. Students write an analysis of how sound affects meaning in a sonnet chosen from...
Curated OER
Poetry--Rhythm and Meter in Sonnets
Students identify rhyme scheme and meter in a poem and respond to the message of the poem. In this sonnet rhythm and meter activity, students take notes on a lecture about rhythm and meter in sonnets and work in small groups to read...
Curated OER
Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare
In this online interactive reading comprehension instructional activity, students respond to 8 short answer and essay choice questions based on various Shakespearean sonnets. Students may also access an online quiz on the sonnets using...
Curated OER
Sonnet Form
Students explore the sonnet form. In this lesson on sonnet form, students explore various sonnets and how a sonnet can range from conventional to experimental.
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
Exploring the Sonnet
Students research English/Shakespearean and Italian/Petrarchan sonnet forms. They write an original sonnet on their preferred form (English or Italian), write the poem on the wordprocessor and publish and post it on the net at the Sonnet...
Curated OER
Superb Sonnets
Students identify and compare the characteristics of both Italian and English sonnets. They read examples of each, then write an original sonnet in either the Italian or English style.
Curated OER
Close Reading of a Sonnet
Young scholars practice reading sonnets line by line to find the message of the sonnet. In this sonnet lesson, students read a sonnet one line at a time as the teacher projects it for the entire class. As each line is shown, young...
Curated OER
The English Sonnet: Michael Drayton
Young scholars discover literature by conducting a free writing experiment. In this sonnet lesson, students read the sonnet "The Parting" and compare it to modern-day songs about breaking up. Young scholars listen to pop music in class...
Curated OER
Performing Sonnets
Students use Shakespearean sonnets as part of a poetry analysis lesson. In this sonnet lesson, students perform a sonnet by Shakespeare but treat it as a script to be acted out. Students work in pairs to create motions for two lines from...