Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Understanding Poetry
A learning module that teaches students how to understand poetry in four mini lessons: Introduction, Finding Meaning from Figurative Devices, Making Inferences Based on Textual Evidence, and Making It Your Own.
Library of Congress
Loc: Poetry 180: How to Listen
In this non-prose piece, the poet shares how to listen carefully to others.
Library of Congress
Loc: Poetry 180: End of April
A poem about a baby bird, emerging from its shell, is shared within the five, three-line stanzas.
Library of Congress
Loc: Poetry 180: Break
This site shares a one-stanza poem about a family that is working on a puzzle together, taking a break from a world with problems.
University of Pennsylvania
U Penn: Poetic Terms and Types
Click on these terms for an excellent definition of these poetic terms, some from the Oxford English Dictionary. Includes types of poetry as well as terms.
University of Pennsylvania
Univ of Pennsylvania: Imagism
Defines the movement of poetry, "imagism" and describes the "imagist." The site also gives five characteristics of an imagist according to an Imagist manifesto.
Shakespeare Online
Shakespeare Online: Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130
This analysis begins with a paraphrase of the poem and a glossary of unfamiliar terms. There follows a brief, clear analysis of the poem which focuses on Shakespeare's twist on conventional sonnet imagery.
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania: Free Verse
This page provides a good working definition of free verse, along with some examples, information about its development, and mention of the poets who have made it popular.
Ted Nellen
Cyber English (By Ted Nellen): Rhythm and Rhyme
This is a glossary entry for the terms "Rhythm" and Rhyme" including the definition of each and literary examples of each.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Prose Poetry Paragraphs
Inspired by the vignettes of Sandra Cisneros, students will write about a familiar thing from their lives. Students will use the style of prose poetry to describe something familiar around their home, school or neighborhood. The final...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Listen to the Word Choice of Authors: Crafting a Poem
Young scholars will analyze a poem's word choice and then create a poem of their own using word wall vocabulary.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Between Repeated Lines
In this lesson plan young scholars will write a poem about someone they love after they have brainstormed an original idea.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Start and Stop Poetry
In this instructional activity students will analyze the cyclical patterns within poetry.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Hate to Love Sonnets
For this lesson students will learn the meter and form of a sonnet and write one of their own regarding something they either love or hate.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: How Do I Love Sonnets
In this instructional activity students will learn the meter and rhyme of a sonnet and they will write one of their own using specific word choice.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Refrain
Wikipedia article about the poetic device and musical term called refrain. It mentions a number of forms that use refrain as well as giving some examples from poems and songs.
Vocabulary.com
Some Helpful Poetry Terms
This site contains a list of 24 poetry terms. Teachers can digitally assign this list to their students to reinforce the spellings, pronunciations, and meanings of these words
Sonnet Central
Sonnet Central
A comprehensive site dedicated to the English sonnet. Site includes numerous pages grouped by country of origin and historic period. Also included is literary criticism of various sonnets and advice on how to write a sonnet. Click on the...
Other
Middle school.net: Shakespeare Analysis & Slide Show
Check out this informative site featuring an analysis of Shakespeare. The objective of this activity is for students to analyze a sonnet and present their findings via slide show. This lesson integrates technology into the curriculum.
Other
Owl Editing: Understanding the Meaning of Poetry
This OWL Editing page provides a chart that breaks down the factors to analyze when trying to understand poetry's deep meanings.
Other
Petrarch and Laura: Peter Sadlon: How to Write a Sonnet [Pdf]
This is an 8-page PDF article on "How to Write a Sonnet" by Peter Sadlon. It provides background information about sonnets, discusses the two main kinds of sonnet Italian or Petrarchan form and English or Shakespearean form. It explains...
Other
Rmc Denver: Reflections on Poetry Readings
This site features a lesson plan for how middle school young scholars can learn to reflect on poetry readings. Students and teachers will benefit from this informative resource.
Other
Communicate Science: 3 Science Poems by Emily Dickinson
Make poetry part of a cross-curricular study with these three poems by Emily Dickinson.
University of Toronto (Canada)
University of Toronto: Representative Poetry Online
A glossary of literary terms, primarily dealing with poetry, with definitions.