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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study transportation in mid-19th-century Brooklyn. They look at several photographs of Brooklyn transport from the era and read Walt Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." In addition to making critical observations and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Walt Whitman¿¿¿s Poem ¿¿¿Leaves of Grass¿¿¿ And Takamri¿¿¿s Girl And Boy As Inspiration for Writing a Celebration of Self

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Pupils read and analyze Walt Whitman's poem, "Leaves of Grass." They compare/contrast Whitman's style to artist Takamori's style, and write an original poem about their childhood and fond memories.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry of the City

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Walt Whitman

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the poem To Walt Whitman by Angela de Hoyos. They divide into groups. Each group creates a poem written from one of two perspectives: to Walt Whitman or to de Hoyos from Whitman.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Poetry Using DARTs

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students interact with texts. They are given the first four lines of Walt Whitman's poem "When I heard the learned astronomer." Students read them and discuss what they think Walt Whitman did when he heard the astronomer.
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Unit Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Writing Poetry Like Pros

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
By looking to examples of popular poetry in a variety of forms, students learn to analyze, appreciate, and synthesize poetry in the classroom. "Writing Poetry Like Pros" provides several links to poetry texts and suggestions for creating...
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Unit Plan
Other

The Classroom Electric: Spiders, the Web, and Dickinson & Whitman

For Students 9th - 10th
Based on Emily Dickinson's poem "A Spider sewed at Night" and Walt Whitman's poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider," the authors of this site seek to "explore the nature of creativity, artistry, and audience." They bring together existing...
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Website
Other

I Hear America Singing: Whitman and the Music of His Time

For Students 9th - 10th
This I Hear America Singing site describes Whitman's views on music, the influence it had on his work, and a discussion of music in Whitman's time.
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eBook
Bartleby

Bartleby.com: E Text/i Hear America Singing

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides the online text for "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman.
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eBook
Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg: Audio Books

For Students 9th - 10th
A special subcollection of Project Gutenberg's online book catalog: audio books, recorded by real people (there is also a computer-generated audio books collection). Currently includes 35 or so selections ranging from fairy tales,...
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Unit Plan
Other

University of Virginia: Walt Whitman Archive

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive archive of works by and about Walt Whitman, from the University of Virginia. Includes his manuscripts (transcriptions and page images), published works, biography, criticism, images, teaching materials, and much more.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: One Life: Walt Whitman, a Kosmos

For Students 9th - 10th
This multimedia site offers readings of Whitman's poetry, an introduction, a gallery of images and works through the years of his career, and a reflection of Whitman's significance.
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Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Transcendentalism: Walt Whitman

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on Walt Whitman and his invention of the American free verse. It includes links to his poems "Song of Myself" and "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." It provides...
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Primary
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: "Song of Myself, I, Ii, Vi & Lii" by Walt Whitman

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides the text to Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, I, II, VI & LII, a brief biography of Walt Whitman, and links to some of Whitman's other poems.
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Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Walt Whitman Notebooks

For Students 9th - 10th
An amazing site, full of primary source documents, that offers a glimpse into the life and thoughts of American poet Walt Whitman. By paging through Whitman's notebooks, you can see a record of his ideas and witness lines of verse taking...
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Unit Plan
Other

University of South Carolina: Walt Whitman Exhibit

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive site studies the life and work of Walt Whitman. Provides a detailed biography and an analysis of Whitman's literary contributions. Includes detailed information about the development of "Leaves of Grass" and photographs of...
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Primary
Other

University of South Carolina: Leaves of Grass

For Students 9th - 10th
This University of South Carolina site, presented by the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, chronicles the publication history of Whitman's many revisions of "Leaves of Grass." Includes photographs of rare copies of early...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: World Below the Brine

For Students 7th - 8th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each text is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see the...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Masculine Heroes: Walt Whitman

For Students 9th - 10th
American Passages presents a concise biography of nineteenth century progressive American poet, Walt Whitman. See "Walt Whitman Activities" for artifacts and activities.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Walt Whitman: Journalist and Poet

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Through an examination of primary sources and watching a short video, students will learn about Whitman's love for and criticism of the United States.
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Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Walt Whitman, Triumph of Nationalism: America, 1815 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
Whitman's poem celebrating the integrity and industry of the masses within a democratic culture.
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Unit Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine: Memory and Machines

For Students 9th - 10th
A poem by Walt Whitman, "Song of the Exhibition," and the on-line catalog of the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition that celebrate the growth, power, and expansion of the nation.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Literature of Spanish American War

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides links to some of the prominent authors during the Spanish-American War from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the United States.
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Handout
Bibliomania

Bibliomania: Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Bibliomania houses a transcription of the full and complete text of Walt Whitman's classic "Leaves of Grass."