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Organizer
Curated OER

Figurative Language & Poetic Devices Activity: Firework by Katy Perry

For Students 6th - 10th
Sure to engage your class in poetry, this resource requires them to identify, label, and explain poetic devices and figurative language used in Katy Perry's hit song "Firework". A well-organized page that chunks the lyrics so learners...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Modest Proposal: Irony Made Understandable with Rock and Roll

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...
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Lesson Plan
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National Park Service

Lesson 5: Coded Spirituals, Metaphor in African Spirituals

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
If a picture is worth a thousand words, song lyrics also can communicate many meanings. Using the lyrics of spirituals, young historians analyze them for coded messages about freedom. Resources include a chart to help individuals track...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock & Roll through Literary Terms: An Upbeat Lyrical Adventure

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students participate in a variety of activities surrounding Rock & Roll music, lyrics, drama and visual art and how they all help demonstrate examples of literary terms. They use Rock & Roll as an effective aid to stimulate their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Individuality: India Arie Music Video

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine individuality.  In this music video lesson, students listen to music by India Arie to determine how music shapes our ideas of what normal is as well as how music is a form of poetry.  Activities are related to Stargirl. 
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PPT
Curated OER

Western Medieval European Poetry and Literature

For Teachers 11th - 12th
One of the Common Core standards requires learners to make connections between literature or media of the past and the present. Provided here, are key elements found in medieval poetry and literature that are connected to several more...
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PPT
Curated OER

Epic Poetry: Literary Terms for Story Analysis

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
What do Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Odyssey have in common? Why, they are all epics, of course, and are presented here as examples of the literary term. If you are beginning a study of epics, consider previewing the terms included...
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PPT
Curated OER

Poetry: The Most Compact Form of Literature

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Introducing or need to review literary devices and terms for a study of poetry? Though text heavy, the explanations and examples of key poetic devices will provide learners with the vocabulary they need to discuss and craft poems.
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

The Poet's Toolbox

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
If you need a lesson plan for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities on...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Poetic Devices in Songs

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
By teaching about poetic devices in music teachers can provide a creative way to practice reading, writing, and language skills.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry for the Common Good

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Students construct their own...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing Lyrics

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the themes and structure of a bluegrass song and identify the common themes in bluegrass music. They practice songwriting by rewriting the lyrics of "Oh! Susanna" as a bluegrass tune.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Presidents Song

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Remember learning to spell “encyclopedia” by singing along with Jiminy Cricket? How about using a singing exercise to learn the names of the presidents? “The Presidents Song,” includes the names, in order, from Washington to Coolidge....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Screening Coleridge’s Fantasies: Using Popular Music as a Bridge to Literacy

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders use music to aid them in interpreting poetry. In this poetry instructional activity, 12th graders analyze the lyrics, figurative language, and literary devices of selected music. Students compare the music to the poetry...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Poetry and Where Can You Find It?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine different types of poetry in music, commercials and printed works. They identify themes of philanthropy in poetry as well. They finally share their findings with the class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze lyrics of their favorite songs as examples of alliteration, metaphor, Onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and simile to determine the purpose of these devices in poetry. They use their analysis to create a presentation...
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Unit Plan
Trinity University Digital Commons

Romanticism: Past and Present

For Teachers 10th Standards
With its focus on nature, individualism, imagination, and rejection of traditional authority, Romanticism has great appeal to young high schoolers. After examining classic paintings and poems as well as current works, class members...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

The Poetics of Hip Hop

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...
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Lesson Plan
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Alabama Department of Archives and History

Strange Fruit: Lynching in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of lynching in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lyric Poetry Lesson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students synthesize the "textbook" definition of lyric poetry and discuss various forms (love lyric, complaint lyric, loss lyric, satiric lyric). They discover the relationship of poetry to musical selections.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music of My Heart

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners view and discuss the movie, Music of the Heart. They compare/contrast two versions of the song, Music of My Heart, identify characteristics of heroes, and sing the song, Music of My Heart.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rap as Lyrical Poetry

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Learners investigate the history of rap as an analysis of lyrical poetry and hip hop culture. For this rap analysis lesson, students watch a PBS NewsHour clip about the difference between rap music and hip hop culture. Learners analyze...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rap Music and Hip-Hop

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore rap and hip hop music. In this music and culture instructional activity, students experience the music of Will Smith in order to work on language and communication skills such as rhyming words, writing, and public speaking.