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Introduction to Poetry
Students explore poetry. They investigate the poetry al around them. Students examine poetry in order to create a deeper understanding of poetry. They read and write a variety of poetry.
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"Music Be the Food Of Love": Found Poetry with Shakespeare and Hip Hop
Learners create found poetry using lines from hip hop songs and Shakespeare's plays. They try to rewrite the words to music so that more people can explain Shakespeare's plays. They discuss the results of the activity.
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How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
Students explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing poems...
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Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
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...
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Oh, Say, Can You See What the Star-Spangled Banner Means?
Students research the historical inspiration for the lyrics of the "The Star Spangled Banner". They explore websites, read articles and analyze poetry in an examination of America's patriotic symbols and history.
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A New Life, a New Home
Students connect with an immigration unit through research, journal writing, digital photography, and a movie production using iMovie. By acting out the immigrant's experience, students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of...
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The Texas Cowboy: Myth and Reality
Students create "cowboy ballads" in this interactive, multi-day lesson. The cowboy is researched using various sources and class discussions. Students evaluate individual work at the end of the lesson.
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Parrot in the Oven: Instructional Routine
After reading "The Bullet," a particularly intense chapter in Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members listen to the Spanish and the English versions of "Dimelo" by Enrique Iglesias. They then discuss how the song...
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Write a Song About American History
Students explore the historic background of the song, The Battle of New Orleans. Working in pairs, students research other historic events and write their own songs based on them.
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“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women
High schoolers examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry instructional activity, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn...
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Anglo-Saxon Period: An Introduction
High schoolers read information about Anglo-Saxon rulers and literary techniques, then complete a worksheet to help them review. Students take notes about the oral tradition, Anglo-Saxon literary terms, and Anglo-Saxon poetry. High...
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It's All Poetry to Me!
Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis lesson, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them. Students analyze...
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Connecting Poetry with Philanthropy
Students examine the different types of poetic conventions. They write a poem about philanthropy using these conventions. They illustrate their poem with artwork of their choice.
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A Call for Change
"Come gather round people, wherever you roam..." Bring the voice of Bob Dylan to your class with this lesson plan, which takes Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changing" and analyzes both the message and voice in the lyrics. Your class...
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Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
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A New Life, A New Home
Fifth graders use photographs to tell the story of immigrants. They use the Internet to help them research immigration.
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Figurative Language
What is figurative language, and why do we use it? Introduce your high schoolers to some examples and discuss the importance of including this element in your writing. After studying a text and searching for examples, writers will...
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The Quatrain
Learners analyze the quatrain structure and rhyming in the song, "Puddles". They use this format to create their own quatrain lyrics for a song then they share their song ang revise it.
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Sing Me a Story!
Sixth graders explore lyrics, phrases, and the beats in each phrase. They select a nursery rhyme, set it to a simple tune they already know, and match the tune with the same number of beats per phrase with a poem with the identical...
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Cloud Haiku
Students listen as a haiku is read by the teacher, determining what season is being portrayed in the poem. Students work together as a class and create a model haiku, then complete a worksheet, completing their own poem. Students will...
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Song Writing
For this music worksheet, students identify specific tips for composing a song. They use strophic form where each verse has the same melody. Students also select a chord sequence and use cadences at the end of each phrase and modulations...
American Library Association
Great Early Elementary Reads
Here is an excellent reference list of over 60 recommended book titles for early readers, each of which includes the author, title, number of pages, and brief summary.
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Stand Up and Sing
Students journal and respond to the question," How does society respond to change?" They create original lyrics to their own song that reflects the context of the Progressive Era.
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The Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 21-23
After answering comprehension questions (good for a homework reading check), class members analyze "Comin' Thro the Rye," and using the included guidance questions, discuss Holden's misreading of Robert Burns' poem. The URL to text of...