Curated OER
Machine Poetry
Fourth graders write poems describing the relationship of machine parts. In this poetry writing lesson, 4th graders review a system and examples. Students discuss the systems individual parts and how they work. Students use the given...
Curated OER
Reading and Writing Poetry: Seeing Many Facets of Fresh Water
Students create an original poem about water. In this Robert Frost and water lesson plan, students read examples of Robert Frost's poetry, write an interpretation, and look for imagery that appeals to the senses. Students use a handout...
Curated OER
Research a Poet and Explicate a Poem by that Poet
Seventh graders choose a poet to research and find a poem by that author to explicate/analyze using a variety of sources for their research that will include their textbooks, the school library, and the internet. After conducting...
Curated OER
Poetry From Photos: A Great Depression Activity
Students view photographs of migrant families during the Great Depression, try to interpret the photos to answer questions about the subject's life, and then write a Cinquain poem based on their interpretations.
Curated OER
What is a Haiku? How Do You Write a Haiku?
Haiku poetry is explored in this language arts lesson. Yong readers identify the characteristics of haiku and read several examples. Students make connections between their study of Japan and the poetic form of haiku, and they write...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring Little Women
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...
Curated OER
Poetry
Fourth graders write a poem after learning about the elements of poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, 4th graders use voice and expression to write their poems and revise their poems if needed.
Curated OER
Self-portrait Poem
Students practice naming various features or parts of their bodies using similes and vivid adjectives. The format is extended to poetic expressions as they develop a self-portrait and extend the creative experience through art.
Curated OER
Rock Write-In-Roll
Students participate in physical education and classroom activities with their parents and families. To engage parent's in their student's educational process, students and family members spend part of an evening roller skating and the...
Curated OER
Poetry: What's on Your Plate?
Students analyze "The Road Not Taken" and discuss examples of "roads traveled" by their own age group. In this poetry lesson, students read and discuss the meaning of the poem. Students choose another poem and review it for their...
Curated OER
Recasting Language through Found Poetry
Discover the concept of found poetry in this engaging lesson. Secondary students will explore the poem "Natural Selection" and compare it to the writings of Charles Darwin in Origin of the Species. Students chose a text and create...
Curated OER
Computer Lesson
The writing of Haiku poems is the focus of this language arts lesson. In it, the basic elements of Haiku poetry are presented, and then a step-by-step set of instructions on how to create a Haiku poem along with an illustration is...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Poems vs. Lyrics
Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Our Poetic Planet - Writing Poems about the Earth
As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...
Curated OER
"Ing" Words as Descriptors
This clever instructional activity has your students listen to story about bugs, work together to brainstorm list of "ing" words that describe bugs, create t-chart of words, choose words to place in poem template to create class poem...
Academy of American Poets
We Sing America
Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...
Curated OER
Are Your Favorite Rockstars Poets?
Tenth graders decide if the song lyrics that they listen to, could be considered a sonnet or a poem. They are invited to explore lyrics and their meaning. Students write a persuading argument on whatever they decide, but it must be...
Education World
Black History Month Rap
Young scholars write a rap or hip-hop lyric about the life of a famous Black American. They explore famous Black Americans in history and explore how the rap form compares to other forms of poetic expression.
Curated OER
Moore vs. Livingston:Who Really Wrote 'The Night Before Christmas'
Students research an author and gather information that seems to support that person as author of The Night Before Christmas. They work in groups to gather the most solid evidence and they write a persuasive essay presenting their argument.
Curated OER
With Your Own Two Hands: Are You Changing the World or "Waiting for the World to Change"?
Can your pupils change the world? Explore this question with Ben Harper's song "With My Own Two Hands" and John Mayer's "Waiting for the World to Change." After listening to the songs, they discuss the tools at their disposal for...
Core Task Project
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
Students examine the Japanese writing form of Haibun. They identify the elements of Japanese prose and poetry, analyze a haibun for writing devices, complete a graphic organizer, and compose an original haibun as a form of journal keeping.
Curated OER
Valentine's Day: Love Letters
Oh the joys of love! As a special Valentine's Day assignment, budding authors research the life of one of the most romantic poets, Keats. They read the letter, "To Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819," then compose a love letter of their own....
Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson plan integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson plan...