Spice up your traditional approach to teaching poetic structure with a wonderful animated video, which not only covers such terms as foot, meter, verse, but also stresses Shakespeare's unique use of iambic pentameter to convey emotion...

Consider the biblical allusions in Emily Dickinson's poetry with the seventh of ten lessons in a language arts unit. Learners read "A little East of Jordan" and "Come slowly - Eden!" and discuss the allusions to the original Old...

If you're introducing rhythm and meter into your poetry lesson, consider these activities based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Focusing on "Because I could not stop for Death," kids discuss accents, breves, and how they measure the...

Extend your instruction on similes and metaphors with a instructional activity on Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers" and "There is no Frigate like a Book." After a discussion on the images of each poem and their...

Imagery is the focus of this lesson, featuring "The Moon is distant from the Sea" by Emily Dickinson. Readers discuss the lunar cycle and its connection to the speaker's desires, and then choose an image from the poem to compare to their...

After an overview of the format of the literary analysis essay, viewers examine paragraphs that model “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D” level work. Each graded paragraph is followed with an analysis which explains the score. A real strength of the...

What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...

Scholars demonstrate the ability to evaluate authors' use of literary elements such as metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, and onomatopoeia. They are provided with a checklist and must shop for poems that contain the poetry terms...

The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...

Discuss the meaning of the phrase tone of voice with the class. They respond to a variety of scenarios where a particular tone would be prevalent. They then read "Mother to Son" without knowing the title and answer some questions about...

A reading of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" launches an interdisciplinary study of the connection between the meters of a poem and a melody. After identifying the number of beats in each line of the poem, young musicians use...

Dig in deeper with Robert Frost's, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Learners will read and discuss poems by Robert Frost and learn the meaning of terms such as narrative and personal. They journal, collaborate, and present poetry...

New ReviewAfter reading the novel, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, scholars review poetic devices such as metaphor and onomatopoeia. As a class, then small groups, pupils compare and contrast two poems from different authors, discuss how one...

What does despair feel like, and what does it look like? Pupils explore the theme of sadness with the sixth episode from the first season of the "There's a Poem for That" playlist. They watch an animated representation of Cristin O'Keefe...

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" ... and so begins one of English literature's most quoted plays. Scholars watch a visual interpretation of William Shakespeare's poem "All the World's a Stage" from As...

War, anarchy, destruction ... William Butler Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" has a little something for everyone! With episode four from season one of the "There's a Poem for That" playlist, scholars watch an animated version of the...

How can poems help people express their innermost feelings? With episode three from the first season of the There's a Poem for That playlist, pupils listen to the narrator share about her inner world. As Andrea Gibson reads her poem,...

How can someone manipulate language to describe an essential resource such as water? Pupils consider the question with the second episode from season one of the There's a Poem for That playlist. Learners watch an animated version of the...

Scholars create a brochure that features three aspects of the poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." The program details information about Robert Browning, the poem's setting, and its events. 

Phillis Whedatley's “On Being Brought from Africa to America” and Paul Laurence Dunbar's “Ode to Ethiopia” offer an opportunity for readers to respond to paired text questions. Using evidence from the poems to respond to questions,...

Celebrate the arrival of winter with a reading of Jack Ezra Keats' book The Snowy Day. Engaging children by asking them about their own experiences in the snow, the teacher goes on to read the story aloud before asking the class to draw...

How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...

A band of brothers or the Devil's agents? Nobel warriors freeing the oppressed or mercenaries working for the military/industrial complex? Groups examine poems from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II to determine the poets'...