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Unit Plan
Trinity University

I Didn’t Know that was Poetry

For Teachers 8th Standards
Poetry or prose? That is the question facing middle schoolers as they begin a month-long poetry unit by examining the characteristics that differentiate poetry and prose writing. Pupils learn about poetic devices and different types of...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Goals and Perseverance

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Define the word perseverance to have learners understand why it is important in reaching goals. Young scholars research how Martin Luther King needed perseverance to accomplish his goals. They write acrostic poems using the word...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Hidden Beauty

For Teachers K - 2nd
Expose the beautiful mystery of bulbs as young botanists learn all about these fascinating plants. They glean information from a short text before observing actual bulbs (consider an onion), and comparing their findings with predictions....
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Arabic Poetry: Guzzle a Ghazal!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers research the evolution and cultural significance of the Arabic ghazal form of poetry. They, in groups, compose an original ghazal poem and read it aloud to the class.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Shakespeare Limericks 2

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
These fun limericks all point to a Shakespeare play. You fill in the blank with the title of the play each limerick points to. A creative way to get your readers thinking!
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spring into Poetry

For Teachers K - 5th
How many different types of poetry are there? Let me count them; list poems, haiku, and makes-me-think poems are only a few. Learners create their own poems accompanied by artistic projects such as haiku poems written on kites.
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Poems about Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Learners of all ages hear the words “Today we’re going to start poetry” and begin their plans to drop out of school. It is not the teacher's fault! Use this resource to help young scholars understand the genre of poetry and why it is...
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Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Poetry and Storytelling Café

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Gathering Textual Evidence for the Two-Voice Poem (Author’s Note)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Writers take a look at how to gather evidence from the information text in the unit that connects to Salva and Nya’s story. They complete a Gathering Evidence from Informational Texts sheet to guide their work. Pupils then use the...
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Lesson Plan
Syracuse University

Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
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Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a Funny Epitaph Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
What can happen if you eat too much cafeteria food? Or wear dirty clothes every day? Or talk back to your mother? Use a lesson on humorous poems as a way for students to practice silly rhymes as fictional epitaphs.
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Activity
Poetry4kids

Rhythm in Poetry: Okie Dokie, Here’s the Trochee

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Iambs and trochees may seem intimidating to some learners, but after reading a straightforward online lesson, they'll be masters of poetic feet! The lesson includes examples of trochaic poems from Edgar Allen Poe and William Blake.
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Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a Tanka Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Take your haikus to the next level with tanka poems, another form of Japanese poetry that regulates the length and rhythm of each line by syllables. Young writers read the explanation, examples, and tips for tanka poems before writing...
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Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a Clerihew

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Writing funny poems is the best part about learning poetic forms! Young poets learn all about clerihews—humorous four-line poems about people—with an explanatory lesson.
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Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write Funny Poetry — Chapter 1: Writing Poetry

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Do you wish you could write poetry that makes people laugh? Now you can! Check out the first chapter in a poetry writing series that emphasizes the importance of connecting subject matter to a light, bouncy meter.
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Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write an Acrostic Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Acrostic poems are perfect for any topic! A quick tutorial guides learners into writing acrostic poems with the basics and key examples.
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Printables
ETFO

Free Verse Poetry Rubric

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Follow poetry instruction with a four-category rubric designed to guide budding poets' writing of free verse poetry. 
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Unit Plan
National Center for Families Learning

The Summer Fun Summer Learning Poetry Unit

For Teachers 1st - 8th Standards
Focus on poetry this summer to enhance those comprehension, fluency, and language skills with a set of resources intended to explore different types of poetry, specifically lyric poetry. The daily activities contain differentiation ideas...
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Interactive
ReadWriteThink

Diamante Poems

For Students 3rd - 12th Standards
The blank page can be a huge hurdle to overcome when writing a poem. Take that hurdle away with an interactive format that enables pupils to write elegant diamante poems. After they add the first and last words in two separate fields,...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Geography 360°

Poetry Writing

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Put the tips and tricks in this guide into practice in order to encourage your pupils to blossom into poets. A wonderful reference material for teachers, this packet includes definitions of poetic terms and forms as well as step-by-step...
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Writing
Education.com

All About Acrostics

For Students K - 2nd
Spell out your first day excitement with S-C-H-O-O-L! Use a worksheet to fill in words for each letter to create a unique acrostics poem.
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Printables
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Death Be Not Proud

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Not dreadful, but mighty, this worksheet for “Divine Sonnet X” (aka “Death Be Not Proud”) models for individuals how to recognize John Donne’s argument for why Death should not be proud and how to recognize the sonnet structure and rhyme...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Sor Juana, la poetisa: Los sonetos

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Examine two of Sor Juana's sonnets in depth. Learners first listen to an audio recording or a reading of the sonnets and then analyze the structure and form, paying attention to elements of the Baroque and el gongorismo. Assess student...
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Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Body Strength

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...