Curated OER
September Acrostic
In this writing worksheet, students write an original acrostic poem about the month of September. Students begin each line with a word or phrase that starts with the letter on that line.
Curated OER
Poet Analysis: Ciaran Carson
Students analyze lyrics and narration by reading poetry. For this language arts lesson, students read and examine the poem Belfast Confetti. Students discuss the topics and questions asked by the author Ciaran Carson.
Denver Art Museum
The Poetry in Non-Events
The photograph, Nellie and her Italian Soda is viewed and discussed by the class. They are instructed to use the photograph as inspiration to write a poem about non-events, or things that are beautiful in every day life. Pupils use...
Curated OER
Personification
Young writers discover that personification is when a writer gives an object the qualities of a person. After practicing identifying personification in many of the slides, individuals compose their own poem that uses this technique. They...
Curated OER
Dance: Sharp and Smooth Energy Qualities
Students use different qualities of movement to express themselves. In this lesson on movement, students use different qualities of energy and then use their experience as an inspiration for writing poetry.
Curated OER
Poem in Your Pocket Day: Ideas for Celebrating
First instituted in New York City in 2002 and recognized nationwide in 2009, "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is part of National Poetry Month (April) and celebrates poetry in everyday life. A brief news story includes 9 ideas about how to...
Curated OER
Calligrams
Poetry can inspire learners to create beautiful works of art. In this presentation, they are shown how to design calligrams, a type of poetry that uses words as art. This is a creative way to motivate learners to explore poetry.
Curated OER
Plot/Poetry Review
Before a writer can create a well-composed piece, he/she needs to know the ropes. Review parts of speech, plot, and elements of poetry with this set of questions presented as a PowerPoint. The text, being white, is kind of difficult to...
Curated OER
Observing Connections: Art, Poetry, and the Environment
Students write poems. In this language arts lesson, students view the works of Edward Hicks. Students write a poem and illustration based on the style of Edward Hicks.
Poetry Class
Writing a Monologue
The works of Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish poet and Britain's 2009 poet laureate, serve as a model for a writing activity that asks class members to select a character card, brainstorm lists of words, phrases, actions, and items associated...
Candlewick Press
A Classroom Guide to Peter H. Reynolds's Creatrilogy
Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...
Curated OER
Growing Poems
Students write garden inspired poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students go out into the garden and write poems about how they feel, what they see, and what is going on in the garden.
Curated OER
"Leap, plashless": Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination
Students examine different poems from Emily Dickinson. They practice listening for meter in the poems and make connections between the texts. They also practice their own creative writing skills.
Curated OER
Pirate Poems
Students increase their awareness of the fundamental of poetry. They write their own poetry on a familiar topic. Students create a paper-bag puppet on which to display their poem. They are told that poetry is a special way to tell a story.
Curated OER
Fluency Is Too Cool for School
What does a successful reader sound like? Help readers gain fluency and become successful readers through repeated readings of given poems. They use the cover-up method to help them decode new words and chart their progress as they...
Curated OER
A Poem's Theme
Show young poets how to use the main idea and voice to determine the theme of a poem. Model the steps using Listen Children. Lucille Clifton’s This Morning provides guided practice. Finally, class members use Nikki Giovanni’s...
Curated OER
Kennings: Poetry
Using a list of adjectives, learners answer a riddle. Through this creative presentation, your class can review the use of adjectives and descriptive language. They read a poem full of adjectives and guess which animal is being...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Awesome Authors Website
Learners examine the writing techniques of professional authors and apply them to their own work. In pairs, they email authors to discover the tricks of the trade. Students create their own Website for their work.
Curated OER
Edward Lear, Limericks, and Nonsense
Introduce your class to the delights of nonsense poetry and explore literary devices with the writing of Edward Lear. Learners identify rhyme and meter as well as figures of speech, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in "The Owl and the...
Curated OER
Metaphors
Metaphors open doors to descriptive language for your poets. They read the poem "What is the Sun" and record all the metaphors they find. Then, scholars change one of them to a simile. After answering two more comprehension...
Curated OER
"Leap, Plashless": Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination
Students read and explore one of Emily Dickinson's nature poems, "A Bird Came Down the Walk-" through interaction with a variety of art forms. Clips of a hymn to hear meter and the viewing of bird images exposes them to the language and...
Curated OER
Go Free or Die
Groups of older elementary learners begin their study of figurative language by visiting a website and completing the exercises detailed there. They then apply what they have learned by finding examples in several poems. Finally, they...
ReadWriteThink
Alliteration All Around
Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem,...
Curated OER
Playing Vocabulary Basketball
Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...