Curated OER
Unknown Frost Poem Discovered
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...
Curated OER
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
K12 Reader
Edgar Allan Poe’s Mystery Valentine
Riddle me this! As part of a Valentine's celebration, class members are challenged to find the key to solve the riddle in Edgar Allan Poe's Valentine poem.
Curated OER
Qualities of a Poetry Slam
Students discover the qualities of a poetry slam. In this poetry lesson, students conduct research to learn how slams are conducted and performances are scored. Students participate in their own poetry slam competition.
Curated OER
Poetry as Social Commentary
Students read poems with social commentaries. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read poems selected by their instructors and complete the provided social commentary chart to determine how the poems speak out against social issues.
Curated OER
Analyzing Poetry with TPCASTT
Middle schoolers read a poem and complete a TPCASTT chart. They make a prediction about the title (T) , paraphrase each line (P), identify poetic devices and nuances (C-connotation), explore mood and tone (A-attitude), point out shifts...
Curated OER
Listening Comprehension
In this listening comprehension worksheet, students listen to the teacher read the poem entitled, "Annabel." As the teacher is reading the poem, the students are called upon to answer the 41 comprehension questions included on the...
Curated OER
Interaction as Analysis: Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is a thing with feathers” is the focus of a series of activities that model for learners how close reading can lead to understanding. The whole class plays with the metaphor, groups talk about the author’s...
Curated OER
The Iliad
Explore ancient warfare through a dramatic reading of select portions of The Iliad with your class. They will identify the major characters in The Iliad and explain the strategies, external forces, and alliances of the Trojan War
Curated OER
Personify This
Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.
Curated OER
I Just Want to Say
Eighth graders study poetic devices included in conversation poems and explore their eloquent messages. They read and discuss poems by Langston Hughes and Don Marquis.
Curated OER
A Moment in Time
Eighth graders study poems to see how punctuation, line length, rhythm and word choice can be used to create a memorable moment. They read and discuss poems by Shel Silverstein.
Curated OER
Robert Frost Learning Stations
Students, while utilizing learning stations, read and analyze Robert Frost's poems from his "Frostiana" collection. They are encouraged to experience and explore poetry through different means via small groups. Within each station they...
Curated OER
The Villanelle
Students analyze the structure of the villanelle and write about its tone and theme. In this villanelle instructional activity, students complete a villanelle worksheet and read an introduction to the villanelle. Students read 'The...
Curated OER
I'm Nobody Bio Poem
Eighth graders analyze Emily Dickinson's poem, I'm Nobody. After discussing it, they create their own bio poem. They draw and label mandalas and display them in class.
Curated OER
Kumeyaay Indians
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this instructional activity about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the...
Louisiana Department of Education
How to Write a Memoir
Who are we and what shapes our identities? Seventh graders work to answer this question as they learn how to write a memoir. Full of non-print resources and supplemental texts that range from fiction to non-fiction, scholars write their...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Lessons That Motivate
Incorporating nonfiction lessons into literature instruction can be interesting and engaging for all students.
Curated OER
A New Look at Romeo and Juliet
Students explore life and language development in the Elizabethan Age. In this English lesson students complete web-quests and other activities surrounding Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.