National Endowment for the Humanities
Introducing Metaphors Through Poetry
Metaphors are word pictures, creating images in our brains that draw readers to consider how two seemingly unrelated items are alike. Poems by Langston Hughes, Margaret Atwood, and Naomi Shihad Nye provide learners with an opportunity to...
Curated OER
Poetry Shopping Spree
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...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Spring is like a perhaps hand" by E. E. Cummings
E. E. Cummings' "Spring is like a perhaps hand" offers young scholars an opportunity to try their hands at analyzing a simile. After a warm-up activity and a close reading of the poem, class members discuss what they think the poem is...
Georgia Department of Education
Exploring Poetry and Poets
Combine the study of poetry and non-fiction texts with this complete and ready-to-use six-week unit. After reading numerous poems from local writers and compiling a personal anthology, high schoolers find and read a memoir or biography...
Curated OER
Figurative Language #2
Identify figurative language in sentences that have been pulled out of a text. Looking at the sentence independently, can you tell which technique is being used? How do you know? Ninth graders look at 10 sentences that show simile,...
Soft Schools
Metaphor and Similes in Literature: A Challenge
After identifying the similes and metaphors in a series of lines from poems, individuals then explain what is being compared and the characteristics the two items share.
Curated OER
Deciphering the Mechanics of Poetry
After a review of poetic terms, groups are given an object and they create a poem using a simile, a metaphor, internal rhyme, end rhyme, alliteration, and personification. Groups then exchange objects and repeat the process. Consider...
Curated OER
Using Similes and Metaphors in Poetry
The use of similes and metaphors will become more clear and your pupils will gain knowledge and comprehend the meanings of the words with these activities. They compose interesting similes and metaphors based on visual prompts and write...
Curated OER
Latino Literature: Poetry
Under construction, this lesson focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also address themes...
Curated OER
Poetry Writing Practice
In this poetry writing instructional activity, students identify the topic, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme, and alliteration in a poem. Students fill out this information in a given diagram.
Curated OER
Poetry Group Activity
In this Romeo and Juliet worksheet, students complete a group project by creating a poem on an assigned topic relating to themes found in Romeo and Juliet.
Curated OER
Expressing Our Thoughts Through Poetry
Young scholars create a poem on about spring. They read final version of their poem chorally. They write reflections of their experience in creating the poem.
Loudoun County Public Schools
Figurative Language Packet
A definitive resource for your figurative language unit includes several worksheets and activities to reinforce writing skills. It addresses poetic elements such as simile and metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and idioms, and...
Curated OER
Musical Poetry
Young scholars analyze lyrics of their favorite songs as examples of alliteration, metaphor, Onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and simile to determine the purpose of these devices in poetry. They use their analysis to create a...
Curated OER
Simile And Metaphor
High schoolers engage in a lesson about metaphor and simile while using them in different contexts. They are asked to share some samples that are designed by them to other members of the class. Students practice writing them with the...
Curated OER
Cluing into Symbols Robert Frost
Students use the Internet and video to discover how find evidence in poetry in order to discover the theme(s) of the poems. They are able to define poetic devices like simile, metaphor and repetition. Students identify themes in...
Curated OER
Analyzing Poetry
Use this poetry analysis worksheet to help your learners understand a poem of their or your choosing. This resource asks class members to summarize the poem and analyze it by looking at voice, word choice, imagery, and theme. The...
Curated OER
Pictures in Words: Poems of Tennyson and Noyes
Students analyze poems by Tennyson and Noyes. They identify examples of alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, metaphor, and simile. Students create examples of alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, metaphor, and simile.
Curated OER
The American Dream Poetry
Students analyze how poetry can reveal themes of 'The American Dream.' In this poetry themes lesson, students discuss the elements of poetry and define imagery. Students read 'Lost Sister' by Cathy Song and complete a related worksheet....
Curated OER
Haiku Wrap Up
Students create a haiku about the land formations they've studied. In this haiku lesson, students identify the metaphor and meaning of a given haiku, brainstorm comparisons for a landform photo as a class and choose one to use in a...
Curated OER
Figurative Language in Poetry and Prose
Students examine the impact of sound devices in poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read the listed poems and identify uses of hyperbole, simile, metaphor, imagery, and personification. Students discuss how sound devices enhance poetry.
Curated OER
Reading and Writing Poems About Place
Students explore images, metaphor and simile, personification, detail, inference, tone, meaning. They identify words, phrases, sentences they do and don't understand, and ask questions of themselves and others.
Curated OER
Connecting Poetry with Philanthropy
Students use their knowledge of philanthropy and poetic conventions to write original poetry about philanthropic giving. In this philanthropy lesson, students write poetry based on philanthropy using poetic conventions. Students...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Stylistic Devices
Students are able to define given literary terms, such as metaphor, simile, imagery, personification, symbolism, etc. They are able to identify the use of literary elements in a given text. Students are able to interpret weather...