Curated OER
Epic Improvisation
Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....
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Understanding “If”
Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" provides readers with a chance to practice their reading comprehension skills. After a close reading of the poem, individuals respond to the comprehension and critical thinking questions included in the resource.
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Breaking up a Poem
Complete with a SMART board presentation and all necessary materials, this lesson guides seventh graders through the process of writing poems and utilizing line breaks. After reading through the presentation and different examples, they...
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Do You Want to Be My Friend?
Learners participate in a variety of emergent and early-literacy activities based on a "friendship" theme. Learners listen to the book Do You Want to Be My Friend by Eric Carle, then echo read, choral read, and independently read...
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Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry
Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...
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Dancing through Poetry
Get your class up and moving as they explore how to express movement and dance through words. Designed around two poems by Lillian Morrison about break dancing, the activity truly captures the creative and multi-sensory aspects of...
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The Tiger!
William Blake's immortal poem "The Tiger!" launches a study of these magnificent creatures. After a close reading of the poem, class members compare his poem to Blake's artwork. Individuals then choose a favorite tiger species to...
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Beach Poetry
Familiarize young analysts with the relationship between words, meaning, and visual images. They consider the relationship between the painting Beach Poetry and the poem Sandpaper. They compose and illustrate an original a...
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Poetry With the Sages
Students write poems and input them into a word processing program. In this poetry lesson, students listen to Chinese poems and draw mental images. Students compose poems and illustrate them. Students share their work.
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Creating Life Maps (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Young scholars create a personal life timeline to better explain how a historical timeline is effective in studying history. They also write a poem about themselves.
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Number Writing Poems
Students read the short poem for each number to help them with number formation. In this numbers lesson plan, students follow directions of the poems.
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Visualize and Draw to Increase Comprehension
Improve readers' comprehension with a pair of visualization opportunities. First they listen, eyes closed, as you read a description from Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, and discuss ideas about what they "see." After you read...
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Poetry: What's on Your Plate?
Students analyze "The Road Not Taken" and discuss examples of "roads traveled" by their own age group. In this poetry lesson, students read and discuss the meaning of the poem. Students choose another poem and review it for...
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Descriptive and Imaginative Poetry
Students use descriptive and imaginative words and images in poetry. In this poetry lesson, students choose a picture to describe to the class. As the student gives the description, the classmates choose the words and images...
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Poetry through Jazz, Rap, and Hip Hop
Learners explore poetry through jazz, rap, and hip hop music. They discover the common threads that run through the poetry and music. Students design their own lyrics to a jazz, rap, or hip hop selection and share their songs with the...
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African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
Students are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...
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The Pledge of Allegiance
Young scholars explore U.S. history by identifying American symbolism. For this American Flag instructional activity, pupils read the poem "The Flag" by M. Hubbard and define the symbolism of the colors and stripes within the U.S. flag....
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Language Arts: What Makes an Individual
Third graders listen to the teacher read "The Sneetches" prior to creating charts about their individual characteristics. After numerous examples of individuality, they compile them on chart paper. As an extension, 3rd graders write...
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You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. For this haiku lesson, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku poem and write...
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Frederick
First graders listen to a read aloud of Leo Lionni's, Frederick, and illustrate a scene from the story.
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Where in the World is Flat Stanley?
Second graders analyze the proper form of a friendly letter and send flat Stanley letters all over the United States. In this letter writing lesson, 2nd graders read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and create their own Flat...
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Bridge to Terabithia: Visualizing to Optimize Comprehension
Good readers visualize. And in our image-rich culture it is imperative that children are provided with opportunities to practice this important skill. A selection from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and Bridge to Terabithia,...
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Valerie Bloom Poetry
Students listen to Granny Is, a poem by Valerie Bloom and discuss the metaphors in the poem. In this poetry lesson, students read poetry written by Valerie Bloom and discuss the techniques she uses. Students write grandmother poems.
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Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars
Students read the book Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars about space. In this space lesson plan, students make their own poetry book about space.