Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...

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...

Bring a little excitement to your next poetry analysis instructional activity. Using the highly energetic poem "Walking With My Iguana," learners consider poem structure and rhyme. They listen to the poem, discuss the rhythm and tone...

High schoolers compare and contrast the genres of poetry and hip-hop. They view a poetry slam and write about it in their journals. Learners view a Lauryn Hill music video and respond to it in their journals. They compare and contrast...

What was life like for Irish immigrants settling in America during the late 1800's? Learners examine primary source documents, such as lyrics, poems, and letters, to understand the immigrant experience. They then use those primary source...

Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...

A reading of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" launches an interdisciplinary study of the connection between the meters of a poem and a melody. After identifying the number of beats in each line of the poem, young musicians use...

An open discussion starts this lesson plan off. The class takes a critical look at five works of art that demonstrate the impact and purpose of identity through collections or archives. They then write a list or draw 10-15 items found in...

Paul Chan's work has been known to show the cycle of change. Learners explore the concept of change by analyzing his work and reading the poem "For Which it Stands." They consider symbolism, communication, art, and society as they use...

Youngsters listen to poetry and music to understand that words are made of sounds.  In this rhythm and rhyme instructional activity, young scholars create songbooks of healthy eating songs. They will also act out pantomimes and...

Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

Students experience the different types of poetry in order to classify them. In this poetry lesson, students discover the multiple types of poetry while reading in the library. Ultimately, the students create their own poetry and share...

High schoolers explore language arts by viewing movie clips in class. In this poetry analysis lesson, students view scenes from the movie "In Her Shoes" and define what poetry is. High schoolers read the poem "One Art" and identify its...

Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...

Young scholars explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.

Students explore botany by participating in a language arts activity. In this garden poetry lesson, students read the classic poem "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and discuss the imagery and rhyming methods used. Students examine their own...

Pupils read and analyze the poem, "Psalm of Life," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They create a Footsteps Quilt, developing quilt squares to represent each goal and gift they would leave as a gift to humanity.

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...

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

Second graders explore language arts by analyzing poems in their class. For this word play lesson, 2nd graders define the terms rhyme, rhythm and alliteration and identify their uses. Students utilize class word lists to write their own...

Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...

Third graders gain an appreciation for writing, analyzing, reading and listening to poetry, viewing poems as a motivation for studying Japanese culture and tradition. They study and create their own haiku and tanka poems with illustrations.

Students read poetry and a biography of poet Anne Carson as part of a creative writing lesson. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read about the poet, read her poetry, and analyze a photograph to then write a poem. Students write...