Introduce fourth graders to poetry with a three-week unit that has them examine the structural elements of poetry, analyze poems, and craft their own original poems rich in sensory details and other poetic devices. Young scholars study...

Poetry or prose? That is the question facing middle schoolers as they begin a month-long poetry unit by examining the characteristics that differentiate poetry and prose writing. Pupils learn about poetic devices and different types of...

Class groups examine a series of poems that use Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a motif in Holocaust poetry. Included are questions, notes to the teacher, and bibliographical information on each poem. The activities could be...

To begin this lesson, class members examine Antonius Hockelmann's painting "Tree Flowers II," record elements of the painting that they notice, and share their observations with a partner. Next, pupils do a close reading of Jericho...

Focus on poetry this summer to enhance those comprehension, fluency, and language skills with a set of resources intended to explore different types of poetry, specifically lyric poetry. The daily activities contain differentiation ideas...

Young scholars read a poem and use the TPCASTT strategy for analysis. In this poetry analysis lesson, students journal about their future goals and read John Updike's "Ex-Basketball Player." Young scholars discuss the purpose of the poem...

The big idea in this poetry unit plan is that structure and content work together to create meaning. Class members learn how to identify and mark the metrical patterns and line lengths used in poems. They study the structure of various...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

How do Poe's choices of imagery, rhythm and rhyme scheme, and structure help build the desired single effect of "The Raven"? After listening to a dramatic reading of the poem, class members consider whether Poe's choices do...

A band of brothers or the Devil's agents? Nobel warriors freeing the oppressed or mercenaries working for the military/industrial complex? Groups examine poems from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II to determine the poets'...

Victor Laredo's painting "On the Beach" and Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "Thanksgiving" allow young scholars to use their noticing skills. Class members identify elements of the painting the artist uses to create the feeling of...

Examine two of Sor Juana's sonnets in depth. Learners first listen to an audio recording or a reading of the sonnets and then analyze the structure and form, paying attention to elements of the Baroque and el gongorismo. Assess student...

FANBOYS will enjoy breaking grammar rules, but they will have to use coordinating conjunctions, gerunds, compound sentences, compound-complex sentences, and even predicates as they craft poems like Shel Silverstein.

Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...

You could spend a full day discussing The Phantom of the Opera and not scratch the surface, but a set of lessons about the literary elements and themes of the musical production is a great start. Young thespians build upon the...

Similar to a textbook, this resource includes multiple texts, plenty of explanation, lots of practice, and several graphic organizers. Use all of the materials, or pick and choose from such texts as "The Circuit," "Shoes for Hector,"...

Two babies, two fathers, two experiences, two worlds. Partners craft two-voice poems to capture the points of view of two men with very different lives who have just become fathers.

Here, Autumn Poplars is the painting upper graders will analyze. They look at techniques, time period, and the use of impressionism to convey a natural theme. They go outside to make observations of nature and use what they see to write...

One must first learn how to analyze art before they can properly respond to it. Here, young analysts examine six abstract pieces in a systematic and formal way. They then respond to one of the pieces in either a poem or an essay. An...

Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...

Seventh graders have a golden opportunity to learn how to read poems and short stories with a unit that introduces them to the techniques writers use to craft their works. They examine poems by William Carlos Williams and Edgar Allen Poe...

High schoolers identify the distinction between literal and figurative language with a focus on metaphors. They complete a metaphor analysis chart, then practice expanding metaphors by composing their own comparisons of elements of the...

Students 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 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....