Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty

For Students 6th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "I Am Offering This Poem" by Jimmy Santiago Baca

For Students 5th - 7th
A learning module that begins with "I Am Offering This Poem" by Jimmy Santiago Baca, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud" by William Wordsworth, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "If We Must Die" by Claude Mc Kay

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the full text of the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe; it was published in 1849 and is the last complete poem published by Poe before his death. Guided reading, discussion questions, and quiz are available [Free account...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Akron at Night by Teri Ellen Cross Davis

For Students 7th - 8th
Teri Ellen Cross Davis is a poet who draws upon small, personal moments to explore large themes. Common subjects in her poetry include the experiences of women and people of color in America. This poem is from her 2016 collection Haint....
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Dance Mama Dance by Daniel Beaty

For Students 7th - 8th
Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and poet. His productions are known for incorporating music, movement, and words. In this poem, the speaker discusses their mother and their wish to see her dance. It also provides...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "What Love Isn't" by Yrsa Daley Ward

For Students 7th - 8th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Primary
University of Florida

Baldwin Library: Aunt Louisa: Hector the Dog by Laura Valentine

For Students 2nd - 4th
This is an online photocopy of the original text of the children's book Aunt Louisa's London Toy Books: Hector the Dog by Laura Valentine [1870], a long poem with illustrations.
Article
Love To Know Media

Your Dictionary: What Are Simple Poems to Memorize?

For Students 9th - 10th
This article focuses on selecting a poem to memorize and ways to memorize the poem. It includes two poems that would be good choices to memorize, Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice" and Walt Whitman's "Oh Captain! My Captain!"
Website
Other

Shel Silverstein

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Various resources for activities, games, poems, and more by children's author and poet Shel Silverstein. Students will find games, puzzles, printables, downloads, and e-cards with some of their favorite poems and stories. Teachers will...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Identity" by Julio Noboa

For Students 6th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Identity" by Julio Noboa, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley

For Students 7th - 9th
A learning module that begins with "Invictus" William Ernest Henley, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" by Tupac Shakur

For Students 4th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the "The Rose that Grew from Concrete" by Tupac Shakur, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "A Lonely Planet Ponders" by John P. Curtin

For Students 5th - 7th
John P. Curtin (1967-2012) was a writing professor at DePaul University. He also led bike tours in Seattle, and on one trip he crashed and broke his neck, leaving him paralyzed. He wrote the following poem using a voice-activated...
Primary
Eserver

E Server: Poetry Collection: "An Essay on Criticism" by Alexander Pope

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the poem "An Essay on Criticism" by Alexander Pope.
Primary
CommonLit

Common Lit: At the Zoo by William Makepeace Thackeray

For Students 3rd - 4th
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was an English writer who was best known for his stories about life in England. In this poem, a speaker describes animals at the zoo. It also offers guided reading, an assessment, and discussion...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Fog" by Carl Sandburg

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with "Fog" by Carl Sandburg, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Masks" by Shel Silverstein

For Students 4th - 6th
A learning module that begins with "Masks" by Shel Silverstein, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

For Students 7th - 8th
Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1863-1940) was an American writer and poet, best known for the following poem, which is considered a classic in sports-related literature. As you read, take notes on how the author develops the mood of the poem....
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: At a Window by Carl Sandburg

For Students 7th - 8th
Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was an American poet and writer who won three Pulitzer Prizes in his lifetime. His work is known for the way it plays tribute to the common man. "At A Window" was published in Poetry in 1914. As you read, make...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "If" by Rudyard Kipling

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "If" by Rudyard Kipling, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Answer to a Child's Question by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

For Students 7th - 8th
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet, literary critic, and a founder of the Romantic Movement in England, as well as a major influence on American transcendentalism. The following poem is, as the title suggests, the...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...