Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Searching for Meanings Beneath the Surface of the Poem

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars analyze poetry. In this cultural perspectives instructional activity, students read the poem "Soccer Until Dusk" by Mark Brazaitis. Young scholars analyze the poem and consider the cultural perspective it reveals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry Cyberbook

For Teachers 8th
Emerging poets design a website and then post seven original poems as well as their written critique of these poems. Although the resource mentions Inspiration and FrontPage technologies, any software could be substituted. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Poetry Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Analyze poetry in a group setting. Middle and high schoolers read lyrics to a Tom Petty song and free write about the song's tone, setting, and speaker. They then complete the same activity in a group setting using seven poems. The...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Analyze Author’s Techniques, Including Figurative Language

For Students 8th
Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "He Had His Dream" is the focus of a quick exercise. Pupils read the poem and answer four multiple choice questions and one short answer question about specific lines in the poem and the author's purpose....
PPT
Curated OER

Poetry: Basic Elements of a Poem

For Teachers 7th - 12th
People who pen poetry positively need to know basic tenets and terms of poetry, like alliteration and consonance, for example. These and other terms are define and illustrated. Then viewers are given an object and asked to craft a...
Lesson Plan
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Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program

Poetry Aloud/Poetry Out Loud

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
To appreciate the value of seeing and hearing a poetry performance, groups prepare readings of selected poems and then compare and critique their interpretations and videotaped versions of the same poem. Included in the resource are...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Seeing Sense in Photographs & Poems

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners analyze photographs and poetry as forms of each other. In this poetry and photography analysis lesson, high schoolers use the photographs of Alfred Stieglitz and poetry from William Carlos William to explore how poetry and...
Activity
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Practical Criticism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As an introduction to literary criticism, class members recreate I.A. Richards' close reading experiment. Individuals select a poem, paraphrase the story, focus on the imagery used, consider what the imagery adds to the tale, and...
Organizer
Monarch High School

TP-CASTT Practice

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Acronyms can help learners remember facts and analyze poetry. This resource includes graphic organizers for TP-CASTT, SOAPS, SOAPSTone, and DIDLS. Class members can try out one or all of these strategies to assist with that difficult job...
Lesson Plan
Education Oasis

Creative Writing Unit: Analyzing, Interpreting, Discussing and Writing Various Genres of African-American Literature

For Teachers 10th - 12th
A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oh, Say, Can You See What the Star-Spangled Banner Means?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research the historical inspiration for the lyrics of the "The Star Spangled Banner". They explore websites, read articles and analyze poetry in an examination of America's patriotic symbols and history.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Poetry Analysis Lesson and Rubric

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Analyzing poetry can be done using a variety of techniques that tap into student's prior knowledge.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Poetic Devices: Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In the Middle - Middle School Poetry

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students analyze and interpret poems.  In this poetry lesson, students are read poems aloud, discuss the meanings in groups, and complete two worksheets after listening to the poems.  Links to the worksheets and discussion...
Lesson Plan
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1
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program

Close Reading in the Classroom

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Jigsaw to Analyze Mood and Tone in To Kill a Mockingbird (Chapter 8)

For Teachers 8th Standards
We have an appointment! Scholars meet with another discussion appointment to discuss the text structure of the poem "Incident" by Countee Cullen. They use a Note Catcher to guide their thinking and compare the structure to chapter 8 of...
Unit Plan
Voices of a People's History

Voices in The Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Everyone's perspective of the past is different. A thought-provoking unit gives young academics the opportunity to explore their perspectives on history and their neighborhoods. Based on the work of Howard Zinn, each lesson explores...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Paul Chan: Alternumeric Fonts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learning to analyze language, symbols, and codes is part of becoming a deep and critical thinker. Young analysts consider their ability to see hidden messages as they analyze the work of Paul Chan. There are two fully developed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry

For Teachers 11th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Paul Chan: 1st Light and 5th Light

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light  and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners experience and enjoy the sounds of poetry. They erform sound experiments with sonnets and closely read and analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare. Students write an analysis of how sound affects meaning in a sonnet chosen from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latino Literature: Poetry

For Teachers 8th - 10th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Sonnets

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Model for your class how to craft an analysis of a sonnet by examining the literary techniques used, the background of the poet, and critical reviews of the poem. As guided practice, learners are assigned a sonnet, complete a preliminary...
Lesson Plan
3
3
Curated OER

Create a Video Poem

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Collaborate to create a visual version of a poem using video. Before class, choose a poem to pick apart. Read it aloud and then analyze it in detail as a class. Assign a line or short section to each student to expand upon using a...