Mr. Beat
1920s American Culture (Story Time with Mr. Beat)
Once upon a time, a horrible war known as World War 1 devastated the planet. Immediately after the war, a lot of people in the United States were passionate about various causes, some good, some not so much. While women had finally won...
Curated Video
Dread Beat and Blood (1979) - extract
Watch the complete film on BFI Player (UK only): http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-dread-beat-and-blood-1979/ This vibrant portrait of dub poet and political activist Linton Kwesi Johnson transports us back to the turbulent streets of...
Sotheby's
The Beat Generation's Compelling Counterculture
In this 60-Second Gallery, free your mind with cherished works by icons of the Beat Generation. From a first edition copy of Jack Kerouac's seminal masterpiece On the Road to the personal letters of poet Allan Ginsburg, these pieces...
Wonderscape
The Rhythm of Poetry
Rhythm in poetry refers to the beat and pace that give a poem its musicality and flow. Gwendolyn Brooks' We Real Cool exemplifies rhythm through its jazz-like cadence, repetition, and stressed syllables, making the poem feel almost like...
Great Big Story
Baku's battle of words, inside the world of meykhana poetry
Step into the spirited world of Meykhana, Azerbaijan’s improvisational poetry duel, where poets like Mehman showcase their verbal prowess in Baku’s underground scene.
TED Talks
TED: Poems of war, peace, women, power | Suheir Hammad
Poet Suheir Hammad performs two spine-tingling spoken-word pieces: "What I Will" and "break (clustered)" -- meditations on war and peace, on women and power. Wait for the astonishing line: "Do not fear what has blown up. If you must,...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The pleasure of poetic pattern - David Silverstein
Humans are creatures of rhythm and repetition. From our breath to our gait: rhythm is central to our experience, and often brings us pleasure. We can find pleasure in the rhythm of a song, or even the rows of an orchard. Of course, too...
Curated OER
Producing Beats
Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...
Curated OER
Visual Aural Impressions
Students view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.
Curated OER
Locational Writing
Students go outside to the playground and write a piece in the style of beat poets based on what they see and hear outside.
Curated OER
Using Poetry As Inspiration for Composition
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...
Curated OER
Whitman and Lincoln
Students determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln lesson, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....
Curated OER
Allen Ginsberg: Poetry and Politics
Students explore the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. They read and analyze poems by Allen Ginsberg, conduct Internet research, collect examples of art of the 60s, and create a presentation.
Geography 360°
Poetry Writing
Put the tips and tricks in this guide into practice in order to encourage your pupils to blossom into poets. A wonderful reference material for teachers, this packet includes definitions of poetic terms and forms as well as step-by-step...
Curated OER
Performance Poetry as Social Commentary
Students explore poetry that examines social concerns. In this poetry lesson, students research poems and poets. Students present their findings to their classmates.
Curated OER
We of the Sea: Tribal Native American Stories
A video featuring members of Oregon’s Astoria Native American fishing community launches a study of the oral tradition of poetry, and how traditions are passed down within different cultures. Activities, assessments, extensions and...
Curated OER
Take a Breath, Steal Some Time
Students explore the art of haiku's by listening to, modeling and creating them. In this haiku poetry lesson, students choose an object to focus their haiku on. After hearing a brief history of the haiku; students make...
Curated OER
Perspectives
Seventh graders describe an event, a situation, etc. through the eyes of two people or two inanimate objects.