Amanda Gorman, the United States's first National Youth Poet Laureate, is featured in a resource from the Academy of American Poets. Class members first read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech and note what King wanted...

This resource contains a vague plan for a poetry unit conducted at an elementary school during the month of February. Although this plan does not included detailed instructional strategies, this does outline a basic unit, some creative...

Fifth graders examine the elements of poetry and define poetry. For this poetry elements lesson, 5th graders complete a KWL chart about poetry knowledge. Teachers read a poem, identify poetry elements in a poem, and identify some...

Students write their own dream poems in the style of African American dream poetry.  In this African American poetry lesson, students discuss the dreams of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement  and read...

Middle schoolers complete a unit of lessons that explore the poetic voice of Langston Hughes. They define voice, read and analyze various poems by Langston Hughes, and complete journal entries for each instructional activity.

Direct instruction on punctuation rules for titles is followed by collaborative practice in class. Two worksheets with aesthetically engaging graphic design provide practice. For 12 examples, small groups either underline, italicize, or...

Young scholars examine the life and works of Langston Hughes. In groups, they research the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance and how Hughes' poems relate to the era. They use the themes in his writings and relate it to the...

Students create a flower, poem, and mailbox for someone to open on Valentine's Day. In this Valentine's Day lesson plan, students also write Valentine letters.

Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...

Students read a poem containing sight words, then match word cards to the sight words in the poem. In this language arts lesson plan, students draw pictures next to sight words on a worksheet embedded in the plan. A good lesson for...

Fifth graders analyze pieces of writing to identify the author's purpose of writing. In this writing lesson, 5th graders consider a variety of pieces of writing such as, poetry, drama, fiction, and non-fiction. Each student completes an...

Learners are introduced to poetry an a vehicle that is used everyday. They realize that they deal with poetry everyday via the radio. Students begin to analyze all the amazing things one can do with words and form. They listen to, read...

Third graders examine the phrase Touch and Go, and analyze the poem, Dream Variation by Langston Hughes. They read an African-American folktale and write interpretive paragraphs about the story.

Learners put writing pieces into categories to show different organizational features in writing. In this writing lesson plan, students are shown examples of speeches, poems, editorials, cartoons, parodies, historical fiction, and more.

Learners examine different decades in American history, finding connections between the historical events and the poetry written during these time periods. They write their own poetry based on current world events.

Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Love To Langston. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...

Students reflect on the role of DNA in society since its discovery in 1953 by creating works of art and poetry that metaphorically illustrate the importance, influence and concerns of DNA research.

Seventh graders research the life of Fredrick Douglass. In this Fredrick Douglass lesson, 7th graders read about his life and discuss it. They write poetry describing his experience as a slave and create their own monument for Fredrick...

Students identify similarities between Hughes' poetry and music (jazz and the blues).

Fourth graders memorize the poem, Thirty Days Hath September in preparing for learning about the number of days in the months and year. Once memorized, they practice using the calendar to count the number of days in different problems.

Students investigate the life and works of Maya Angelou. They complete a Webquest, read poems, listen to a reading by Maya Angelou, answer discussion questions, and write a poem, short story, or essay based on a newspaper article.

Students analyze Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln and complete related activities. For this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students describe Abraham Lincoln as he is presented in Gardner's photograph. Students read a biography...

Second graders demonstrate the ability to examine the elements of a story (theme, plot, setting, mood) and characters, by discussing and writing about each. They have fun with chocolate related activities and enjoy reading about some...

Young scholars identify rhyming words and explore the usage of spatial words. In this Where Is The Pet lesson, students listen to a poem, repeat the rhymes within the poem, list various of additional rhyming words that can replace the...