Academy of American Poets
We Sing America
Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...
Anti-Defamation League
Social Justice Poetry
Learners gain insight into how songs and poems express feelings of injustice. They also learn about literary devices and types of poems and make a personal connection when they write their own free verse poems about injustice.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days” by Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days" offers scholars an opportunity to practice their noticing skills. They first examine a postcard of the Newport News Shipyard listing things they notice about the image and how...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Culminating Writing Project - Reporting on Angel Island
The unit study of Angel Island Immigration Station concludes with scholars using information from the previous lessons to craft a news story about the Angel Island program.
Curated OER
Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!
Students explore the structure and content of the Tanka form and to arrive at a definition of the structure in English. They analyze a tanka to determine its structure and intent and compose two Tanka; one in traditional form and one...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Learners are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust
Students create a poem that expresses the physical and emotional turmoil of living through the Dust Bowl. For this Out of the Dust lesson, students research facts about the time period and discuss the cause-effect patterns...
Curated OER
Where in the World?
Sixth graders research online various types of poetry. In this poetry analysis lesson plan, 6th graders research different types of poetry online, their characteristics, and poets. Students create a class atlas that incorporates the...
Curated OER
Stain My Days Blue
Students read several poems related to the life and culture of the Appalachia region. They are introduced to the poetic forms of simile, alliteration and onomatopoeia and respond to the poems through journal entries and poetry of their own.
Curated OER
Project Based Learing: Social Responsibility
Young scholars explore social responsibility. In this service learning lesson, students participate in 4 weekly activities that require them to research "communitarians", write poems about their contributions, and create works of...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust -- Part II
Eighth graders discover that literature can be a great way to gather information about the past. Using various types of text, they research its historical data and determine if it is correct. They write two papers to respond to the...