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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: “In This Place (An American Lyric)” by Amanda Gorman

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
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MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Magical Musical Tour: Using Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Language arts learners don't need a lecture about poetry; they listen to poetry every day on the radio! Apply skills from literary analysis to famous songs and beautiful lyrics with a lesson about literary devices. As class...
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Unit Plan
University of British Columbia

Pondering Poetry and Playing with Words

For Teachers 9th
First-year High school scholars explore the world of poetry with an 11-lesson unit that examines a range of poetry forms and tries their hand at crafting their own poems. Young poets then collect their work in a portfolio that they...
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Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science

For Teachers 1st - 12th Standards
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

The Poet's Toolbox

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
If you need a lesson plan for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ottoman Lyric Poetry

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Students explore the Ottoman style of poetry. They view a video, Suleyman the Magnificent, and view maps of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. They research the Ottoman Empire and keep a journal. They read various Ottoman...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry in Song

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Have your music lovers examine song lyrics and identify the poetry elements or tools used by a lyricist. They review the song individually before working in groups to discuss what they discovered about the song's narrator or character...
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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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Presidents Song

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Remember learning to spell “encyclopedia” by singing along with Jiminy Cricket? How about using a singing exercise to learn the names of the presidents? “The Presidents Song,” includes the names, in order, from Washington to Coolidge....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Reflections in Songwriting and Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students analyze, discuss and compare sources of inspiration, use of words and imagery, and other differences in writing styles between two featured songwriters. This is an introductory lesson to a creative project unit.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Star-Spangled Banner

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Get your kids moving as they learn about the history of the United States National Anthem. Scholars examine the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key, and the meaning behind The Star Spangled Banner as they listen to an 18-minute...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analysis of Frost's poem The Road Not Taken

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and analyze the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken." They identify the meter and rhyme, describe the purpose, and write a paragraph about what kind of job they plan to have and why they have chosen it
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Modest Proposal: Irony Made Understandable with Rock and Roll

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners 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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cowboys

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students analyze cowboy literature. In this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related websites....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the experiences of African American women. For this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

THE PEN VS. THE SWORD: LYRICAL RESPONSES TO A NATION AT WAR

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars brainstorm lists of songs that were written in response to American wars; consider the patterns in the lists they create.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Connecting Poetry with Philanthropy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine the different types of poetic conventions. They write a poem about philanthropy using these conventions. They illustrate their poem with artwork of their choice.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hearts and Partners

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders explore, examine and study poetry within a variety of different strategies within this lesson plan. They review and discuss a diagram of the big picture of why it's importance to study, analyze and deconstruct poetry, so...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes and the Blues

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
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PPT
Curated OER

The Evolution of Transcendentalism

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Key concepts, major writers, and historical events related to Transcendentalism are explored in a student-produced PowerPoint about this movement. The presentation could be used as an introduction to a unit or as a model that class...
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Lesson Plan
Friends of Fort McHenry

Sensory “Star Spangled Banner”

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Music can help us to access memories and events in a meaningful way, and Francis Scott Key used specific words to convey what he had seen and felt when writing what would become America's national anthem. Help your class connect to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Education, The Blues

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
This lesson examines both the content and form of lyrics in blues songs. In addition to highlighting the basic musical form of a blues song, it also addresses the use of floating verses in blues music, both within the context of the...