Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We're Going to the Zoo!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students write and publish a poem as part of a class poetry collection after analyzing the poetic structures of haiku, limericks, sound poems and free verse. After viewing a multimedia demonstration of the poetic structures, and after...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal and People Habitats

For Teachers K - 1st
Students examine how animals create a unique space in which they can live. Students read a poem about animals' habitats discuss the habitats. They draw a space of their own and write a poem that describes their habitat.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Awesome Saturn

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students brainstorm words that describe Saturn. They view images sent to Earth from satellites. They write poems about the planet using different poetic forms.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Female Poets Speak For Themselves

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Student examine selected works of twentieth-century female poets that speak to the stereotypes about women inherent in Western culture. Individually, students explore these stereotypes and their experience with them. Students create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Here Today-Gone Tomorrow

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore changes and how to adapt to them. They discuss the seasons, changes in the weather, and different stages of matter. Students write a poem about change. Additional cross curriculum activities are listed.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tongue Twisters

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders read the poem, "Betty Botter" and give their opinion of it. They discover what a tongue twister is and read the poem out loud together. Then as a class they read "Peter Piper" and discuss the similarities of the two poems.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

El Día de las Madres

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners research the origin of Mother's Day and in Spanish, write a poem for their mothers, aunt or grandmother. They plan a Mother's Day event.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Places We Love

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners examine how they and others express themselves. Using various writings and art, they discover the places they like to go in the world and share them with their classmates. They paint their favorite place and share their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Spider and the Fly

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students incorporate the knowledge they learned about spiders on the ISM Web site, Spider Collection, and other Web sites they viewed on spiders to write a rhyming poem (possibly choosing a poem type illustrated here) about an aspect of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Awesome Alliterations

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students review examples of alliteration in Shel Silverstein's poems. They are assigned a letter of the alphabet and then write an original alliterative poem using that letter.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

LIFE DOESN’T FRIGHTEN ME

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students examine gender bias and stereotypes. In this discrimination lesson students participate in class discussions and poetry reading in order to examine the gender stereotypes of fears and develop the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze and interpret figurative language. They listen to some examples of poetry which use figurative language. Then, they divide into groups and attempt to find more examples. Finally, 8th graders write what the poet is...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Bums in the Attic

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students engage in a study about the life of young girl in the book "Bums In The Attic". They read the narrative story while considering the first person point of view. Students write a journal that analyzes the author's style of writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ugly? Says Who?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore biology by writing animal poetry in class. In this animal characteristics lesson, students research the Internet for facts about an "ugly" animal such as a bug or small critter. Students complete worksheets about animal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In Honor of . . .

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers review examples of poetry written to honor someone and brainstorm memories about someone they wish to pay tribute to themselves.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

BASIC GRAMMAR REVIEW Using "Jabberwocky"

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students use the poem Jabberwocky to discover where they are weak in grammar. They rewrite the poem using standard dialect words instead of nonsense words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memory of a Kiss

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read, discuss, and memorize the poem "Jenny Kissed Me." as an example of lyrical poetry. They write a letter to Jenny reliving the memory of her kiss from an elderly person's point of view. They illustrate their poems.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Valentine Cinquain

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students review parts of speech by using Inspiration. They brainstorm vocabulary that fit a Valentines theme. Students watch as the teacher demonstrates the parts of a cinquain poem. Students write their own poem and create a KidPix...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scops, Rappers and You: Historians with Style!

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the epic poem Beowulf. In this analyzing poetry lesson, student compare listen to the Will Smith song "Wild, Wild West" and read Beowulf. Students analyze the song and the poem. Students then research an influential...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I am Special and You are Special Too #9

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders will explore the rhythm and rhyme of poems to understand the basic elements of poetry.  In this poetry and literary lesson, 8th graders relate their love for rap music to poetry.  Students will discuss...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gandhi's Non-violent Revolutions: Examining Tools to Make Non-violent

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent social change. In this nonviolence and social change lesson, students research a leader from the attached list who practiced nonviolent social change. Students write their own poem...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Money

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students identify coin/money values, write amounts of money and calculate change. The poem, "Smart" by Shel Silverstein is used in this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders make several inferences based on the reading of Shel Silverstein poems. They write their own poetry and complete an assessment in which they differentiate between sentences that are stated or inferred.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Over the Rainbow with Isaac Newton

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study rainbows and do an interdisciplinary assignment that includes poetry and a science experiment.