National Endowment for the Humanities
The Beauty of Anglo-Saxon Poetry: A Prelude to Beowulf
Riddle me this! What do kennings, caesura, and alliteration have to do with the Nowell Codex? Introduce class members to Anglo-Saxon poetry and prepare readers for a study of Beowulf with a series of activities that...
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Poetry, Take Me Away!
Students explore a variety of poetry and poetry concepts. They examine figurative language, mood, and literary devices. The students write and recite their own poetry.
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Reading Pictures, Seeing Poetry
Students examine the painting, The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan based on a poem by Lord Byron. They compare how Romantic artists and writers made choices about visual elements and language to depict their subjects.
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Poetry Elements
Need a quick review of some of the elements of poetry? Eleven key terms are defined and illustrated.
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Christmas Poetry
Students explore writing using literary terms. In this Christmas poetry lesson, students write a poem about a Christmas tree or a snowman using at least one example of each: metaphor, simile, and personification.
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Symphonic Poetry (SMART Board Lesson)
Let music and poetry collide in this well-orchestrated language arts lesson plan. After studying program music and C. Debussy's Prelude to an Afternoon Faun, view the attached SMART board lesson plan to read through "Fog" by Carl...
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Figurative Language & Poetic Devices Activity: Firework by Katy Perry
Sure to engage your class in poetry, this resource requires them to identify, label, and explain poetic devices and figurative language used in Katy Perry's hit song "Firework". A well-organized page that chunks the lyrics so learners...
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Use of Personification and Imagery in Poetry
A reading of Theodore Roethke’s dark "Root Cellar" and Sylvia Plath’s more abstract "Mirror" launches a discussion of imagery and personification in poetry. After finding examples of personification in the poems, class members...
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Satire
The bite of comedy often rests on use of the literary devices detailed in this presentation. The definitions for terms like sarcasm, zeugma, and invective are followed by examples drawn from literature. Consider extending the lesson by...
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Cyrano de Bergerac Nose His Terms
Students use the play "Cyrano de Bergerac" to identify and analyze drama vocabulary, literary terms and elements of fiction. They write an original version of scenes from the play and develop a character analysis for the lead.
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Poetry-The Essence of Life
Students analyze and appreciate various types of poetry. In this poetry unit, students read classic and contemporary works to discover ways in which poetry expresses strong feelings. Students identify key vocabulary used to analyze...
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The Tone of a Poem
Pupils are often confused by the literary terms tone and voice. Focus on tone by analyzing the poems suggested here, which are all from Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. While reading through each poem,...
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Symphonic Poetry
Young scholars interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic...
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Picture Perfect Poetry
Do your language arts learners love to draw? Use this lesson to reinforce poetic techniques with illustration. After drawing what they think poem would look like with no words, middle and high schoolers work on several different...
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Poetry In Song
Investigate poetry and song lyrics with your class. They will identify poetic elements in their favorite modern music. Then they will play their song choice aloud for their classmates.
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Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!
Students analyze Japanese tanka poetry. In this Japanese poetry lesson, students identify analyze the structure of tanka poetry. Students complete the activities at the given links for the lesson and compose two tanka poems.
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Death in Poetry: A.E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young" and Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
Young scholars analyze poems about death. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read poems from both Dylan Thomas and A.E. Housman and analyze them in groups for common poetic devices. Young scholars present their analysis and...
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Literary Terms
In this language arts worksheet, students 21 look for words having to do with types of literature and literary elements. Students may self correct by selecting the link at the bottom of the page.
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The Poetics of Hip Hop
The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...
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The American Dream Poetry
Students analyze how poetry can reveal themes of 'The American Dream.' In this poetry themes lesson, students discuss the elements of poetry and define imagery. Students read 'Lost Sister' by Cathy Song and complete a related worksheet....
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Baseball
In this poetry learning exercise, students write a creative poem utilizing each of the first letters in the word baseball on each line and then come up with words that describe baseball using only those letters on each line.
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Similes, Metaphors, and Personification in Imagery
Poetic language is abundant in Natalie Babbitt's beautiful novel, Tuck Everlasting. Learners note the examples of similes, metaphors, and personification they find as they read, and illustrate how the language creates a sensory...
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Poetic Elements Are Fun!
Engage your class in the elements of poetry with a series of lessons and activities. The plans cover simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and imagery. Learners come up their their own metaphors, identify poetic...
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Symbolic Poem
Young scholars read and analyze several highly symbolic poems. They create their own symbolic poem, read it to the class, and discuss whether they can guess any hidden meanings.