Curated OER
Color My World Grey and Blue
Can colors help to convey a mood in writing? Explore this question with your class using the songs "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band and "Blu is a Mood" by Blu Cantrell. After analyzing the effect of the color words in these songs...
British Council
Love Poems
Language learners write down the words to a song as they listen to it. They then work in groups to write a love poem using the words and phrases they wrote from the song. As a culminating activity, scholars read their poems to the class.
Curated OER
Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the...
Curated OER
Introduction to Poetry Lesson Plan
Analyze poetry in a group setting. Middle and high schoolers read lyrics to a Tom Petty song and free write about the song's tone, setting, and speaker. They then complete the same activity in a group setting using seven poems. The...
Curated OER
Epic Poetry: Literary Terms for Story Analysis
What do Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Odyssey have in common? Why, they are all epics, of course, and are presented here as examples of the literary term. If you are beginning a study of epics, consider previewing the terms included...
Curated OER
Poetry: The Most Compact Form of Literature
Introducing or need to review literary devices and terms for a study of poetry? Though text heavy, the explanations and examples of key poetic devices will provide learners with the vocabulary they need to discuss and craft poems.
Curated OER
Elements of Poetry Analysis
Poetry analysis lessons can allow students to explore the mechanics of poetry, and the emotions evoked.
Curated OER
Poets Got Them Blues
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
Tiny Mobile
Poetry Creator | Verses
Construct from a canvas of words, lyrical expressions that your budding poets can share and post. Based on refrigerator magnet poetry, creative writers can develop their poetry independently, or from a given prompt from their...
Curated OER
Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
Students compare revolutionary actions of Jose Marti and Pete Seeger. In this Cuban folk song lesson, students listen to the song "Guantanamera" and discuss the content. Students read articles on the poet and the songwriter and create a...
Curated OER
Poetry Analysis Lesson and Rubric
Analyzing poetry can be done using a variety of techniques that tap into student's prior knowledge.
Curated OER
Rock and Poetry: A Thematic Project
Students become exposed to British poetry. They identify and discuss the thematic connection between a poem and a song of their choice, and enrich their understanding of poetry through an in-depth analysis of literary devices in the song...
National Park Service
Lesson 5: Coded Spirituals, Metaphor in African Spirituals
If a picture is worth a thousand words, song lyrics also can communicate many meanings. Using the lyrics of spirituals, young historians analyze them for coded messages about freedom. Resources include a chart to help individuals track...
Curated OER
Introducing Poetry
Students explore poetry. In this language arts lesson, students discuss the elements of poetry and students rewrite a lyric or poem.
Curated OER
Lyric Poetry Lesson
Students synthesize the "textbook" definition of lyric poetry and discuss various forms (love lyric, complaint lyric, loss lyric, satiric lyric). They discover the relationship of poetry to musical selections.
Curated OER
Rap as Lyrical Poetry
Students investigate the history of rap as an analysis of lyrical poetry and hip hop culture. In this rap analysis activity, students watch a PBS NewsHour clip about the difference between rap music and hip hop culture. Students...
Curated OER
Musical Poetry
Students analyze lyrics of their favorite songs as examples of alliteration, metaphor, Onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and simile to determine the purpose of these devices in poetry. They use their analysis to create a presentation...
Curated OER
Found Poem - Found Song, page 2
For this Louisiana musical landscape poem and song worksheet, students analyze a poem about the Mississippi River and Cajun music to learn more about the musical landscape in Louisiana.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Strange Fruit: Lynching in America
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...
Curated OER
Civil War
Historical poetry is lyrical in form and rich with content. After examining the differences between the Northern and Southern states before and during the U.S. Civil War, learners complete a Venn diagram and create an illustration of the...
Curated OER
What is Poetry and Where Can You Find It?
Students examine different types of poetry in music, commercials and printed works. They identify themes of philanthropy in poetry as well. They finally share their findings with the class.
Curated OER
Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style
This lesson plan focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the...
Curated OER
Poetry through Jazz, Rap, and Hip Hop
Students explore poetry through jazz, rap, and hip hop music. They discover the common threads that run through the poetry and music. Students design their own lyrics to a jazz, rap, or hip hop selection and share their songs with the...
Curated OER
Life Reflections in Songwriting and Poetry
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.