Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Louisiana's Tragic Hero - "Evangeline"

For Teachers 8th
"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kumeyaay Indians

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting the Meaning in Pop Music

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Critical thinkers compare the impact of visual versus aural perception in how they comprehend artistic intent. They consider the meaning of a set of pop lyrics first by reading them, then by listening to them orally, and finally viewing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chaucer's Wife of Bath

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
A thorough and well-designed resource for older students, this lesson focuses on Chaucer's character the Wife of Bath from his classic novel, The Canterbury Tales. As a way of understanding Chaucer's complex characterization and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Power Poetry

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students use poetic devices to discuss political issues. For this cultural diversity lesson, students listen to the president's State of the Union address and write poetic pieces that express their opinions about issues the president...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring War Themes in Art and Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What is war? Students discuss the ethical dilemma of war by viewing Picasso's painting entitled "Guernica" and write down everything they see in the painting. Then they choose one emotion that best summarizes their emotional response to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Splish, Splash Poetry

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students write weather shape poems and sing weather related songs. In this creative writing lesson, students read the book, It's Raining, It's Pouring and list weather words they heard in the story. Students use the writing process to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry With the Sages

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students write poems and input them into a word processing program.  In this poetry instructional activity, students listen to Chinese poems and draw mental images. Students compose poems and illustrate them. Students share their work.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heaven or Ground Hog Day?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discover the ideas of enlightenment by reading historical poetry. In this philosophical lesson, students read poems by Sir Walter Scott and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer while discussing the themes of the writing with classmates....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paradise Lost: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 7th - 12th
New to using Paradise Lost in your classroom? Here's a packet that provides background information, lists of research projects, and enrichment resources. A great addition to your curriculum file.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders examine the main characteristics of poetry. They read and discuss a handout on the characteristics of poetry, read the poem, The Road Not Taken, discuss their interpretation of the poem, and research poetry on the Internet.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Poet's Voice: Langston Hughes and You

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers complete a unit of lessons that explore the poetic voice of Langston Hughes. They define voice, read and analyze various poems by Langston Hughes, and complete journal entries for each instructional activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beowulf

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
High schoolers complete literature analysis activities for Beowulf. They read lines from the poem and complete character analysis activities. In addition, they write and share a boast modeled on the text and then create heroes and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Novel Character Study

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students complete a character study using a database to compile information from a novel. They design a five slide presentation highlighting the character's reaction to different situations in the book. They write an acrostic poem using...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pictures in Words: Poems of Tennyson and Noyes

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine how Tennyson and Noyes use words to paint vivid pictures. They read and analyze two poems, complete an online scavenger hunt, complete a worksheet, and write examples of alliteration, personification, metaphor,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edward Hopper's House by the Railroad: From Painting to Poem

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze Edward Hopper's painting and Hirsch's poem to explore the types of emotion generated by each work. In this literary and art analysis lesson, students discuss how Hopper establishes tone and analyze Hirsch's use of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Good Use of Time?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars analyze the best uses of time in other cultures. In this time use lesson plan, students read the poem 'Soccer Into Dusk' and 'The Meaning of Time' as analysis of time usage in other culttures. Young scholars complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry and Visualization

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students use visualization techniques when reading poetry.  In this visualization and poetry lesson, students work in groups to present a tableau that depicts a word from the poem as classmates guess the word.  Students then...
Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Haunted Houses"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners read and analyze Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Haunted Houses." They define key vocabulary terms, discuss the poem's technical aspects, and create an original poem about a haunted house or a haunted place.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's the Main Idea?

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Students explore poetry. In this main idea in poetry lesson, students read poems from Words with Wings, thenidentify the main idea and complete a "Main Idea Mania" worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry as a Means of Redemption and Reflection

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders read poetry for homework and discuss it during class. They participate in poetry readings and decide who the speakers are in the poems.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Interactive Reading Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars discuss books they are reading during the semester through e-mail with other students. They complete a reading interest survey, e-mail their partner weekly, and read and suggest six novels by the end of the semester.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Sequence of Activities

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students develop their skills at writing poetry by listening to poetry and using a model to emulate and write a poem. In this poetry writing lesson, students listen to Louis MacNeice's poem 'Prayer Before Birth' and use it to model their...