Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts: Stylistic Devices

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are able to define given literary terms, such as metaphor, simile, imagery, personification, symbolism, etc. They are able to identify the use of literary elements in a given text. Students are able to interpret weather...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lift Every Voice and Sing

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Identifying Figurative Language #1

For Students 4th - 6th
In this identifying types of figurative language learning exercise, students read sentences and phrases, determine if they are similes, metaphors, hyperboles, personifications, or a combination, identify the type/s and write an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Can You Figure Language?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders study similes and metaphors and how to explain and create them. After a lecture/demo, 8th graders access websites and worksheets imbedded in this plan to create their own writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparatively Speaking

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students practice creating similes and metaphors together as a class. Individually students create similes and metaphors and illustrate them.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is a Memorial

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore how we remember and honor people in special ways. In this memorial lesson plan, students read poems and discuss their emotions. Students view pictures taken at memorial services and discuss what...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Poetry Writing Fun!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students find a group of words from an unlikely source and turn them into a poem. They discuss the central image in two well-known poems by Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson. They write their own short poem expressing one central...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Rhythms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers combine elements of music with poetry.  In this creative writing lesson, students examine poems from a variety of authors with varying writing styles.  High schoolers explore the different elements of poetry,...
Interactive
Curated OER

Hope

For Students 5th - 10th
In this poem instructional activity, students read the poem Hope by Emily Dickinson and answer multiple choice questions and complete a word search. Students complete 2 activities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Inanimate Speaks: An Exercise In Metaphor

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read the poem "Second-Hand Coat" and then discuss objects as a metaphor.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's All Poetry to Me!

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis instructional activity, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Found Poetry with Primary Sources: The Great Depression

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. In this Great Depression lesson, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Students select one narrative as the...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Positively Poetry

For Teachers 6th
Students complete a unit on poetry. In this poetry lesson, students complete 19 lessons that focus on reading and writing poetry as well as learning about literary elements and sound devices. Students read poetry orally, debate poetry in...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Moment in Time

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders study poems to see how punctuation, line length, rhythm and word choice can be used to create a memorable moment. They read and discuss poems by Shel Silverstein.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Personalized Poetry Portfolio

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders create their own poetry portfolio containing poems that relate to Students' lives and families. The portfolio consist of the following types of poems: acrostic, diamante`, haiku, cinquain, and free verse.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
This lesson focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Learners consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the poetry of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry of Abraham Lincoln

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders analyze Abraham Lincoln's poems "The Bear Hunt" and "My Childhood's Home" for word choice and deeper inquiry into the vocabulary he uses to convey emotion. They identify rhyming words and patterns in these poems. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Description and Modifying: What's On Your Plate?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners create a food product and an advertisement promoting it.  In this description and advertising lesson, students read children's book for inspiration and discover advertising techniques.  Learners complete their ads and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's the Deal With Nature?

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders read the poem "Crossing the Swamp" and "Pipefish" then discuss the use of metaphor in each poem. They write a poem about how they feel about school using a nature metaphor.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Simile and Metaphor Lesson

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Students use their knowledge of similes and metaphors to analyze poetry. In this poetry and language lesson, students read examples of similes and metaphors and write their own examples that describe their city, television, or an era in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry and the American Presidents

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders choose a poetry activity in order to focus their research about American presidents.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Sarcasm, Irony, and Satire

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Satire, sarcasm, or irony? Editorial cartoons have long been the tool artists use to express their opinions about politics and politicians. Kevin "Kai" Kallaugher's four-panel cartoon offers readers an opportunity to examine how he uses...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Painting Pictures with Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students develop their own smilies and metaphors. They examine writing of the Poet Laureate. They identify philanthropy in quotations of others.