Introducing Metaphors Through Poetry

Celebrate April's National Poetry Month or enrich a poetry unit with a wealth of language arts material. Class members develop an oral interpretation of a poem and/or develop a podcast interview with a poet. 

Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" serves as a model for a poetry analysis activity. The whole class critiques the sample and then groups select a poem and prepare a PowerPoint presentation in which they illustrate how their poet...

Amy Tan uses vivid figurative language to deepen and enrich her writing. Use the fifth of ten lessons on The Joy Luck Club to demonstrate the impact of figurative language, particularly similes and metaphors, on plot and character. Young...

The cat might have got your tongue, but you can’t avoid the elephant in the room while you wait for the other shoe to drop. After all, the early bird gets the worm and the chickens are circling. After researching Poet Laureate Kay Ryan...

One of the many challenges in creating a poetry unit is selecting illustrative poems and designing activities to accompany each lesson. Here's a carefully crafted resource that can be used as a poetry unit or the individual lessons can...

Beowulf, the Old English epic hero, comes alive again in the activities found in a teacher's guide designed to accompany a reading of the classic poem.

Can authors speak to each other across works, genres, and even centuries? Study the conversation between Christopher Marlowe in his poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," and the responses by Sir Walter Raleigh and William Carlos...

High schoolers often struggle with integrating quotes into their writing. Guide them through the most successful and efficient ways to address a text with a literary analysis lesson. As learners find examples of alliteration in...

If you only read a poem once, you'll miss many levels of analysis and comprehension. High schoolers finish reading "The Passionate Shepard to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe, and discuss the ways that the poem's organization contributes...

Whether you're considering a poetry unit or just want to incorporate more poetry in your curriculum, this unit plan is a must-have. Packed with poems, teaching points, powerful prompts, and poetry performance suggestions, the resource is...