Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!

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.

The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...

Need some ideas for poetry lessons? Check out this packet loaded with suggestions for elementary, middle, and high school writers.

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...

The Statue of Liberty is one of the United States' most iconic monuments. Learners examine the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, which is engraved on the Statue of Liberty's pedestal. They then respond to a series of text-based...

Examine William Blake's "The Echoing Green" and its message about youth. Learners read the poem and then respond to text-dependent questions as well as discussion-style questions.

Students examine the Japanese writing form of Haibun. They identify the elements of Japanese prose and poetry, analyze a haibun for writing devices, complete a graphic organizer, and compose an original haibun as a form of journal keeping.

Students explore the structure and content of the Tanka form and to arrive at a definition of the structure in English. They analyze a tanka to determine its structure and intent and compose two Tanka; one in traditional form and one...

Students analyze Japanese tanka poetry. For 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.

If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...