In the Poet's Shoes: Performing Poetry and Building Meaning

While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry instructional activity could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar...

Study some of the most prominent poets and works of poetry in history with a language arts poetry unit. From Virgil to Shakespeare to Dickinson to Angelou, the resources present biographies and examples of poetic elements to the sixth...

Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks,...

Exposing learners to the power of words in poetry is a stimulating way to learn languages. Songs, haikus, rhyming words, and narrative works are all employed in a resource for teaching English as a Second Language.

Support your young writers as they explore the freedom and creative potential of a free verse poem. Based on a model poem written by Maya Angelou, this graphic organizer does an excellent job of helping learners form their unique ideas...

Poetry comes in all shapes and sizes. Young writers pick a shape, select words and phrases that describe how the shape makes them feel, and create a shape poem. A raindrop example and step-by-step instructions give your budding poets a...

Bring the beauty of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost to middle school language arts. After learners read a copy of the poem, they follow an instructional sequence that focuses on sound, figurative language, and theme.

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...

A band of brothers or the Devil's agents? Nobel warriors freeing the oppressed or mercenaries working for the military/industrial complex? Groups examine poems from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II to determine the poets'...

A good gift is hard to find. A “worn truth,” perhaps, as Billy Collins says in his poem, “The Lanyard,” but true nonetheless. After a study of Collins’ tribute to a mother’s love, young poets select an object that sends them “into the...