Testimony: A Lesson in Creating Poetry

Bring together concepts covered in earlier lessons in the ten-part instructional activity series to analyze one of Poe's most famous poems, "The Raven." Class members discuss many different aspects of the poem and take turns reading...

Looks like? Sounds like? Smells like? Feels like? Tastes like? Sometimes a white, blank, soulless piece of paper can intimidate writers. Provide potential poets with this template that can serve as a parking lot for words and phrases to...

Extend your instruction on similes and metaphors with a lesson on Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers" and "There is no Frigate like a Book." After a discussion on the images of each poem and their meanings, kids write an...

Consider the biblical allusions in Emily Dickinson's poetry with the seventh of ten lessons in a language arts unit. Learners read "A little East of Jordan" and "Come slowly - Eden!" and discuss the allusions to the original Old...

Many and many a year ago Edgar Allan Poe crafted the chilling tale of "Annabel Lee." The poem is the perfect vehicle to introduce Poe's concept of unity of effect, the idea that every element in a poem or story should help to develop a...

How can you define the greatness of a novel? Have kids evaluate A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines in the context of other literature that they consider to be great. Once they discuss whether the novel will stand the test of time,...

Class groups examine a series of poems that use Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a motif in Holocaust poetry. Included are questions, notes to the teacher, and bibliographical information on each poem. The activities could be...

Students transform testimony of people who witnessed the Holocaust into eloquent poetry, using powerful words from the testimonies.

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...

The painting Three Young Girls circa 1620, was believed to be painted after the death of the subjects' mother. Art enthusiasts analyze the image details to determine if they come to the same conclusion. They then use the sensory details...