Teaching Poetry in High School

Grades   3 – 5  |  Lesson Plan  |  Unit

Creating Classroom Community by Crafting Themed Poetry Collections

Students create poetry collections with the theme of "getting to know each other." They study and then write a variety of forms of poetry to include in their collections.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Exploring the Power of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Words through Diamante Poetry

Students explore the ways that powerful and passionate words communicate the concepts of freedom, justice, discrimination, and the American Dream in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Discovering Traditional Sonnet Forms

Students read sonnets, charting the poems’ characteristics and using their observations to deduce traditional sonnet forms. They then write original sonnets, using a poem they have analyzed as a model.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Minilesson

Is a Sentence a Poem?

Students use their own poetry to analyze syntax, imagery, and meaning in a one-sentence poem by a canonical author to decide what makes it a poem.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Discovering Poetic Form and Structure Using Concrete Poems

This lesson uses concrete poems to explore the connection between a poem's layout and its meaning. While appropriate any time of year, the lesson is especially topical near Columbus Day.