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WEBSITES ON POETRY FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Access these sites through your computer’s
Internet connection. Open the underlined address (URL).
Information can be printed or downloaded to your computer. Be
sure to follow links to other sites and find your way back with
the "Back" button
All of the sites listed were active as of
February 2008. The evaluation is by the AVA Center staff
according to the amount of information given, the general
appearance of the site and its potential use in the classroom.
This list is also sent via email to all teachers with school
email addresses. If you do not receive it, please call us to make
sure we have your correct email address.
WEBSITES
LESSON PLANS & CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
WEBQUESTS

POETRYTEACHERS.COM
START HERE!
http://www.poetryteachers.com/index.html
A terrific site for teachers of poetry.
Sections: Poetry Fun, Poetry Class, Poetry Teacher, Poetry
Contests, Giggle Poetry (see above), E-poem, and Fiction
Teachers. An outstanding site. Excellent
POETRY COLLECTIONS, POETIC FORMS & STYLES AND
POETS – WEB ENGLISH TEACHER
START HERE!
NEW!
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/poetry.html
A huge resource
for teaching poetry. Includes links to many poetry collections,
forms, and more. Also, lesson plans. An outstanding site.
Excellent

ALFY’S PICKS FOR POETRY AND RHYME
NEW!
http://www.alfy.com/teachers/teach/thematic_units/Poetry_Rhyme/PR_1.asp
Links for teachers
to Rhymes, Rhyming Games and Poems. Excellent
THE ATLANTIC POETRY PAGES
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/
The poetry section
for the online version of The Atlantic magazine. Includes
poems, criticism, interviews, audio files, a large number of
previous articles and more. Excellent
BARTLEBY.COM – VERSE
http://www.bartleby.com/verse/
"With thousands
of poems by hundreds of authors, Bartleby.com offers one of the
largest free collections of verse on the web." Excellent
BIBLIOMANIA
http://www.bibliomania.com/
Free online
full-texts with over 2,000 titles. Click on Poetry for the Poetry
section. The Teacher’s section includes Study Guides for many of
the works. Excellent
BOB’S BYWAY – A POETIC DIVERSION – A GLOSSARY
OF POETIC TERMS
http://www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html
A huge word
reference. Sections: Phonetic Pronunciations, Cross-References,
Broad Range of Definitions, Numerous Examples, Hyperlinked
Keywords & Cross-References, A Wealth of Poetic Quotations,
Writer’s Guidelines and more. Excellent
CHILDREN’S POETRY ARCHIVE
NEW!
http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do
A large collection
of poems for children. Excellent
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
ONLINE
http://www.ipl.org/div/shakespeare/shakespeare.html
The complete works
of William Shakespeare online. The links here take you to the
full text of the 1914 Edition of the Oxford Shakespeare. Includes
links to Criticisms and much more. Excellent
FAVORITE POEM PROJECT
http://www.favoritepoem.org/
Established by Robert Pinsky, the
39th Poet Laureate of the United States, the favorite
poem project videotapes people, famous and not, reading their
favorite poems. The resulting videos are available online.
Sections: The Project, The Videos, The Classroom (including
classroom lessons and projects), The Book, Get Involved and Your
Favorites. Excellent
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE – 42EXPLORE
NEW!
http://42explore.com/figlang.htm
Basic information for elementary students on
figurative language including links, activities and webquests.
Excellent
FIND A POEM
http://www.findpoetry.com/
A huge searchable database of poetry, poems,
poets and more. Sections: Anthologies, Children’s Poems, Epic,
Famous Poets A-Z, Haiku, Modern Poets A-Z, Nature, Odes, Poetry
Forums, Poetry Publishing, Rhymes, Sonnets, Sorrow,
Uncategorized, War, Wit & Humour, and Your Poems A-Z. Excellent
POETRY FOR CHILDREN
NEW URL!
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/poechild.htm
A gateway to a large number of resources on
poetry for children. Includes links to lesson plans for teaching
poetry to children and teaching them how to write poetry.
Sections: Mother Goose Rhymes, Poems Set to Music, Limericks,
Free Verse, Haiku, Cinquains, Concrete Poetry, Ballads, Couplets,
Other Forms-as Diamante, and Writing Poetry. Excellent
GIGGLE POETRY- FUNNY POETRY FOR CHILDREN
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
A terrific, fun site on poetry for children.
Sections: Read’em, Rate’em; Favorite Poems; School Poems; Poetry
Contests; Poetry Class (how to write a funny poem); Poetry
Teachers (classroom ideas); Fiction Teachers and more. Excellent
GRANDPA TUCKER’S RHYMES AND TALES
http://www.grandpatucker.com/
A terrific page of stories, rhymes and silly
poems for kids. This is an outstanding, fun site for children to
begin to read and create poems and stories. Excellent
HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH HUB
http://highschoolhub.org/hub/english.cfm
A terrific resource for high school English
students. Click on the Poetry section for activities, ideas,
poems, and how-to’s. Excellent
KIDZPAGE! POETRY AND VERSE FOR CHILDREN OF ALL
AGES
http://www.veeceet.com/
A large collection of fun poems for children.
Sections: Critter ABC’s, Have a Bash with Odgen Nash, For Better
or Verse, KidzSing Garden of Song, Homegrown Verse-Poems from the
Web, Homegrown Verse-Poems from Schools, and Homegrown
Verse-Story Poems. Excellent
KNOWING POE
NEW!
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp
An extensive resource on Edgar Allan Poe.
Includes his life and works. Click on Classroom Connections for
lesson plans and more. Also in the Lesson Plans section.
Excellent
LUMINARIUM: ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
NEW!
http://www.luminarium.org/lumina.htm
A resource on Medieval, Renaissance, 17th
Century and Restoration English Literature. Click on Metaphysical
Poets and Cavalier Poets for the poetry sections. Each section
has a list of authors with biographical information, works,
quotes, timelines, and more. An outstanding site. Excellent
MODERN AMERICAN POETRY
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/index.htm
The online component of Modern American Poetry
with 161 companion sites on well-known poets such as Marianne
Moore, Amiri Baraka, John Berryman, Marilyn Chin, ee cummings,
and many more. Excellent
ONLINE POETRY CLASSROOM
http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/
A resource for language arts teachers to help
them teach poetry. Includes: Curriculum Units, Find a Poet, Find
a Poem, How to Teach, What to Teach, and more. Excellent
PASSIONS IN POETRY
http://www.netpoets.com/
An online source for poems. Section: Love
Poems, Friendship Poems, Sad Poems, Poems on Life, Poetry Buffet,
Classical Poetry and Greeting Cards. Has a large section on the
classical poets. Includes several forums including one for Teen
Poets. Excellent
POEM FORGE
NEW!
http://www.poetryforge.org/
"The Poetry Forge encourages exploration
through poetry! We invite you to explore, collaborate and enjoy!
Teachers, view interactive poetry generators
for classroom use, lesson plans, exemplars, and collaborative
discussion areas to interact with other teachers who are working
to integrate these tools into their classroom instruction.
Students, take advantage of poetry generators
to challenge your writing skills, a gallery of student writing,
collaborative discussion areas for you to discuss your work with
an audience of student writers and teachers, and an open forum
for your ideas and suggestions."
Excellent
THE POETRY ARCHIVES
http://www.emule.com/poetry/
A huge database of over 4,000 "classical"
poems. Sections: What’s New, Poet List, Random Poem, Top Poems,
Top Authors (i.e. William Blake, Emily Dickinson, etc.), Forums
and more. Excellent
POETRY.COM – THE INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF
POETRY
http://www.poetry.com/
This site boasts over 4.6 million poets!
Sections include: Poem of the Day, Poetry Contests, 100 Greatest
Poems Ever Written, 100 Greatest Love Poems Ever Written, Need
Help Rhyming?, Online Poetry Bash, Poetic Techniques, September
11th Dedication Poems, Listen to Poems with Audio,
Anthology Series, Our World of Poetry and much more. Outstanding.
Excellent
POETRY EXPRESS – 15 POEMS YOU CAN WRITE NOW
http://www.poetryexpress.org/
A terrific poetry writing site which provides
15 poetry writing activities to get you started. Follow the
guidelines for each activity to develop your own work. Sections:
Make, Share, Revise, Publish, E-muse. The e-muse lets you fill in
the blanks with types of words (i.e. color, noun, adjective, and
forms a poem from them). An outstanding site to get students
started. Excellent
POETRY FOR KIDS – 42EXPLORE
NEW!
http://www.42explore.com/poetry.htm
Basic information for elementary students on
poetry for kids including links, activities and webquests.
Excellent
POETRY 180 – A POEM A DAY FOR AMERICAN HIGH
SCHOOLS
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/
From the Library of Congress,
"Poetry 180
is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem
each day of the 180 days of the school year. I have selected the
poems you will find here with high school students in mind. They
are intended to be listened to, and I suggest that all members of
the school community be included as readers. A great time for the
readings would be following the end of daily announcements over
the public address system."
Includes: How to Read a Poem Out
Loud. Excellent
POETRY PORTAL–AN INTERNET GUIDE TO POETRY
RESOURCES– START HERE!
http://www.poetry-portal.com/
A huge site on poetry. A great resource to get
started or assistance in writing poetry. Sections include: Poetry
Online, Poetry Events, Poetry Courses, Styles & Themes, Poets in
Focus, Poetry Publishing, Beginner’s Section, Advanced Section,
E-Zine Listings, Resources & Help Center, Inspirational Poetry
Online, Poetry Online Community, Diversity of Poetry and much
more. An outstanding site. Excellent
POETRY POWER!
NEW URL!
http://www.planetesme.com/poems.html
A collection of ideas and activities for
teaching poetry and ways to inspire children to write poems.
Excellent
POETRY TODAY ONLINE
http://www.poetrytodayonline.com/
A Poetry e-Zine, Forums, Links, Contests,
How-To, and much more. Excellent
THE POETRY ZONE
http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/index2.htm
A gallery of student submitted poems. The
Teacher Zone includes several activities for teaching poetry.
Sections: Your Poems, Teacher Zone, Poets Talk (interviews), Top
10 Poetry Books, Reviews, Poetry Gallery, Competitions, Poetry
Challenge and more. Excellent
POETS.ORG – ONLINE CLASSROOM
NEW!
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/6
"Welcome to the Online Poetry Classroom. Here
you will find a wealth of resources, including Discussion Forums
where teachers can share ideas and seek help from colleagues;
Pedagogical & Critical Essays about poetry; extensive links to
relevant websites; Curriculum Units & Lesson Plans;
biographies of hundreds of poets; and over 2,000 poems."
Also in Lesson Plans section. Excellent
RHYMEZONE – RHYMING DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS
http://www.rhymezone.com/
A rhyming, word tool. Put in any word to find
a rhyme, synonym, definition and more. Other sections:
Shakespeare, Quizzes, Quotations, Famous Documents, Mother Goose
and more. A huge site. Outstanding. Excellent
ROBERT MUNSCH
http://www.robertmunsch.com/
The official site for author Robert Munsch.
Sections: The Books, What’s New, Biography, Poems, Photos of
Robert, Kids Art, Something Special, Class Pictures, Mail Robert,
Unpublished Stories, Storytime with Robert Munsch (audio clips of
Robert Munsch reading his stories), and Class Visits. Lots of the
poems are about students who have written him. A fun site.
Excellent
SHADOW POETRY
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/index.html
Another online poetry site for poets.
Sections: Poetry, Creative Works, Writers Block (all kinds of
assistance), Publications, FAQ, Message Board, Email Groups,
Poetry Places and more. Excellent
WELCOME TO THE POETRY CORNER
http://www.angelfire.com/md/byme/pocket/poetry1.html
Over 100 free, funny poems for children. A fun
site. Excellent
WORLD POETRY DAY 2008
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=308
Information on World Poetry Day with
activities, lesson plans and links. Excellent

AMERICAN POEMS.COM
NEW!
http://www.americanpoems.com/
Showcases American poets and poems, both
modern and early. Includes a Poem of the Day, biographies, works
and more. Very Good
CELEBRATE POETRY
NEW!
http://www.kristinegeorge.com/celebrate_poetry.html
A site with a long list of ideas for using
poetry with children in the classroom. Very Good
CHILDREN’S POETRY
NEW!
http://www.poetry-online.org/childrens_poetry_resource_index.htm
"A free, online poetry for children resource
providing the famous poetry for children by the World's most
popular Poets. Whether your search is for Classic Childrens
Poetry or Modern poetry for children you will find the poetry for
children of your choice on this Children's Poetry section. Please
visit our exclusive Forum, designed by the Poetry Online website
for anyone interested in, or with questions about, poems for
children."
Very Good
CHILDREN’S POETRY
NEW!
http://www.storyit.com/Classics/JustPoems/classicpoems.htm
A collection of classic poems for children to
read online. Very extensive. Very Good
EDWARD LEAR HOME PAGE
http://edwardlear.tripod.com/
A site on well-known humorous poet Edward
Lear. Sections: About Edward Lear, Edward Lear’s Nonsense Works,
Edward Lear’s Art, The Limerick Before Edward Lear, Essays on
Lear and the Limerick, and Nonsense Links. Very Good
FAMOUS CLASSICAL POETS & POEMS
NEW!
http://www.poemofquotes.com/classicalpoets.php
Links to classical poets such as Chaucer,
Milton and Shakespeare. Click on the links on the left for
additional categories: 18th Century Poets, 19th
Century Poets, American Poems, Break Up Poems, Friendship Poems,
Love Poems, Original Online Poems, and Sad Poems. Very Good
FORGOTTEN GROUND REGAINED – A TREASURY OF
ALLITERATIVE AND ACCENTUAL POETRY
NEW!
http://alliteration.net/
A large collection of poetry from the ancient
to the modern. For senior high students. Very Good
GAME GOO – GAMES FOR KIDS
http://www.cogcon.com/gamegoo/gooeylo.html
Click on Wizards and Pigs Poetry Pickle for a
fun poetry game for kids. Very Good
GIGGLE, GIGGLE, SNICKER, LAUGH
http://www.robertpottle.com/
Author/poet Robert Pottle’s collection of
funny poems for children. A fun site. Very Good
HAIKU FOR PEOPLE
http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/
A how-to site on writing haiku poetry.
Includes What is Haiku?, How to Write Haiku, and several
examples. Very Good
THE INTERNET POETRY ARCHIVE
http://www.ibiblio.org/ipa/
Information on contemporary poets: Phillip
Levine, Seamus Heaney, Czelaw Milosz, Robert Pinsky, Yusef
komunyakaa, Margaret Walker, and Richard Wilbur. Includes some of
their poems, audio clips and more. Very Good
KIDBIBS
http://kidbibs.com/home.htm
A collection of children’s poems are featured
as well as teaching and learning tips. Very Good
A LITTLE POETRY – POETRY E-ZINE
http://www.alittlepoetry.com/
An online poetry e-zine. Sections: Voracious
Verses, Musing Marvels, Poet Pages, Featured Faces, Luscious
Links and Sizzling Sites. Very Good
MOTHER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/rhymes.html
Introducing a new generation to Mother Goose
nursery rhymes. Sections: Master List (Alphabetical), On Reading
Nursery Rhymes with Children of Varying Ages, Recommended Books &
Resources, Mother Goose Artwork & Book Covers, and a Mother Goose
Online Coloring Book. Very Good
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41
The official web site for National Poetry
Month sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. Sections: Find
a Poet, Find a Poem, Listening Booth (audio files of works),
Discussion Forums, Events/Calendars, My Notebooks and Literary
Links. Very Good
PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR
http://www.udayton.edu/~dunbar/
Paul Lawrence Dunbar was the first
African-American poet to gain prominence. This site discusses his
life and works. It includes audio files of readings of his poems.
Very Good
POET SEERS
NEW!
http://www.poetseers.org/
A range of poetry from several cultures and
poetry traditions. Sections include: Poetic Themes, Poetic
Categories and Selected Poets. Very Good
POETRY AND MUSIC OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES
NEW URL!
http://www.civilwarpoetry.org/
A large collection of poetry and songs from
the War Between the States. Sections: Confederate Poetry, Union
Poetry and Music of the War. Very Good
POETRY FORM – HAY(NA)KU: A WORD-COUNT FORM
NEW!
http://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/haynaku.htm
Hay(na)ku is a 21st century verse
form from the Philippines. Includes examples, links and
information on the poet who developed the form. Includes links to
other poetry forms that may not be familiar. Very Good
POETRYFOUNDATION.ORG: CHILDREN’S POETRY
NEW!
http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do
Features articles on poets and children’s
poetry as well as an archive of poems. Very Good
POETRY POST - A Uni'verse'al Writing
Project for K-12 Students
NEW URL!
http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/dec00/ppost.invite.htm
"Poetry Post features poems created by
students from around the world. Grahamwood CLUE students in
Memphis, Tennessee, USA invite virtual classmates to create and
submit poems that describe your ideas, feelings, and experiences.
All poems must be submitted
by teachers. All poems submitted must be original work by
students."
Poems have been
submitted so far by students from Australia, Canada, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Very
Good
POETRY SLAM INCORPORATED
http://www.poetryslam.com/
The official web site for organized poetry
slams (events in which poets perform their poems – equal weight
given to writing and performance). Sections include: Slam FAQ,
National Poetry Slam, Slam Venues, Poet Gallery, Press Archives,
Multimedia (audio & video clips – currently down), and more. Very
Good
POETRY WITH PIZZAZZ – POETRY LINKS
NEW!
http://www.suelebeau.com/poetry.htm
A collection of links for students on poetry.
Very Good
POET’S CORNER
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/index.html
"Welcome to Poets' Corner. Our goal is to
create the largest, most diverse, and most user-friendly public
library of poetic works ever assembled." "The poems on display
range from lone quatrains to entire books, with a large selection
of sonnets, narrative poems, and topical works to choose from."
Very Good
REMINISCENCES OF XU ZHIMO – A CHINESE POET
http://www.thinkquest.org/library/lib/site_sum_outside.html?tname=C0111522&url=C0111522/
A student-created site on Chinese poet Xu
Zhimo who is little-known outside China but who influenced
Chinese literature. Sections: Introduction, Biography,
Philosophy, Love, Poems, and Links. Very Good
REPRESENTATIVE POETRY ONLINE
NEW!
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display/index.cfm
A portal to a large number of poets and their
works. Search by author, title, timeline, keywords and more. Very
Good
RIVER OF WORDS
NEW!
http://www.riverofwords.org/
An annual poetry and art contest in which
students create poetry and art about their environment. Very Good
TALESPIN- CHILDREN’S POETRY
NEW!
http://www.pitara.com/Talespin/poems.asp
A colorful collection of multicultural poems
for children. Very Good
TED SCHEU – THAT POETRY GUY
http://www.poetryguy.com/
Funny poems for children by children’s author
and teacher Ted Scheu. A fun site. The Teacher’s section has
ideas for inspiring children to create their own. Very Good
TEEN POETRY
http://teenpoetry.studentcenter.org/
An online showcase for poems by teens. Very
Good
TWENTIETH CENTURY POETRY
NEW!
http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/20CAmericanandBritish.htm
Links to a large number of 20th
century American and British poets. Categories include: Poetry of
WWI, Popular Modernism, High Modernism, Harlem Renaissance,
Formalist Poets, Mid-century American Poets, Confessional Poetry,
Black Mountain Poets, Beats and San Francisco Renaissance,
British Poetry, The New York School and Language Poetry. Very
Good
ZUZU – E-ZINE FOR CHILDREN
http://www.zuzu.org/index.html
An e-zine publishing children’s artwork,
poetry, stories, photographs, and more. Sections: Artwork,
Mysterious Stories, Creative Writing, Poetry, Photography,
Courageous Kids, Neighborhood Reports, Virtual Vacations, Kids
Collect!, Interviews, Broadway Reviews, Super-Links and more.
Very Good

ARS POETICA – THE ART OF POETRY
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005319/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0428
A student-created site on reading and writing
poetry. Sections: Poetic Terms, Browse Poems, Analyzing Poetry,
Submit a Poem, How to Write Poems and Famous Poets. We were
unable to access the submitted poems. Good
BARKING SPIDERS - POETRY FOR CHILDREN
http://www.barkingspiderspoetry.com/
Poems for children by C.J. Heck. Good
A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES – ROBERT LOUIS
STEVENSON
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/resource/bookshelf/child10/garden/
The online text of A Child’s Garden of
Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. Good
THE CHUCKLE CORNER
http://www.lyfe.freeserve.co.uk/index.html
A selection of fun and/or interesting poems
for adults and children. Good
CLICKABLE POEMS
NEW!
http://www.clickablepoems.com/
Information on poetry, culture, poets, and
poems. Good
COMPLETECLASSICS.COM – POETS & POEMS
NEW!
http://www.completeclassics.com/
"The "CompleteClassics" database contains
10,171 poems from 1,082 classic poets."
Good
COOL RHYMES FOR KIDS
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/HOON4VR/hopscotchmyplace.html?mtbrand=AOL_US
Eight fun rhyming poems for children. Good
THE CRAZY LIMERICK MACHINE
NEW URL!
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/year4/limerick.htm
Choose different lines from the limerick
machine to make up a limerick. Good
DIAMONTE POEMS
NEW!
http://kidsnetsoft.com/html/poem2.html
A site by students on diamonte poems with
examples and instructions. Good
A GLOSSARY OF POETIC TERMS
http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display_rpo/poetterm.cfm
A straight-forward glossary of poetic terms
from accent to zeugma. Good
THE HAIKU GALLERY
NEW!
http://www.haikugallery.com/
A collection of haiku poems produced by 2nd
and 3rd grade students. Includes information on how to
write haiku. Good
HOW TO LOVE YOUR DOG – KIDS POETRY ABOUT THEIR
DOGS
http://www.kidsanddogs.bravepages.com/poetry.html
A large collection of poems written by
children about their dogs. Good
INKI AND TAZ’S POETRY CORNER
http://library.thinkquest.org/11883/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0428
A student-created site on poetry defining the
types of poems and with information on several famous poets.
Sections: Famous Poets Page, Haiku Poetry Page, Concrete Poetry
Page, Cinquain Poetry Page, Story of Poetry Page, One Sentence
Poetry Page, Biopoem Poetry Page, Question Poetry Page, Freestyle
Poetry Page, Glossary of Terms, and Young Poets’ Page. Good
JOSIE’S POETRY FOR EVERYONE BUT ESPECIALLY FOR
CHILDREN
NEW!
http://www.whiteheadm.co.uk/html/josies_poetry.htm
A large collection of poems by author Josie
Whitehead on many different topics. Most are for children. Many
have audio clips of her reading the poem. Worth checking out.
Good
KIDLIT POETRY GALLERY
http://mgfx.com/kidlit/kids/artlit/poetry/
A website for children to submit their poetry.
The majority are from elementary schools. Good
KIDSCRIBE!
http://www.brightinvisiblegreen.com/kidscribe/poetry.html
A bilingual site for kids to submit their
poems and stories. Good
KRISTINE O’CONNELL GEORGE’S POETRY FOR
STUDENTS
NEW
URL!
http://www.kristinegeorge.com/for_students.html
Colorful tips for students on reading and
writing poetry. Good
MODERN AMERICAN POETRY
NEW!
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets.htm
Links to 161 modern American poets. Each
includes information about the poet and some of his/her works.
Good
OEDILF – OMNISCIENT ENGLISH DICTIONARY IN
LIMERICK FORM
NEW!
http://www.oedilf.com/db/Lim.php
An online collection of over 48,000 limericks.
Searchable by keyword and topic. Note that not all limericks
on the site are appropriate for students. A resource for
teachers. Good
ONGOING TALES – OLD TIME POETRY
http://www.ongoing-tales.com/SERIALS/oldtime/POETRY/
A "collection of old-time poetry for
children from various out of copyright books."
A large
collection of poems for children. Good
POEM HUNTER
NEW!
http://www.poemhunter.com/
A searchable online collection of over 310,000
poems. Good
POETRY DAILY
http://www.poems.com/
Posts a different poem every day. Click on
Previously on Poetry Daily for archives. Good
POETRY FOR KIDS – BY KENN NESBITT
http://www.poetry4kids.com/
Fun and silly poems for children by poet Kenn
Nesbitt. Click on Poems for the "Funny Forty" 40 poems for kids.
Includes: How To, Books, Links and more. Good
POETRY LANE – A POETRY PAGE FOR CHILDREN AND
THE YOUNG AT HEART
http://www.poetrylane.com/
A collection of poems for children by G.E.
Farrell. Good
POETRY WORKSHEETS
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-14856.html
Four printable worksheets. 1/Word Scramble
2/Poets & Poems 3/Alphabetizing Poets 4/Poetry Terms. Good
POETS & WRITERS MAGAZINE
http://www.pw.org/mag/
"Poets & Writers Magazine is the primary
source for what creative writers need to know. Along with essays
on the literary life and interviews with contemporary writers of
poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, the magazine publishes
articles with practical applications for both emerging and
established writers. In addition, it provides the most
comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines,
and prizewinners available in print.."
Good
POET’S CANVAS
http://www.poetscanvas.org/index.htm
An online poetry magazine. Not specifically
for children. Good
SHADOW POETRY
NEW!
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/
A poetry resource including Resources,
Chapbooks, Magazines, Contests, and more. For senior high and
adults. Good
SONNET CENTRAL NEW!
http://www.sonnets.org/
"Welcome to Sonnet Central, an archive of
English sonnets, commentary, and relevant web links and a forum
for poets to share and discuss their own work. Sonnets are
grouped by period below and can also be accessed quickly via an
alphabetical list of authors or the java navigation page. All of
the sonnets included here (as well as most of those that are
linked) are modernized texts for the general reader and are not
presented for purposes of scholarly work."
Good
TANGERINE! POETRY SITE EXTRAORDINAIRE
http://library.thinkquest.org/3721/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0429
A student-created site on poetry. Sections:
Poetry (Poetry Forms, Famous Poets, Poems by Our Poets),
Favorites, and Links. Good
THE WEB POETRY CORNER
http://www.dreamagic.com/poetry/poetry.html
An online poetry center where poets (both
beginners and advanced) can post their poetry.
Sections: Authors Alphabetically, Authors Date
Submitted, Authors by Country, Authors Number of Poems,
Submission Rules and more. Scroll down for Children’s Poetry.
Good
WELCOME TO SUESSVILLE!
http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville/
The Random House official site for everything
Dr. Suess. Sections: Playground, Biography, Catalog, Events, and
Music. Good
WRITING POETRY – HOW TO WRITE A CINQUAIN
http://jfg.girlscouts.org/How/make/cinquain.htm
A cinquain is a five-line poem following a
specific formula. Follow the formula to create your own. Good

LESSON PLANS
ACROSTIC POEMS: ALL ABOUT ME AND MY FAVORITE
THINGS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=309
A lesson plan for grades K-2 on acrostic
poems.
"Students write free-verse acrostic poems about
themselves using the letters of their names to begin each line.
They then write an additional poem about something that is
important to them, also using the letters of that word for the
beginning of each line. After proofreading, both poems are
recopied or typed and illustrated and then mounted on
construction paper for display. The activity addresses personal
reflection and creative writing along with spelling and phonemic
awareness."
Excellent
AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY UNIT
NEW!
http://www.msu.edu/~miazgama/aapoets.htm
A curriculum unit on African American poets
for grades 10-12. Contains 5 lesson plans. Very thorough.
Excellent
ALLITERATION IN HEADLINE POEMS – LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=81
Students are introduced to the term
alliteration and asked to create their own examples of
alliteration as well as find examples of alliteration in poems.
When students understand the concept of alliteration, they are
given a handout that explains the assignment of writing a
headline poem. The assignment requires each student to create a
headline poem using words that they have cut out from magazines
and/or newspapers. The poem must contain at least 25 words, be
written in complete sentences with correct punctuation, stick to
one central theme, and contain at least three clear examples of
alliteration. Excellent
ARABIC POETRY: GUZZLE A GHAZAL! – LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=388
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on Arabic
poetry.
""What is a ghazal, how did it evolve, and why has it
remained a popular form of Arabic poetry until today? What
elements and structures does this pre-Islamic poetic form
contain? How does the rhyming pattern of the ghazal compare to
that of common forms of poetry in English?"
Excellent
ART IN POETRY – TEACHING THE IMAGISTS – LESSON
PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0209.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"This lesson presents a study of Ezra Pound's poem, "In the
Station of the Metro" and the Imagist perception of modern
society. Students will be required to write an original two-line
poem about modern society and incorporate the poem into a graphic
illustration."
Excellent
BEAR OF A POEM: COMPOSING AND PERFORMING FOUND
POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=835
A lesson plan on poetry for grades K-2.
"To
add to students’ growing ways of looking at and listening to
words, students will "mine" texts for favorite words from
favorite stories. Working together, students select words and
phrases to create a collective class poem, that they will then
turn into a performance. This lesson helps students recast the
text they are reading in a different genre, which in turn, makes
students more insightful readers and helps develop creativity in
thinking and writing.
This lesson uses books from the Berenstain Bears series as an
example, but any children’s books or book series can be used."
Excellent
BEHIND THE MASKS: EXPLORING CULTURE AND SELF
THROUGH ART AND POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=395
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"This unit engages high school students in a study of the
relationship between masks and cultures. Students research mask
making from various cultures, draw sketches of the masks, and
take notes that highlight the connections between the masks and
the cultural practices of the people who created them. Using this
information, students recreate the cultural masks and compose
poetry to reveal their understanding and appreciation of these
cultural artifacts. Students then analyze aspects of their own
culture, and create personal masks and poetry to reflect their
culture and themselves."
Excellent
BIRMINGHAM BLUES: EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF THE
AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE THROUGH POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20020513monday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students investigate racial inequality and
prejudice in American history through the words of Langston
Hughes, an American black poet."
Excellent
BUILDING CLASSROOM COMMUNITY THROUGH THE
EXPLORATION OF ACROSTIC POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=807
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on acrostic
poetry.
"Building classroom community is one of the most
challenging yet most important tasks for any teacher, and needs
to be reinforced frequently throughout the year. In this lesson,
students explore the genre of acrostic poetry and participate in
a shared writing experience with acrostic poems. They use the
Internet to explore and investigate the characteristics of
acrostic poetry. They then brainstorm positive character traits
about one of their classmates using an online thesaurus and
compose an acrostic poem. Students use an interactive online tool
to write and print the final draft, then share their poem with
the class."
Excellent
CAN YOU HAIKU? –UNIT
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=250
A three-lesson unit for grades 3-5 on haiku.
"Haiku show us the world in a water drop, providing a tiny
lens through which to glimpse the miracle and mystery of life.
Combining close observation with a moment of reflection, this
simple yet highly sophisticated form of poetry can help sharpen
students' response to language and enhance their powers of
self-expression. In this lesson, students learn the rules and
conventions of haiku, study examples by Japanese masters, and
create haiku of their own."
Excellent
COLOR POEMS: USING THE FIVE SENSES TO GUIDE
PRE-WRITING – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=375
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on color poems.
"Once students experiment with poetry, they learn that they
have another outlet for communicating their thoughts, feelings,
and experiences. In this lesson, students are asked to think
about colors, while imagining what they taste, feel, smell,
sound, and look like. The students use their five senses as a
prewriting tool to guide their poetry writing. This lesson is
open-ended enough that students can write free-form poetry or
follow a provided template to create a color poem."
Excellent
COMPILING POETRY COLLECTIONS AND A WORKING
DEFINITION OF POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=354
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on poetry.
"A
study of poetry should be one of exploration. To avoid stifling
creativity then, initial poetry study should not focus too much
on form; however, teaching form as a tool, rather than as a
requirement, can help young writers express themselves
creatively. This unit introduces poetry forms and craft elements
while students explore poetry about everyday topics or themes.
Focusing on poetry in this way allows students to delve deeply
into their own creativity. When students have the opportunity to
select their own choice of topics and to explore poetry craft
elements, this activity becomes a poetry unit that motivates and
excites students."
Excellent
COMPOSING CINQUAIN POEMS – A QUICK-WRITING
ACTIVITY
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=51
"Cinquain (pronounced "cin-kain") is a
five-line poetic form, using a wavelike syllable count of
two-four-six-eight-two. In this lesson, students write simple
cinquain of their own as a follow-up to a subject they have been
exploring in class."
Excellent
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN POETRY AND MUSIC –
LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=808
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on poetry.
"Music helps children develop rhythmic intelligence and notice
rhythm in language, which are important skills in learning how to
read and developing fluency as readers. In this lesson, students
listen to poems read aloud and discuss the rhythm and sound of
poetry. Students then perform poems using musical instruments to
emphasize cadence. Using online tools, they learn about line
breaks and the way these affect the rhythm of a poem. Finally,
students write poems they believe will be enhanced by music and
perform them for the class."
Excellent
CREATING CLASSROOM COMMUNITY BY CRAFTING
THEMED POETRY COLLECTIONS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=391
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on poetry.
"Back to school means new teachers, new classmates and many
unanswered questions. In this lesson, students create poetry
collections with a back-to-school theme of "getting to know each
other." Students write poetry with the goal of introducing
themselves, helping to create a sense of classroom community,
while exploring the many and varied types and forms of poetry and
constructing and refining their own definitions of poetry.
While this lesson focuses on a back-to-school
activity, students’ collections can focus on any topic and be
completed any time of year. For instance, you might complete the
same series of activities as part of a social studies unit, with
students writing thematic collections that help readers get to
know a historical figure whom they have researched. As a book
report alternative, students might complete the series of poems
as a way to invite readers to get to know the main character or
characters in the books that they have read."
Excellent
DANCING MINDS AND SHOUTING SMILES: TEACHING
PERSONIFICATION THROUGH POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=860
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on poetry.
"Experiencing the language of great poets provides a rich
learning context for students, giving them access to the best
examples of how words can be arranged in unique ways. By studying
the works of renowned poets across cultures and histories,
students extract knowledge about figurative language and poetic
devices from masters of the craft. In this lesson, students learn
about personification by reading and discussing poems by Emily
Dickinson, William Blake, and Langston Hughes. Then they use the
poems as a guide to brainstorm lists of nouns and verbs that they
randomly arrange to create personification in their own poems."
Excellent
DISCOVERING A PASSION FOR POETRY WITH LANGSTON
HUGHES – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=251
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"Poetry is written to convey the essence of a greater meaning.
Much like the youth of today, poetry can bundle a great deal of
passion in a small package. After analyzing examples of
contemporary youth poetry as well as the poetry of Langston
Hughes, students use the Internet to conduct research on how
events in the world have shaped Hughes' work. They cite specific
examples that link their interpretation of the poem to the
sociohistorical context in which it was written. Finally, each
student creates an original poem that communicates a personal
view on a current world issue."
Excellent
DISCOVERING TRADITIONAL SONNET FORMS – LESSON
PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=830
A lesson plan on sonnets for grades 9-12.
"In this lesson, students read and analyze sonnets to discover
their traditional forms. Students chart the characteristics of
the poems then review the details for similarities, deducing
traditional sonnet forms that the poems have in common. After
this introduction, students write original sonnets, using one of
the poems they have analyzed as a model."
Excellent
EDWARD LEAR, LIMERICKS AND NONSENSE: A LITTLE
NONSENSE – LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=404
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on Edward Lear.
"In this lesson, which focuses on Lear's nonsense poem "The
Owl and the Pussy Cat," students learn about nonsense poetry as
well as the various poetic techniques and devices that poets use
to help their readers create a mental picture while reading or
hearing poems. In a related lesson, Edward Lear:
Limericks, and Nonsense: There Once Was…, students learn the
form of the limerick poem, practice finding the meter and rhyme
schemes in various Lear limericks, and write their own
limericks." Excellent
EDWARD LEAR, LIMERICKS AND NONSENSE: THERE
ONCE WAS… - LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=403
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on Edward Lear.
"British poet Edward Lear (1812-1888) is most widely
recognized as the father of the limerick form of poetry and is
well known for his nonsense poems. In this lesson, students will
learn the form of the limerick poem, practice finding the meter
and rhyme schemes in various Lear limericks, and write their own
limericks."
Excellent
EKPHRASIS: USING ART TO INSPIRE POETRY –
LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1093
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students explore ekphrasis—writing inspired by
art. Students begin by reading and discussing several poems
inspired by works of art. Through the discussion, students learn
ways in which poets can approach a piece of artwork (for
instance, writing about the scene being depicted in the artwork,
writing in the voice of the person depicted in the artwork,
speaking to the artist or subject of the painting, etc.).
Students then search online for pieces of art that inspire them
and, in turn, compose a booklet of poems about the pieces they
have chosen."
Excellent
ENHANCING A POETRY UNIT WITH AMERICAN MEMORY
NEW!
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/98/poetry/poem.html
A unit for grades 7-9 on poetry.
"Students
explore poetry using American Life Histories: Manuscripts from
the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 collection of American
Memory, which covers personal stories collected by the Works
Progress Administration. In particular, students write "found
poetry" based on the stories found in this collection. This unit
is best undertaken after students have studied a good amount of
published poetry and are familiar with at least several different
elements common to most verse. These can be found in any
grade-level student text or teacher manual, from junior high on
up. Briefly, elements to look for include the following:
alliteration, repetition, sensory language, metaphor and simile,
imagery, rhythm, stanzas, and line breaks."
Excellent
ENVIRONMENTAL RHYME AND REASON – ANALYZING THE
"STATE OF THE PLANET" – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19991123tuesday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"Students employ poetry as a medium to relay information and
express views about significant environmental issues that exist
today and to assess their effects on 'The State of the Planet' as
we enter the next millennium."
Excellent
EXPLORE POETRY WITH EMILY DICKINSON – UNIT
NEW!
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/poetry/activity/5488.html
A unit for middle school students using the
poetry of Emily Dickinson to teach poetry. Contains several
different activities. Excellent
FILL-IN-THE-BLANK POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0200.html
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"Choose
a simple poem that is 10-20 lines in length. 2. Provide two
copies of the poem to students: the original poem and the same
poem in which you have removed several of the words and replaced
them with "blanks." 3. Read the original poem with students and
discuss the meaning and/or structure of the poem. 4. Have
students create their own versions of the original poem, filling
in the blanks you have created."
Excellent
FINDING POETRY IN PROSE: READING AND WRITING
LOVE POEMS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1034
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on love poems.
"When students think of love poetry, they almost invariably
think of poetry about romantic love. This lesson expands the
concept of love poems to move beyond romantic love to explore
other kinds of love, particularly the love within a family. After
reading several poems that expand the definition of love poetry,
students compose found poems based on a personal memoir—either
their own reminisces or a love story of another writer."
Excellent
FOUND POEMS/ PARALLEL POEMS – LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=33
A lesson plan for 6-8th grade
students in which they recast the prose they are reading into
poetry.
"Students finding poetry in passages from novels or
the everyday language of newspapers or advertising gives them new
insight into the power of words and the genres in which they can
be used. Recasting found poems into their own parallel texts
helps students "become transactive, discerning readers and
thoughtful, perceptive writers" (Claggett, Reid, Vinz). This
lesson is an adaptation of the "paralog" used with permission of
Fran Claggett."
Excellent
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING: EXPRESSING THE
MULTITUDE OF EFFECTS INITIATED BY THE DISCOVERY OF DNA – LESSON
PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20030225tuesday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on writing
poems.
"In this lesson, students reflect on the role of DNA in
society since its discovery in 1953 by creating works of art and
poetry that metaphorically illustrate the importance, influence
and concerns of DNA research."
Excellent
HISTORICAL VOICES, POETIC VISIONS – CURRICULUM
UNIT
NEW!
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/00/voices/overview.html
A curriculum unit on poetry for grades 10-12.
"To better understand the turn-of-the-19th century United
States, this interdisciplinary lesson integrates use of primary
resources with historical and literary analysis. Students work in
groups and express themselves creatively through a multi-media
epic poem.
The artistic models for the students’
multi-media epic poem are Walt Whitman’s
Song of Myself
(1855) and Hart Crane’s
The
Bridge (1930). These
epic poets capture, interpret, and give meaning to their
particular time and place. Students look to do the same with the
year 1900, relying upon relevant primary resources —sound
recordings, images, text— and their own creative and
interpretative voices."
Excellent
HO HO POETRY: CREATING HOLIDAY-THEMED FOUND
POEMS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20061222friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on writing
poems.
"In this lesson, students read about the sights and
sounds of a Las Vegas Christmas. They then use words and phrases
taken from articles in today’s New York Times to create
holiday-themed "found poems.""
Excellent
HONORING OUR VETERANS THROUGH POETRY
PRE-WRITING – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=9
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on poetry.
"This lesson supports sixth- through eighth-grade students'
exploration of multiple Web resources to gather and synthesize
information, and to create and communicate this information
through poetry. Additionally, the activity requires students to
acquire new knowledge and to expand upon their understanding of
themselves and the culture of the United States. Students are
encouraged to participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative,
and critical members of their classroom community. Extension
activities include publishing their poetry on the Web, creating
cards using the students' poems to send to local veterans'
hospitals, and creating a display with accompanying artwork for
Veterans Day."
Excellent
HOW I BECAME ME: WRITING POEMS OR SPEECHES
EXPLORING IDENTITY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20070309friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on writing
poetry.
"In this lesson, students will examine their own
identities and read about the experiences of adopted Chinese
daughters celebrating the Jewish rite of passage, the bat
mitzvah. They then write personal poems or speeches illustrating
how their identities evolved."
Excellent
HOW TO WRITE A BIOPOEM – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0067.html
A lesson plan for grades 3-4 on poetry.
"The students will write a biopoem following the structure
provided in class, but will have creativity control. The finished
poem will be posted on boy or girl patterns drawn and colored to
look like each student by each student."
Excellent
THE IMPACT OF A POEM’S LINE BREAKS: ENJAMBMENT
AND GWENDOLYN BROOKS’ "WE REAL COOL" – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=651
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on line breaks
in poems.
"Perhaps to her dismay as a voluminous, Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet and former Consultant in Poetry to the Library
of Congress, Gwendolyn Brooks is best known for her short but
far-reaching poem "We Real Cool." The poem's beauty, strength,
and power are rooted in its effective use of line breaks. Brooks'
strategic choice of line breaks affects virtually every aspect of
the poem: its pace, rhythm, mood, tone, characters, sound, and
meaning. In this lesson, students will closely analyze the poem's
line breaks and the effect of enjambment on their reading and
interpretation of the poem."
Excellent
IN THE POET’S SHOES: PERFORMING POETRY AND
BUILDING MEANING – LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=78
"Through the use of dramatic reading and the
exploration of Internet resources, sixth- through eighth-grade
students build a greater understanding of poetry and the poet's
voice. Further, the experience requires students to analyze and
develop their own interpretation of a poem's meaning and
representation through performance. Extension activities involve
students giving an oral poetry performance of their own poetry
writing."
Excellent
INTRODUCING METAPHORS THROUGH POETRY – LESSON
PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=605
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on metaphors.
"Many students begin to learn about metaphors well before
entering high school. This lesson assumes that students will have
a basic understanding of what metaphors are; however it is
designed to help students begin to engage with metaphors on a
deeper and more abstract level. The lesson will begin with a poem
containing metaphors accessible at all levels, and with each poem
the lesson will progress in difficulty, so that teachers will
find material to suit their classes at all skill levels."
Excellent
AN INTRODUCTION TO BEOWULF: LANGUAGE
AND POETICS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=813
A lesson plan on Beowulf for grades
9-12. "While Beowulf is generally considered the earliest
major work of English poetry, it is almost always taught in
translation and its verse form and poetic techniques are often
unfamiliar. This lesson provides an introduction to the language
and poetics of the poem. Although this lesson assumes students
will read Beowulf in translation, it introduces students to the
poem’s original Old English and explains the relationship between
Old, Middle, and Modern English. The lesson then goes on to
introduce students to alliteration, alliterative verse, and
kennings and their importance to Beowulf."
Excellent
INTRODUCTION TO MODERNIST POETRY – UNIT
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=615
A three-lesson unit for grades 9-12 on
modernist poetry.
"Modernist poetry often is difficult for
students to analyze and understand. A primary reason students
feel a bit disoriented when reading a modernist poem is that the
speaker himself is uncertain about his or her own ontological
bearings. Indeed, the speaker of modernist poems
characteristically wrestles with the fundamental question of
"self," often feeling fragmented and alienated from the world
around him. In other words, a coherent speaker with a clear sense
of himself/herself is hard to find in modernist poetry, often
leaving students confused and "lost.""
Excellent
JAPANESE POETRY: TANKA? YOU’RE WELCOME! –
LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=399
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on Japanese
poetry.
"Japanese poetry, with its demands on intuition and
strict discipline of structure, content, restraint, and subtlety,
can sometimes confound a Western audience. Difficulty lies in
translating the concept of the on, or Japanese sound unit.
Japanese forms often demand a specific number of on, characters
or sound units, which Westerners erroneously equate to syllables.
The evolution of the structures of Japanese make them complex,
and Western audiences, accustomed to meter, rhythm, and form,
prefer to reduce poetry to its simplest terms. This unit on the
Japanese tanka encourages students to explore the structure and
content of the form and to arrive at a definition of the
structure in English."
Excellent
KNOWING POE – LESSON PLANS
NEW!
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/default_flash.asp
An extensive resource on Edgar Allan Poe.
Includes his life and works. Click on Classroom Connections
for lesson plans and more. Also in the Websites section.
Excellent
THE LAST MEOW: A POETRY LESSON INSPIRED BY THE
MUSICAL CATS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20000901friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on writing
poems.
"In this lesson, students explore the popular culture
phenomenon of the musical 'Cats' and the T.S. Eliot poems that
were its inspiration. Students then write original poems about
animals, and read them aloud to their peers."
Excellent
" LEAP, PLASHLESS": EMILY DICKINSON & POETIC
IMAGINATION – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=604
A lesson plan on the poetry of Emily Dickinson
for grades 3-5.
"In this lesson, students will read and
explore one of Dickinson's nature poems, "A Bird came down the
Walk—" through interaction with other art forms. First, they will
listen to clips of a hymn to help them hear Dickinson's meter.
Then, they will view 19-century bird images and describe what
they see, just as a poet would, and they will observe how a poet
plays with language and imagery to create a scene by acting out
verse lines. Finally, they will write a brief poem of their own
using what they have learned and their own observations."
Excellent
LETTER POEMS DELIVER: EXPERIMENTING WITH LINE
BREAKS IN POETRY WRITING – LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=99
"Letter poems, where communicating a message
is central, make poetry accessible, meaningful, and fun for
children. Letter poems are also a particularly apt medium for
exploring a defining characteristic of poetry—line breaks. As
students work to transform narrative-style letters into poetic
format, they are forced to think carefully about where to end
each line. In this lesson students explore various letter poems
and experiment with writing letters as poems, with attention to
why the lines are broken where they are and how line breaks
affect rhythm, sound, meaning, and appearance."
Excellent
A LIFE LIVED WELL: WRITING FOUND POEMS FROM AN
OBITUARY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20061005thursday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on writing found
poems. "In this lesson, students brainstorm words and phrases
that describe themselves. They then construct found poems using
words and phrases taken from the article, and write
autobiographical obituaries that celebrate the lives and
achievements they imagine for themselves"
Excellent
LISTENING TO POETRY: SOUNDS OF THE SONNET –
LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=365
A lesson plan on sonnets for grades 9-12.
"While teaching some of the formal terms used to describe sonnets
will be one of the aims of this lesson, our starting point and
central focus throughout will be learning to appreciate the
sounds of poetry. For it is in sound--and in the subtle interplay
of sound and form and meaning--that much of the pleasure of
poetry resides. By focusing on the sounds of poetry, the
exercises below seek to demonstrate that there is always an
underlying sense of form or structure at work in language,
whether we happen to know the names for the formal elements of
poetry or not. At the heart of the lesson are its seven sound
experiments, designed to help students understand how form,
meter, and rhythm all combine to shape our experience of poetry,
and the meanings we derive from it. After some preliminary sound
experiments with Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem, "Jabberwocky," we
turn to Shakespeare's "Sonnet 29", a model of how the sonnet
form, with its dense knitting together of sound and meaning, can
suggest an astonishing variety of emotional effects."
Excellent
LITERARY PARODIES: EXPLORING A WRITER’S STYLE
THROUGH IMITATION – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=839
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on literary style in poetry.
"The popular saying "Imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery," coined by Charles Caleb Colton, is the basis for this
lesson, which asks students to analyze the features of a poet’s
work then create their own poems based on the original model. By
exploring sample poems and their parodies, students focus on the
language and style of the original writer, all in the process of
playing with poetry." Excellent
LONELY AS A CLOUD: USING POETRY TO UNDERSTAND
SIMILES – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=907
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on similes.
"Poetry is a unique genre that can include poetic devices that
are designed to entertain the ear, tickle the funny bone, and
invite language play (Labbo, 2004). Yet many of our students
approach poetry writing with fear and trepidation. Literature can
provide a scaffold for students to use when approaching a new
writing task and can help to create an environment that increases
the opportunity for student success. In this lesson, students
identify similes in poetry and gain experience in using similes
as a poetic device in their own work."
Excellent
LYRICAL LESSONS ONLINE: POETRY LESSONS FOR
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
NEW!
http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/spotlight.htm
A large collection of lesson plans on poetry.
They are for elementary through senior high. Excellent
MAGIC WORDS, MAGIC BRUSH: THE ART OF WILLIAM
BUTLER AND JACK YEATS – CURRICULUM UNIT
NEW!
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/irish/learn/lsnplans/yeats/curriculum.html
A unit for grades 7-12 on the works of William
Butler and Jack Yeats.
"This unit on William Butler Yeats, the
writer, and Jack Yeats, the painter, is dedicated to immersing
students in a study of the brothers as voices of Ireland, and as
two of the most renowned artists of the late nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. It is dedicated also to evoking students to
see how the outlook of an age controls cultural expression, and
how this expression is articulated in similar ways throughout
genres of art. To help effect these major goals, focus is placed
on: the impact of geography, place, and family on both William
Butler Yeats and Jack Yeats; the influence of personalities of
the time period on the two artists; also, the ways both Yeats
align, in philosophical construct and creative expression, with
the dynamic changes that occurred in the last part of the
nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries."
Excellent
MIXED BLESSINGS: EXPLORING THE SEPARATION OF
CHURCH AND STATE IN PATRIOTIC POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20020628friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on patriotic
poetry.
"In this lesson, students will learn about the recent
federal appeals court decision finding the Pledge of Allegiance
unconstitutional. They then further investigate the notions of
constitutionality and separation between church and state by
researching and analyzing another patriotic American poem or
song."
Excellent
NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTS AND MOVEMENT – LESSON
PLAN
NEW!
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2245/
A lesson plan for grades K-4 using Native
American chants.
"This lesson will challenge students to
create expressive movements inspired by traditional Native
American chants and poetry. Background information on Native
American tribes and their music and oral traditions will precede
the reading of the chants and the creation of movement."
Excellent
OUR CITY, OUR WORDS – WRITING POETRY
CELEBRATING STUDENT IMPRESSIONS OF THEIR CITY – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20021206friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students will write poetry that captures their
feelings about their city or town. After presenting their poetry
at a class reading students will compare their poetry to the work
of published poets who have written about the same city."
Excellent
PAINTING PORTRAITS WITH WORDS – A LANGUAGE
ARTS LESSON BASED ON AN EXHIBITION ON WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS –
LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19990806friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on Yeats.
"In
this lesson, students examine how an exhibition of an author's
writings can become a portrait or biography of that author by
first learning about an exhibit on William Butler Yeats and what
it reflects about this famous poet. Students then work in small
groups, analyzing various poems by Yeats using varied written
forms. After 'curating' an exhibition of these responses to the
Yeats poems, students reflect on what their process and the
exhibition itself reveals about Yeats."
Excellent
PAIRING FICTION WITH POETRY AND PERFORMANCE –
LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1001
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"This lesson is designed to help second-language learners improve
vocabulary and comprehension using a variety of genres and
techniques. Students read and discuss novels. At specific points
in their reading, they conduct research by exploring questions
about the author, the storyline, and how they can connect the
novels to poetry and drama. They then develop a performance poem
focusing on a specific scene or event, which they reenact.
Students memorize their poems, rehearse their roles, and then
prepare a formal presentation. Although it is designed for
second-language learners, this lesson is perfect for mixed
classrooms."
Excellent
PICTURES IN WORDS: POEMS OF TENNYSON AND NOYES
– LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=426
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on poetry.
"Just as painters capture and manipulate color and light, poets
capture and manipulate words and sounds to create a vision for
their audiences. Striking examples of pictures in words—not just
vivid images but the entire mental picture conjured up by a
poet—are to be found in "The Charge of the Light Brigade," by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and "The Highwayman," by Alfred Noyes.
Both poems also tell compelling stories and are easily
comprehensible as well as appealing to the adolescent reader.
Besides guiding students in a close study of the text of these
two poems, the activities and handouts below provide an
introduction to the terminology of figurative language. A basic
understanding of critical terms can help students to describe and
analyze the effects of poetry on readers. Specific activities
include an Internet scavenger hunt, discussion and analysis, an
exercise involving the interpretation of poetry through visual
art, and an opportunity for students to create their own pictures
in words."
Excellent
PLAY WITH WORDS: RHYME AND VERSE – CURRICULUM
UNIT
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=259
A curriculum unit for grades K-2 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students will use their senses to experience
poetry. Students will listen to poems and rhymes, clap out
syllables, and sing along with familiar tunes. They will also use
puppets and crafts to help recall and retell favorite poems.
Finally, students will experience the joy of crafting their own
original poems."
Excellent
POEMS THAT TELL A STORY: NARRATIVE AND PERSONA
IN THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST – LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=345
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on Robert Frost.
"In the suggested activities below, students explore such
questions and mysteries in journal entries that build upon
narrative hints in poems chosen from an online selection of
Frost's most frequently anthologized and taught works. By
analyzing what a speaker (or persona) in one of Frost's poems
includes or omits from his narrative account, students make
inferences about that speaker's motivations and character, find
evidence for those inferences in the words of the poem, and apply
their inferences about the speaker in a dramatic reading
performed for other class members."
Excellent
THE POETICS OF HIP HOP – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3656/
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on hip hop and
poetry.
"Analysis of hip hop music and lyrics can provide
students with a greater understanding of rhythm, form, diction,
and sound in poetry. Students will analyze form in Shakespearean
sonnets, then analyze hip hop music to determine common
characteristics between the Bard's work and the music of hip hop
artists. Students will reinforce their understanding of the
connections between hip hop and poetry through close analysis of
the works of poets Saul Williams and Nikki Giovanni, and through
the creation of their own poetry."
Excellent
POETRY: A FEAST TO FORM FLUENT READERS –
LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=22
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on poetry.
"Students will use Internet resources to observe poetry performed
orally and discuss elements of the performance that lead to
fluency and meaning of the written text. Students then use online
resources to select a poem to perform out loud. Following an
"analyze and apply process," students will prepare and perform
their poem for the class. A performance critique sheet is used to
evaluate students' oral performance, and can be used for
self-evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher evaluation."
Excellent
POETRY ALL YEAR LONG – UNIT
NEW!
http://www.knowledge.state.va.us/cgi-bin/lesview.cgi?idl=548
A unit plan for teaching poetry all year for 1st
grade students.
"Each week introduce a new poem. Begin by
showing the students a copy you have already made on chart paper
and have displayed in front of the class. ( Skipping lines and/or
alternating colors for lines or verses makes the poem easier to
read.) Begin the year with very short, simple poems that rhyme.
Each day read the poem with your class. The teacher uses a
pointer as she reads with the class.
The first day (Mondays) emphasize the
vocabulary, repeating the words correctly, and getting the
general idea the poem is conveying. As the week goes on read the
poem each day concentrating on a different feature. One day you
might have the children clap to the rhythm of the poem as you
read it. Another day look for rhyming words and patterns, and
another day find descriptive words in the poem and talk about the
mental pictures they create. Later lessons may focus on how the
poetry looks different from prose, how authors’ and poets’
purposes may differ, and any other lessons a particular poem
might generate.
On Fridays provide each student with a typed
copy of the poem of the week. (I also 3 hole punch the copies.)
Children illustrate their poem as they choose. They put the poem
in their notebook or folder and keep it in their desks for the
year. At the end of the year they have a poetry notebook or
folder to take home and keep as their own."
Excellent
POETRY CIRCLES: GENERATIVE WRITING LOOPS HELP
STUDENTS CRAFT VERSE – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1074
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students interact and play with language while
writing poetry using generative writing loops, which are a type
of poetry circle. In these groups, students interact to learn and
apply poetic conventions and forms, which results in improved
understanding and development of social skills. While generative
writing loops can be used to write any kind of poem, this lesson
focuses on a free verse poem and an Italian sonnet. The student
groups can be used throughout the year to stimulate interest in
poetry and to help students actively learn poetic terms,
conventions, and traditional forms."
Excellent
POETRY FROM PROSE – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=49
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on poetry.
"Working in small groups, Students compose found and parallel
poems based on a descriptive passage they have chosen from a
piece of literature they are reading. They pick out words,
phrases and lines from the prose passage then arrange and format
the excerpts to compose their own poems. This process of
recasting the text they are reading in a different genre helps
students become more insightful readers and develop creativity in
thinking and writing."
Excellent
POETRY GIFTS – LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0201.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"In this activity, students brainstorm descriptive words about a
person of their choice and then use that information to create a
poem. The lesson is an exercise in creative writing that can be
used to drum up ideas for more personal poems about people and
places that a student knows."
Excellent
THE POETRY OF LANGSTON HUGHES – A TEACHER
CYBERGUIDE
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/langhu/langhutg.html
A Teacher’s Guide to activities focusing on
the poetry of Langston Hughes. Includes creating an author
brochure and an author bookmark. Excellent
POETRY PORTFOLIOS: USING POETRY TO TEACH
READING AND WRITING – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=152
A lesson plan for grades K-2.
"Students
learn to read and write when they have an active interest in what
they are reading and writing about. This lesson supports
students' exploration of language and writing skills as they read
and dissect poetry. Through a weekly poem, students explore
meaning, sentence structure, rhyming words, sight words,
vocabulary, and print concepts. After studying the poem, students
are given a copy of the poem to illustrate and share their
understanding. All of the poems explored are then compiled into a
poetry portfolio for students to take home and share with their
families. To further connect home to school, a family poetry
project is suggested."
Excellent
POETRY SOUND AND SENSE – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=848
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"Examining great poetry leads to both a greater appreciation for
poetry and, if encouraged appropriately, a desire to create
original poetry. This lesson suggests nonthreatening ways to
teach poetry in the high school classroom. The instructional plan
involves reading and listening to selected poems, discussing the
author's language choices, and encouraging students to examine
the sounds and sense of language."
Excellent
POETRY WRITING WITH JACK PERLUTSKY, KARLA
KUSKIN, AND JEAN MARZOLLO
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm
Scholastic’s poetry writing site for teachers.
"The Poetry Writing project features three authors whose works
expose students to various characteristics of poetry, such as
powerful description, rhythm, and rhyming. Each of the writers
offers models of his or her work as well as suggestions for
students. Students are introduced to warm-up exercises, and other
tips to help them create, revise, and share their work. An
ongoing journal component is included in the Teacher's Guide to
provide students with a personal portfolio they can use to
organize, information, notes, and their own poems in process."
The Teacher’s Guide provides lesson planning information.
Excellent
A POET’S NEW POST: CREATING POETRY USING THE
WORDS OF POET LAUREATE CHARLES SIMIC – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20070803friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students will explore the poetry of Charles
Simic, America’s new Poet Laureate, and use his words to inspire
their own writing."
Excellent
POETS.ORG – ONLINE CLASSROOM - CURRICULUM
UNITS & LESSON PLANS
NEW!
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/6
"Welcome to the Online Poetry Classroom. Here
you will find a wealth of resources, including Discussion Forums
where teachers can share ideas and seek help from colleagues;
Pedagogical & Critical Essays about poetry; extensive links to
relevant websites; Curriculum Units & Lesson Plans;
biographies of hundreds of poets; and over 2,000 poems."
Also
in Websites section. Excellent
PREPARING FOR POETRY: A READER’S FIRST STEPS –
LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=639
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"This lesson will begin with a discussion on differentiating
literal and figurative language, showing how students will
determine denotation and connotation in language. With an
emphasis on creating arguments using evidence from the poem, they
will next learn how to annotate and paraphrase a poem. They will
decipher who the speaker is and how tone and setting establish
tension and dramatic context. Finally, students will explore the
poem's structure, with attention to rhyme, use of line, and form.
Through these exercises, which center on William Shakespeare's
Sonnet 130, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun,"
students will learn how to create a thesis about the poem rooted
in textual evidence."
Excellent
PUT THAT ON THE LIST: INDEPENDENTLY WRITING A
CATALOG POEM – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=895
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"In these contemporary times, our lives are often driven by
lists—to-do lists, shopping lists, wish lists. In this activity,
students use that structure to write powerful poetry, modeled
after Raymond Carver’s poem "The Car." Working individually,
students compose catalog poems based on concrete objects that
hold personal meaning for them. These poems, stripped down in the
most minimalist fashion, allow students to concentrate on
important aspects of poetry, including word choice, phrasing and
rhythm as well as the all-important "heart" of the poem."
Excellent
PUTTING PIZZAZZ IN POETRY – CURRICULUM UNIT
NEW!
http://www.rain.org/campinternet/cperez/poetryunitplan.html
A curriculum unit on poetry for junior high
school students.
"The students will spend several weeks
studying a variety of literary elements with a specific focus on
onomatopoeia, simile, personification, and alliteration. They
will read and discuss both professional and student examples of
poetry utilizing these elements in textbooks, handouts, and
online. They will conclude the study of each element by creating
an original poem using that element. At the end of the unit, each
student will work with a partner to create a multimedia
presentation, publication, or web site that demonstrates the
analysis of poetry based on the literary elements, an evaluation
of the effect of the elements on poetry, and the synthesis of
these elements into an original poem."
Excellent
ROBERT FROST PROMPTS THE POET IN YOU – LESSON
PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=859
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on poetry.
"In
this lesson, students write poems similar in form and style to
one of three poems by Robert Frost. First, students learn key
details about the life of Frost. They then read and discuss three
Frost poems. Together with the teacher, students create a poetry
prompt for one of the three poems. This involves having students
brainstorm ideas for a writing assignment that connect to one of
the poems. Finally, students use their poetry prompt to write
their own poems reminiscent of the form and style of the selected
Frost poem."
Excellent
ROBERT FROST’S "MENDING WALL": A MARRIAGE OF
POETIC FORM AND CONTENT – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=645
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on Robert Frost.
"In this lesson, students will study both the content and the
intriguing poetic form of Frost's famous poem "Mending Wall."
Upon completing the suggested activities below, students will
understand the intricate relationship between a poem's content
and its form. This lesson will enable students to approach
Frost's poetry in a new way and will provide them with analytical
skills for reading poetry at large."
Excellent
RECOGNIZING SIMILES: FAST AS A WHIP – LESSON
PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=608
A lesson plan on similes for grades 9-12.
"Many students begin to learn about similes well before entering
high school. This lesson assumes that students will have a basic
understanding of what similes are, however it is designed to help
students review what they have learned in earlier classes and to
begin to engage with similes on a deeper and more abstract
level."
Excellent
SAY HI TO HAIBUN FUN – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=588
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on Japanese
haibun poetry.
"This cross-curricular lesson is designed to
introduce students in language arts or social studies classes to
elements of the Japanese writing style and the Japanese cultural
concepts incorporated by the
haibun. Students
consider that each moment recorded in their journal can become
elevated to a work of art because of the insights gained. By
reading examples of classical
Haibun written by
Basho and contemporary
Haibun
by Jane Riechhold and others, students will observe these
elements and concepts in the text After studying elements of the
Japanese writing style and cultural concepts, students will
compose original haibun."
Excellent
SEASONAL HAIKU: WRITING POEMS TO CELEBRATE ANY
SEASON – LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=39
"In this three-part lesson, students write
and illustrate haiku depicting seasonal images. First they use
their observation skills, real-world knowledge, and knowledge of
parts of speech to help them create seasonal word charts. They
then listen to and read samples of haiku to identify haiku
criteria, followed by a writing session where they create haiku
that depict seasonal images. Finally, they publish their poetry
mounted on colorful backgrounds that illustrate the images in
their poems."
Excellent
SEVENTH GRADERS WRITING ITALIAN SONNETS? YOU
BET! – LESSON PLANNING ARTICLE
NEW!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson016.shtml
An article on the work of one Language Arts
teacher in Texas whose students learn to become prolific poets.
Excellent
SHAPE POEMS: WRITING EXTRAORDINARY POEMS ABOUT
ORDINARY OBJECTS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=798
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on shape poems.
"Writing poetry enables students to reflect on their everyday
experiences, express their perceptions and observations, and
craft powerful images. In this lesson, students write shape poems
using their content knowledge and sensory awareness of a familiar
object. Students first learn about the characteristics and format
of a shape poem. They then engage in an online interactive
activity in which they select a graphic of a familiar object
(e.g., the sun, a heart, a balloon), build a word bank of content
area and sensory words related to the object, and write poems
within the shape of the object. Finished poems are printed and
displayed in class."
Excellent
STANZA PROUD – EXAMINING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
AMERICA’S POET LAUREATES – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20030224monday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on America’s
poet laureates.
"In this lesson, students will examine
different decades in American history, finding connections
between the historical events and the poetry written during these
time periods. Students then write their own poetry based on
current world events."
Excellent
STEP-UP-TO-THE-PLATE POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0219.html
A lesson plan for grades 5-8 on poetry.
"While most students know and love the game of baseball, many do
not realize that the great African American players in the major
leagues today would not have been allowed to play in the first
half of the 20th Century. Segregation existed in the country and
in baseball. Using computer resources to study the Negro Baseball
Leagues, students will learn about the players, teams, and social
conditions that existed from the 1900’s until 1946. They will
culminate their study by using poetry forms to express their
knowledge and their feelings about this historical time in the
United States."
Excellent
STILL I RISE – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0208.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 using Maya
Angelou’s "Still I Rise".
"A lesson plan using the famous
poem, "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou. I created this lesson plan
to expose students to Maya Angelou’s powerful poem, "Still I
Rise" as well as to enhance their understanding of the power of
poetry. In addition, it informs students on how poetry has its
own unique format, language, and poetic devices such as
metaphors, similes, and personification and how these poetic
conventions can add a tremendous punch to a poet’s message. This
lesson conforms to the learning concept of "Thematic Learning."
The major theme (Thematic Learning) of this poem is the
undeniable and unbreakable strength and spirit of the African
American people, past and present; however, students will begin
to formulate their own identification with the poem's message by
seeing beyond the cultural relevance and finding a connection to
their own teenage lives, in spite of race or culture. Many
students will respond by saying that in spite of peer pressure,
trends, or negative situations that they have been confronted
with, they, too, have found ways to rise above the adversities
that often plague those to conform to the negative standards and
trends set by other teenagers."
Excellent
THINKING INDUCTIVELY: A CLOSE READING OF
SEAMUS HEANEY’S "BLACKBERRY PICKING" – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1014
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"Applicable to almost any poem, this lesson uses Seamus Heaney’s
"Blackberry-Picking" to ease students’ fear of analyzing poetry
by teaching them an inductive strategy through which they
determine patterns of imagery, diction, and figurative language
in order to unlock meaning. First, the students list the images,
diction, and figurative language they notice in the poem; then,
looking for patterns within their list, they "lump" them into
categories. Finally, they apply these categories to the poem’s
structure to determine meaning. The student is then able to write
a theme statement and support it with specifics gleaned from the
poem."
Excellent
30 DAYS OF POETRY – LESSON PLANS
http://www.msrogers.com/English2/poetry/30_days_of_poetry.htm
30 classroom activities on poetry. Excellent
TUNEFUL BUGS AND BIRDS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2336/
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"What inspires man to create art dealing with bugs and birds? In
this lesson, intermediate high school ESOL students engage in a
variety of activities as they read and write poetry and listen to
music about bugs and birds."
Excellent
USING CLASSIC POETRY TO CHALLENGE AND ENRICH
STUDENTS’ WRITING –LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=900
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on writing
poetry.
"Through this series of lessons, students are
introduced to classic works of poetry. They learn to interpret
multiple perspectives while reading, analyzing, and discussing
these works. After looking closely at and discussing each poem
collectively, students work together to cocreate an open-ended
writing prompt or "link" to stimulate an authentic writing
experience. This poetry writing allows them to "try on" or
imitate a range of poetic styles and forms. It also guides them
to develop their own voice, improve their writing skills, and
deepen their understanding and appreciation of poetry."
Excellent
VERSED ON THE DISADVANTAGED – USING POETRY TO
EXPLORE THE ISSUES OF POVERTY – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20020930monday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students will reflect on what it means to help
those in need, then read and analyze poetry that illustrates the
struggle of poor people. To synthesize their learning, they
create collages connecting current issues of poverty with poets'
experiences."
Excellent
VOICES IN VERSE – EXPLORING MIDDLE EASTERN
INTERPRETATIONS OF PALESTINIAN POETRY – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20000308wednesday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students examine Arabic poetry and how it is
interpreted by people of different cultures. They formulate their
own individual interpretations of the poetry and consider and how
it affects political situations in the Middle East."
Excellent
WALT WHITMAN TO LANGSTON HUGHES: POEMS FOR A
DEMOCRACY – LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=428
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students will explore the idea of "democratic
poetry" by reading Whitman's words in a variety of media,
examining daguerreotypes taken circa 1850, and comparing the
poetic concepts and techniques behind Whitman's I Hear America
Singing and Langston Hughes' Let America Be America
Again. Finally, using similar poetic concepts and techniques,
students will have an opportunity create a poem from material in
their own experience."
Excellent
WE’VE GOT THE BEAT: AIRING POEMS WITH SONGS TO
HIGHLIGHT AND ENHANCE RHYTHMS AND TONES – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20080111friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students explore the way poetry’s unique rhythms
can be further enhanced by musical accompaniment. By pairing
selected music and poems, students discover new ways to listen,
interpret and appreciate these art forms."
Excellent
WHERE THE SIDEWALK TRANSCENDS – REMEMBERING
SHEL SILVERSTEIN: A POETRY-WRITING LESSON FOR THE LANGUAGE ARTS
CLASSROOM – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19990514friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on the poetry of
Shel Silverstein.
"In this lesson, students use titles of Shel
Silverstein poems to generate their own poetry for children. Each
student then compares his or her poem to the Shel Silverstein
poem of the same title, focusing on the relationship of the title
to each poem, the meaning of each poem, and the methods used by
the authors to reach their intended audience of children."
Excellent
WILLIAM/WILLIAM MIX-UP – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0211.html
A lesson plan for grade 12 students on poets.
"This lesson is intended to introduce students to a couple of
British Romantic Poets, William Blake and William Wordsworth, to
see how their styles vary." Excellent
WORDS OF DEEP MEANING: EXPRESSING IMPORTANT
PERSONAL FEELINGS THROUGH POETRY – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20000128friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students explore the use of poetry as a means of
expressing deep, personal feelings by reading an article about
people with physical disabilities who write poems and then
creating their own poetry."
Excellent
THE WORLD OF HAIKU – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=305
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on haiku.
"In
this lesson, students explore the traditions and conventions of
haiku, comparing this classic form of Japanese poetry to a
related genre of Japanese visual art and composing haiku of their
own."
Excellent
A WORLD OF POETRY – LESSON PLANS
NEW!
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3799/
A collection of lesson plans for elementary
through senior high level. Excellent
WRITING FREE VERSE IN THE "VOICE" OF CESAR
CHAVEZ – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=777
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on free verse.
"This lesson gives students the opportunity to familiarize
themselves with the characteristics of free verse and to write a
free verse poem using written material about the labor activist
Cesar Chavez. After they read about experiences that helped shape
the life of Chavez and take descriptive notes about these
experiences, they each compose a first draft of a free verse poem
in the "voice" of Chavez. With the help of graphic organizers and
a rubric, they revise, polish, and share their poems with their
classmates."
Excellent

ANGLO-SAXON RIDDLES – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.knowledge.state.va.us/cgi-bin/lesview.cgi?idl=639
A lesson plan for 12th grade
students on Anglo-Saxon poetry.
"Objective: To become familiar
with the form and achievement of Anglo-Saxon poetry. To
understand the oral tradition of literature in the Anglo-Saxon
society"
Very Good
APPRECIATING THE BARD’S ART: REWRITING
SHAKESPEARE’S EPITAPH USING IAMBIC PENTAMETER – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0002.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 on writing
poetry.
"Description: The following is designed as a small
group activity to help students appreciate Shakespeare's art as
well as reinforce literary terms and concepts. Students begin to
appreciate Shakespeare's genius as they struggle to compose six
lines in iambic pentameter, knowing that he wrote tens of
thousands in his plays."
Very Good
CALLING ON THE MUSE – EXERCISES TO UNLOCK THE
POET WITHIN
NEW!
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson171.shtml
An article for teachers on teaching poetry.
Very Good
COMPOSING CINQUAIN POEMS WITH BASIC PARTS OF
SPEECH – LESSON PLAN
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=43
A lesson plan for elementary students using
the basic parts of speech to create cinquains. Very Good
A DEDICATION IN VERSE – LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0036.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 in which
students read and create poetry and then create a poetry book.
Very Good
HAIKU LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://international.ucla.edu/shenzhen/2002ncta/aieta/haikulessonplan.html
A lesson plan on haiku for 6th and
7th grades.
‘Students will research internet to
explore meaning of Haiku, how it has been used historically and
in modern times, preview examples of other works, and write their
own Haiku."
Very Good
INTRODUCTION TO POETRY –LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0008.html
A lesson plan for grades 7-12 in which
students will learn the expressive nature of poetry by composing
their own poems. Very Good
MONARCH HAIKU – LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0010.html
A lesson plan for grades 2-3 on haiku. "In
this lesson, students who have been studying the spring migration
of monarch butterflies have an opportunity to apply what they
have learned about the butterflies in a literary way."
Very
Good
MUSIC IS POETRY – LESSON PLAN
http://www.youthfirst.org/winners/music-poetry.htm
A lesson plan for 8th grade
students in which the teacher selects some music CD’s popular
with students (and acceptable in the classroom). Students listen
to the lyrics and discover the poetry in them. Very Good
OCEANS: A FACT HAIKU – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2080/
A lesson plan for grades K-4 on haiku poetry.
"The sound and movement of ocean waves may be called poetry in
motion. This lesson uses the ocean to teach students about a form
of Japanese poetry. After learning about haiku, and hearing
haiku, students listen to the ocean to inspire them in writing
their own haiku."
Very Good
PARTS OF SPEECH POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/41.html
A lesson plan on poetry for 5th
grade students. Students create poems focusing on particular
parts of speech. Very Good
P.E.A.F. – POETIC ELEMENTS ARE FUN! –
INTEGRATED UNIT
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/01_5_PEAF.pdf
A unit on poetry for 5th grade
students that examines the various elements of poetry. Very Good
POETRY = THE ESSENCE OF LIFE – INTEGRATED UNIT
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/01_5_PEAF.pdf
A unit on poetry for 8th grade
students that examines poets and poems past and present and the
different styles of poetry. Very Good
POETRY PRINTABLES
NEW!
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/writing/poetry/
A collection of links to printables with ideas
for creating poetry. For elementary students. Very Good
POWERFUL POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nasaexplores.com/show_58_teacher_st.php?id=030108152851
A lesson plan for grades 5-8 in which students
create poetry about weather using different styles. Very Good
TWO WORD AUTOBIOPOEM – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Whole_Language/WLG0014.html
A lesson plan for grades 2-6 on poetry.
"This is a great way for students to get to know one another
during the first few days of school. It also makes a great
addition to any poetry unit. A two word biopoem could also be
used to describe a character from a book or story."
Very Good
WORDS FROM THE HEART – EXPLORING THE CREATIVE
PROCESS OF WRITING POETRY IN THE STYLE OF CHILD POET MATTIE J.T.
STEPANEK – LESSON PLAN
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20011130friday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"In this lesson, students learn about the unexpected success of
young poet Mattie J.T. Stepanek. Then, by creating poems using
the same method that Mattie's mother used to help him write his
early poems, students will explore the creative process of
writing poetry."
Very Good
THE WORLD OF HAIKU – LESSON PLAN
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=305
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 on haiku. "In
this lesson, students explore the traditions and conventions of
haiku, comparing this classic form of Japanese poetry to a
related genre of Japanese visual art and composing haiku of their
own."
Very Good
"WRIGHT-ING" PROMPT: CONCRETE POETRY
NEW!
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/wright/teachers/wfomanual/langarts/poem.html
A lesson plan for middle school students in
which they learn about concrete poetry and then write their own
concrete poems. Very Good
WRITE SUMMER SHAPE POEMS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/grades3_5/ShapePoems/
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on shape poems.
"Who knew that poems could be round or square or even
fish-shaped? Shape poems, or poems that look like the things they
describe, are a fun way to introduce children to poetry and to
get them to use words in new ways. In this activity, children
write and print poems in many different summer shapes."
Very
Good
ZOO ANIMAL POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Interdisciplinary/INT0083.html
A lesson plan for grades K-3 on poetry.
"Many classes plan trips to the zoo to see the animals. Classes
may study the animals in books and read many stories, or write
original stories, but to really bring the facts alive using a
video camera and poetry is very powerful. This activity was
formulated to bring the animals into the classroom and the homes
of the students."
Very Good

ACTION POEMS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.asp?ID=1086
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 on creating
action poems. This can easily be adapted to different types of
classes. Good
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Process_Skills/LPS0205.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-11 on figurative
language.
"Description: This lesson focuses on identifying and
creating similes, metaphors, and personification in literature
and in students' own writing."
Good
FRIENDLY POETRY – LESSON PLAN
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/friends/poetry.html
A lesson plan for elementary students in which
they think of the qualities they look for in a friend and create
a poem about those qualities. Good
FRUIT POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAFruitPoetryUsingSimiliesMetaphorsIdea37.htm
A lesson plan for grades 3-7 using fruit as a
subject for a poem. Good
HAIKU – WEB ENGLISH TEACHER
NEW!
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/haiku.html
Links to sites about haiku for teachers to use
in the classroom. Good
HOW TO WRITE A 5W POEM – LESSON PLAN
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/poetry2.html
A simple lesson plan for 1st grade
students on writing a poem using who, what, where, when and why.
Good
INTRODUCTION TO POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/344.shtml
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 using music to
introduce poetry.
"I use this activity as an introduction to
poetry. Music is a wonderful medium to helping students
appreciate poetry and poetic devices."
Good
KNOWING OURSELVES AND OTHERS THROUGH POETRY –
LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Writing/WCP0018.html
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 on poetry.
"Developing a rapport and trust with students at risk of dropping
out of school is often difficult. These students are guarded in
their openness with adults in general and school staff in
particular. Yet providing an open atmosphere is fundamental to
mending self-concepts and a prerequisite for skill development
and the academic success necessary leading to graduation."
Good
A LITTLE SNAKY POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.nasaexplores.com/show_58_teacher_st.php?id=021227130928
A lesson plan for grades 5-8 on poetry using
the characteristics of snakes. "Objective: To practice writing
types of poetry relating to snake characteristics." Good
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH QUIZ
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-19534.html
A brief quiz on poetry. Good
PERFORMANCE POETRY – LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0024.html
A lesson plan for grades 7-12.
"Performing
a poem is the best way to move students from literal
interpretations to figurative interpretations of literature. For
many students, it is difficult to begin to think in abstract
ways. Students need to learn to open their minds in order to
survive in and appreciate the world in which they live."
Good
POETRY CUBES – LESSON PLAN
NEW URL!
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0014.html
A lesson plan for grades K-12 in which
students construct poetry cubes and develop ways to interpret a
poem. Adaptable for each grade level. Good
POETRY – DEVELOPING A TASTE – AN INTEGRATED
UNIT
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/3_97_PoetryTaste.pdf
A unit on poetry for 3rd grade
students in which they learn about different types of poetry and
poets. Good
POETRY LESSON PLANS
http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/language_arts/poetry/
A page with links to 76 lesson plans on
poetry. We did not judge the quality of each of the lesson plans.
Good
POETRY PLUS II – AN INTEGRATED UNIT
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/32K_Poetry_Plus.pdf
A unit on poetry for 3rd grade
students in which they learn about different forms of poetry and
begin to create their own. This is a follow-up to another unit
which we could not locate on the web. Good
POETRY WORKSHEETS
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-14856.html
Four printable worksheets. 1/Word Scramble
2/Poets & Poems 3/Alphabetizing Poets 4/Poetry Terms. Good
TIPS ON TEACHING POETRY FROM POETIC POWER
NEW!
http://www.poeticpower.com/plugs1/
A collection of basic lesson plans for grades
3-12. Good
UNRAVELING BURNS – LESSON PLAN
NEW!
http://www.knowledge.state.va.us/cgi-bin/lesview.cgi?idl=925
A lesson plan for 12th grade
students on the poetry of Robert Burns. "Purpose:
To introduce students to the Scottish dialect and a fuller
understanding of poetry by Robert Burns."
Good
USING CREATIVE DRAMATICS WITH THE TEACHING OF
POETRY - LESSON PLAN
http://atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/PoetryDramatics.shtml
A lesson plan for 4-6th grade students on
poetry. Students form teams to read and interpret poems then
create a skit based on the meaning of the poem. Good

WEBQUESTS
BEAT POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.ocean.k12.wa.us/ilwacohi/english/beatpoetrywebquest.htm
A webquest for junior high students on beat
poetry.
"During this webquest you will not only explore the
life, times, and poetry of the Beats, but you will also have an
opportunity to participate in online discussions about original
Beat poetry with your peers. You will end by creating your own
original Beat-inspired poem that you will share at our classroom
"cocoa-house" poetry readings. Come prepared to listen to jazz,
drink cocoa, and enjoy some great poetry!"
Excellent
CAMDEN POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.camdenstation.com/poetquest/intro.htm
A webquest for upper elementary students on
poetry. It goes through what poetry is, its forms and leads
students to create their own poetry. Excellent
COMMOTION IN POETRY-POETRY IN COMMOTION –
WEBQUEST
http://www.lakelandschools.org/EDTECH/poetry.htm
A webquest for middle school students on
poetry styles.
"At the annual poetry convention in Frost, New
Hampshire, the poets are agitated. When one poet submitted
her cinquain entry, some of the participants protested that it
did not fit the bill; it did not fall into the traditional
pattern of a cinquain poem. A heated debate ensued, and
became a broader question: What is a cinquain, and what is
a haiku? And, furthermore, what is a tanka? Your job is to
research these three poetry forms and put an end to the
controversy!"
We found a couple of broken links on this site.
Excellent
CONTEMPORARY POETRY – AMERICAN
TRANSCENDENTALISM – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.shepherd.edu/transweb/contemporarypoetrywebquest.htm
A webquest for senior high students on poetry
and how it was influenced by transcendentalism.
"Overview: In
this WebQuest, you will explore contemporary poets who have been
influenced by the Transcendentalists. The poems are clustered
according to theme: some explore the role of the imagination,
others focus on studies of nature, and still others look at
issues of solitude or nonconformity. Choose one "cluster" to
explore and write about. Bring your ideas to class."
Doesn’t
follow the usual webquest form but excellent. Excellent
DO YOU HAIKU? WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://education.iupui.edu/webquests/haikuI/index.htm
A webquest for junior/senior high students on
haiku. "Joining together as writers and researchers, you will
explore the scene of Haiku on the Internet from four different
perspectives. You will then create a journal with the
information you've gathered and created. The journal will
be created using Microsoft Publisher. You will also create
a PowerPoint Presentation to introduce the class to the art form
of Haiku."
Excellent
HAIKU HAPPINESS – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.cape.k12.mo.us/clippard/kyle/Haiku%20Happiness.htm
A webquest for 3rd grade students
on haiku. "You have been chosen by the famous Japanese
musician, Hank Hoto, to show your expertise in illustrating Haiku
poetry with a sound carpet. You will be using instruments,
found sounds and movements to create your own composition.
He is hunting for new and bright students to tour with him
throughout the world. Have fun and good luck!"
Excellent
HURRAY FOR POETRY – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.schools.pinellas.k12.fl.us/educators/tec/pravda3/Poetry%20WebQuest/powebqst.html
A webquest for 5th grade students
on poetry.
"Students and teachers, this web quest is designed
to help you make a poetry appreciation book. Your job on this
quest is to go to a variety of poetry sites, find poetry that you
enjoy, and add it to a poetry book that you can keep. Hopefully
this book will grow as your enjoyment of poetry grows. You can,
of course, add to this book by writing poetry of your own and by
finding it in books as well."
We found some broken links on
this site. Excellent
IN DEFENSE OF POETRY – WEBQUEST
NEW URL!
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/itech/webquests/su2002/tauser/appoetry/index.htm
A webquest for 11th & 12th
grade students on poetry.
"Congratulations on the acceptance
of your application for membership on the Advanced Placement
Literature and Composition Test Writing Committee. You are
now an official member of the College Board's Educational Testing
Service. The knowledge, experience, and expertise you have
included on your application have indicated that the most
sensible utilization of your abilities will be on the prestigious
Poem Analysis Sub-Committee. Your primary responsibility as
a committee member will be to help to write the A.P. Literature
and Composition Examination poetry essay question for this year's
test.
Your input will be integral to the selection
of the poem that will be analyzed by hundreds of thousands of our
nation's top students on the A.P. Lit. exam, so our expectation
is that you will regard this responsibility with the utmost
respect. You were selected for this committee on the basis
not only of your intelligence and expertise but also of your
integrity and work ethic. These high school students
deserve the best effort we can provide, and we believe that you
will be able to contribute significantly to that goal."
Excellent
"KIDD’S RIME TIME" POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www2.franciscan.edu/webquests/kiddsrime/
A webquest for 4th grade students
on poetry.
"Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to Kidd’s Rime Time
Circus!! Today in the center ring you are going to learn about
five amazing death-defying types of poetry. Later, in ring #1,
you will be asked to perform daring acts of poetry creations.
Finally, in ring #3, as you juggle your new found knowledge of
poetry, you will be asked to complete a spine tingling circus
scavenger hunt."
We found several broken links on this site.
Excellent
LANGSTON DICKINSON WHITMAN? – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.idahlberg.net/wqtemplate.html
A webquest for grade 10 on poets. "The Task
You have been asked to return to sometime in the first 250 years
of the former United States of America in order to: ● Prove your
time machine still works ● Gather together three famous poets
from the past ● Ask the three poets to work together on a new
poem ● Study them as they work and observe their differing poetic
styles ● Return to the present, report on your observations, and
present the new poem to Alberto Uthgar Nishihara -and- ● Eat a
hamburger You will submit the poem and your report using one of
those "retro" computer thingies. So that you don’t shock the
citizens of Fresno into the modern era, you will even find some
paper and ink using your black market connections in order to
print everything out. If you find a hamburger, you will ensure
that you leave no trace of it behind. This is your mission!"
Excellent
MODERN AMERICAN POETRY WEBQUEST
http://www.webspawner.com/users/drjm8f/
A webquest on modern American poetry.
"Home
Teams have been grouped into cooperative learning groups based on
diversity of talents and skills. Each Home Team has been assigned
a Modern American poet (Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Gwendolyn
Brooks, T.S. Eliot, or Edna St. Vincent Millay). Home Team
members will compile a journal of 10 literary elements of poetry
containing definitions and examples. Each Home Team member will
select one pair of literary elements to define and discuss in
Expert Teams. Expert Teams are comprised of members studying the
same pair of literary elements. Expert Team members are
responsible for teaching their elements to their fellow Home Team
members. Home Teams will also study their poets and poems to
learn how their Modern American poet views modern society and
culture. Each Home Team will conduct an interview with the
assigned poet and write an article discussing the poet’s views on
American society and culture. Home Teams will select at least two
poems to study, analyze, and interpret for the whole class in an
oral presentation. Presentations will explore the meaning of the
poems and reveal literary elements. In addition, Home Teams will
discuss how their poet views America and what major themes occur
in the poet’s poetry to reflect his/her attitude toward American
society."
Excellent
POETRY INDEPENDENT STUDY – WEBQUEST
http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/poetry/index.htm
A webquest for junior/senior high students on
poets. Students must choose a poet from the list, write a short
biography and analyze two of that poet’s poems. We found one
broken link on this site. Excellent
POETRY QUEST
NEW!
http://www.rccsd.org/RKeim/index.htm
A webquest for senior high students on poetry.
"Rationale: Students are often confused by poetry because they
are unfamiliar with it. By discovering the types of poetry and
breaking poetry and its elements down into manageable and
understandable areas, students will be able to identify multiple
forms of poetry and express themselves in some of those forms."
Excellent
POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://mrshopeenglish.wikispaces.com/Poetry+WebQuest
A webquest on poetry for middle school
students.
"You have begun your journey of higher education! In
order to become a more sophisticated, well-rounded student, you
will study poetry.
(No groans are needed!) Your journey involves being a critic of
famous poetry! You must decide which poems will be used for
future reference in SWAS English!
"You're a poet and you didn't even know it!"
Your journey into the world of sophistication continues with
oringinal poetry! Using your writing savvy and new-found
knowledge of poetry, you will compose a poem that rates as well
as the classics!
You will read, analyze, and compose poetry. It
is time to sharpen your minds, not just your pencils, and become
great literature scholars. Your quest begins now!"
Excellent
POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.stewartcountyschools.net/des/Poetry%20WebQuest.htm
A webquest for 4th grade students
on poetry.
"Your task will be to explore and research various
types of poetry. You will learn the components of different
poetry forms. You will also read poems written by famous
poets as well as children the same age as you. Next, you
will produce your own poems!"
Excellent
WANTED: JUNIOR POETS – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/rgrandmont/index.html
A webquest for upper elementary/middle school
students on poetry. "This is a standards-based WebQuest
designed to encourage children to write free-verse poetry while
incorporating their knowledge of celebrations. It has been developed to provide students with
the opportunity to be creative and inquisitive. Students will be
motivated by the exciting adventure that they are about to embark
on."
Excellent
WELCOME TO POETQUEST: A POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.newhouser.net/poetry/
A webquest for 9th grade students
on poetry. "Hello and welcome to PoetQuest! an Introduction to
Poetry WebQuest! Upon the completion of this WebQuest, you will
be able to: ●Identify and define poetry literary terms. ●
Identify defining features of several different types of poetry.
● Write your own poetry that is both creative and follows the
rules of poetic forms. Wow, all of this sounds pretty
complicated, doesn't it?
Well, I guarantee that you are a POET and you
didn't even KNOW IT! Trust me, it's easier than you THINK! You'll
get it in a BLINK! Let's get started! Click the TASKS link to the
left under Quest Navigation!"
Excellent
WORLD WAR I POETS – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.macleans.school.nz/students/languages/webquests/war_poets_wq/introduction.htm
A webquest from New Zealand on the poets of
World War I. "World War One (1914-1918) is known in hindsight
as the ‘Great War'. It was supposed to be the ‘war to end all
wars'. Patriotism was a concept on which people's attitudes
towards war were based. Fighting on the battlefield, even at the
risk of the ultimate sacrifice, was seen by many as an
‘honourable' action.
However, for the soldiers, the glory and
excitement of war, while still in England, was soon replaced with
the horrors and reality of trench warfare. Many young soldiers,
some still in their teens, began to write poetry as a means to
explore and escape their nightmares.
Much of their poetry survived the war. The
‘war poets' represent a broad spectrum of war experiences.
Through their poetry, we can trace how their attitudes towards
war sometimes changed and how they were influenced by one of the
most catastrophic events in human history."
We found some
broken links on this site. Introduces poets students would not be
aware of. Excellent

DIVE RIGHT IN! A WEBQUEST FOR 8TH
GRADE POETRY
NEW!
http://wneo.org/WebQuests/TeacherWebQuests/DiveRightIn/diverightin.htm
A webquest for 8th grade students
on poetry.
"Fact: Because you live, you are a poet.
Within you are images and imaginings and marvelous thoughts that
need to be recorded. We’re going to dive right into an
assignment that will be a record of how you felt, what your
dreams were, and how you observed the world around you in eighth
grade.
You’ll be using this WebQuest to investigate various forms of
poetry, see how other students responded to these forms, and
eventually write your own poems, sometimes alone and other times
in groups. You will be creating a poetry book with an
emphasis on you, your friends, and the world around you."
We
found a couple of broken links on this site. Very Good
GEOMETRY MEETS POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://newman.needham.k12.ma.us/learningmaps/webquests/new_math_poetry/main.htm
A webquest for junior high students on poetry.
"What do poetry and math have in common? The NES Publishing
Company has hired Mrs. Deane's class and Mrs. Modena's class to
find out! Your role will be to merge geometry with poetry, and
create an animated gif that reflects the changes your selected
geometric concept goes through! Your poems will be part of a
poetry collection that will surely be used by other teachers to
revolutionize the teaching of geometry. Your success in working
on this project is certain to influence future generations for
years to come."
We found several broken links on this site.
Very Good
GREEN PINES POETS SOCIETY – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/greenpines/Glaser/WebQuests/Poetry%20Webquest/index.html
A webquest for 4th grade students
on poetry.
"You are invited to join the Green Pines Poets
Society When: during your 4th grade school year Where: your
4th grade classroom Please bring your poetry expertise, a poetry
reading, and an original published poem In order to assist you
with the completion of these membership requirements, please
continue to the task and process pages"
We found a couple of
broken links on this site. Very Good
A HAIKU WEB QUEST
NEW!
http://homepages.ius.edu/TALROBBI/
A webquest on haiku for middle school
students.
"At first, Haiku poetry appears to be a very simple
form of poetry, but there is much more to it than you may
realize. Follow this web quest, to gather information about Haiku
and then compose one for yourself."
Very Good
KIDZ WORDZ: A POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.mcps.org/fbranch/Poetry/poetry.htm
A webquest for elementary students on poetry.
"Your team works for Kidz Workz Magazine. For the next
issue the editor would like to focus on poetry. He has
assigned several teams the job of creating a poetry section.
He will select the best one to be published. There are
specific items that he expects to see in your section.
Using his guidelines and the resources you will create a poetry
section to present to the editor. You may choose to show
your section using Hyperstudio, KidPix, or ClarisWorks Slideshow.
Your team wants your section chosen for the issue. Make it
the best!"
We found mostly broken links on this site. You’ll
need to add your own. Very Good
LOVE THAT DOG – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.bgcs.k12.oh.us/kramp/poetry.htm
A webquest on poetry and the book by Sharon
Creech Love That Dog.
"Love That Dog is a the story of
a student named Jack who is exploring poetry and looking for
inspiration. The story is written as a collection of Jack's
poetry as he tries to find his own poetical voice. Over the
coarse of the year he finds that he enjoys writing poems about
his dog, Sky. After he finds his inspiration, he learns to love
poetry and gains the courage to share his words with his class
(which is not always easy to do!). After reading this book you
will also be exploring poetry. Before you begin, let's find out
some information about the book Love That Dog and the
books' author Sharon Creech."
You will need to add
your own links. All are broken. Very Good
THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN IN WHITE: EMILY DICKINSON
WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.madison.k12.ky.us/district/projects/WebQuest/Emily/emily.htm
A webquest for 11th grade students
on Emily Dickinson.
"You are a young reporter for the Amherst
Daily News. You have just been informed that the mysterious woman
that used to lower cookies in a basket from her bedroom window to
you and the other children of the town has died. Your boss has
just given you the assignment to write an article eulogizing this
woman, Emily Dickinson, for the newspaper. All that you know
about her is that she was the daughter of a prominent lawyer, and
that she must have liked children."
We found several broken
links on this site. Very Good
POETRY ANTHOLOGY – WEBQUEST
http://www.ottawaelem.lasall.k12.il.us/OES%20folder/OES/Shepherd/mywebquest2/!Poetry%20Webquest.html
A webquest for middle school students in which
they must form teams to create a poetry anthology.
"As a
member of a publishing company, you have been selected to create
a book of poetry. Your job will be to research poets and
poetic styles and produce an anthology of poetry. You will
have complete freedom with this project; however, a few
guidelines have been set for you to follow."
We found one
broken link on this site. Very Good
POETRY BREAK – WEBQUEST
http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/poetry/poetry.htm
A webquest on poetry for elementary students.
"Need a break? How about a poetry break? Visit a pumpkin patch
of poetry and read other students' poems. Learn about different
types of poetry. Create, publish and illustrate your own original
poems. It's fun and it's easy! How about a poetry pen pal? It's
all right here."
Very Good
POETRY FOR CHILDREN WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.longwood.k12.ny.us/wq/hakmax/index.html
A webquest for elementary students on poetry.
"Welcome to the Poetry Project. You and your classmates are
going to create your own book of poetry. Don’t be scared! You are
going to create a class anthology. What’s that? Well, it’s a
collection of poems written by different poets. You will be able
to use the poems you find here! Sound easy? It is; and it’s fun,
too. Click on Task to find out exactly what you need to do."
We found a couple of broken links on this site. Very Good
POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.frazee.k12.mn.us/staffweb/jacobson2n/petrywebquest.htm
A poetry webquest for 5th grade
students.
"Your task will be to research and read various
types of poetry. By doing this you will learn the
components (parts) of different poetry forms, as well as some of the history behind each form. Then
you will read poems written by well known poets, as well as by
children from around the world. Next you will write some
poetry on your own, publish it and create your own Poetry
Portfolio. It is my hope that at least one poem from each
student will be posted on our Classroom Website."
We found
some broken links on this site. Very Good
POETS AND POEMS – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://web.syr.edu/~rdiflori/webquest/poemsfor8th.html
A webquest on poetry for middle school
students.
"Your group will choose two poems from the web site
given to you in this web quest and compare them to each other
using a double bubble thinking map. Then you will write an essay
comparing the difference between the two poems."
Very Good
THE POETS WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.mason.k12.ky.us/mcms/class/spangler/webquest.html
A webquest on poets for 6th grade
students.
"Poetry. A writing that enriches the soul.
Literature so beautiful that it makes even the toughest challenge
seem bearable. Poetry is one of the most common forms of
expression. The most common feeling that it expresses is
love, although it can express any feeling. Hate, anger,
happiness and grief... the list is endless. We have all
heard the poem.... Roses are red Violets are blue....
now it is time to move on and learn how to
express your feelings in a much deeper way. So get ready!
Get set! Go and learn by searching for poems that will make you
cry, laugh, and sigh... Who knows one day we may even be
searching for one that you have written."
Excellent
QUEST FOR POETRY
NEW!
http://www.cesa8.k12.wi.us/teares/math/it/webquests/QuestforPoetry/index.htm
A webquest for elementary/middle school
students on poetry.
"Congratulations! You have
just been hired as the newest editing team for Chipper's
Publishing Company. Our company is considering a new type
of publishing: Children's Poetry Books. Several
teams have been hired to do research and create sample books.
Your goal is to produce and present a sample poetry book that
will convince the company board members that this is a profitable
and worthy endeavor. The board members are especially interested
in new, undiscovered poets. To help convince them that
there are lots of new poets, each team member will need to write
a poem for the sample book."
We found several broken links on
this site. Very Good
SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN POETS WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://students.ou.edu/L/Jeremy.M.Lang-1/projects/webquest/index.html
A webquest for junior/senior high students on
Spanish and Latin American poets.
"Reading Spanish and Latin
American poetry is the basis for this lesson, and I want you to
feel free to explore the different styles and techniques that
poets utilize.
The task at hand is this: Find a poem by a
Spanish or Latin American poet that is interesting or meaningful
to you. Then, research biographical information about that poet.
Combine thoughts, impressions, and biographical information into
a concept map so that others can experience your analysis of the
poem."
Introduces poets students would not be aware of. We
found some broken links on this site. Very Good
WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE – BIOGRAPHIES OF POETS –
WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://webinstituteforteachers.org/~dguerrero/poets.html
A webquest for 7th grade students
on poets.
"Wanted Dead or Alive! Biographies of poets to
be placed in a scrapbook. You will create your own
scrapbook page to be on display for other students, faculty and
staff to view."
Very Good

ELEMENTS OF POETRY – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~kpope/645/WebQuest.html
A webquest for grades 6-8 on poetry. "Snap!
Crackle! Pop! Hiss! Boom! What in the world is
that?! These are examples of Onamotopoeia. This
element of poetry helps us to "hear" and "see" what is happening
in a poem. It is those words that sound exactly like they
are spelled. This is one of several poetic devices we will
study before we can begin to write poetry. Poetry can be a
lot of fun to create once you learn some of the techniques.
In this WebQuest, we will study several different types of
elements used by poets to write poetry. Poets love to play
with words and they try to find the "perfect" ones to help you
clearly understand and "see" what they are writing about.
With creative use of these elements they can do just that - and
so can you!"
We found several broken links on this site. Good
LANGSTON HUGHES, THE POET – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.rblewis.net/technology/EDU506/WebQuests/hughes/lhughes.html
A webquest for middle school/junior high
students on Langston Hughes.
"The Tasks: Each student will be
able to: Recognize the poetry of Langston Hughes, Review the
history of Langston Hughes, Gain a greater understanding of the
poetry of Langston Hughes, and Complete several exciting
activities."
Most of the links on this site are broken. You’ll
need to substitute new ones. Good
POETRY QUEST
http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/stennille/ST3/poetrywq.htm
A webquest for upper elementary students on
poetry in which they will learn about poetry and create and
publish poems of their own. Good
POETRY SCAVENGER HUNT – WEBQUEST
NEW URL!
http://www.swlauriersb.qc.ca/english/edservices/pedresources/webquest/poetry/poetryhunt.htm
A webquest for elementary students in which
they follow links to poems and then answer a question about each
poem. We found a few broken links on this site. Good
A POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://cuip.uchicago.edu/~jlemon/wit2002/introductionyes.htm
A webquest on poetry for 4th grade
students.
"Have you ever been so excited about something that
you wanted to share your news with the world! Have you ever been
angry, and had no one to confide. Poetry provides a great way to express
yourself. Upon completion of this unit, you will create an
original poetry book. Your book should be creative and uniquely
yours. Now's your time - EXPRESS YOURSELF!"
Good
POETRY WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/westridge/casper/poetry/Poetry%20WebQuest.htm
A webquest for upper elementary students on
poetry.
"Your task will be to explore and research various
types of poetry. You will learn the components of different
poetry forms as well as the history behind each form. Then you
will read poems written by famous poets as well as from children
around the world. Next, you will write poetry on your own for
classroom publication. As a group, we will share the poems that
have been written."
Good
SHEL SILVERSTEIN POETRY FUN – WEBQUEST
NEW!
http://www.coe.unt.edu/patterson/webquests/vaughn/vaughn.htm
A webquest for 4th grade students
on poetry and the works of Shel Silverstein.
"The students
will become familiar with rhyme patterns that make a rhyme poem. Students will be able to describe rhyme
patterns seen in Shel Silverstein poems and write 2 rhyme poems
that will be placed on the bulletin board outside of the
classroom. The materials that will be used for this activity are
a worksheet, bulletin board, and a fact sheet on rhyme poems."
We found a couple of broken links on this site. Good
WEBQUEST – PUBLISH WITH PO-ETREE, INC.
http://tli.jefferson.k12.ky.us/EDTD675Projects/cathy/PoetryWQ/poetry.htm
A webquest for middle school students in which
teams of students must prepare a compilation of teen poems for
publishing. The catch: they must write the poems. Good

Disclaimer: We cannot check every link within
each site.
Prepared by the Cumberland County AVA Center
staff. Please call #856-451-0817 or email:
avacenter@cumbavac.org
with questions or suggestions for future web site lists. This
list is also posted on our website at
http://www.salemcountyava.org
The site list is also posted on three other
web sites::
http://www.atlanticava.org
http://www.cjims.org/links.htm
February 2008
You are welcome to post our lists on
your website.
If you do, you must credit Carol Lyn Hutton, Cumberland County AVA Center,
Bridgeton, NJ, post the list in its entirety and link back to our site.
http://www.cumbavac.org
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