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

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

CHILDREN’S POETRY ARCHIVE                 NEW!
http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do
A large collection of poems for children. Excellent

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE – 42EXPLORE             NEW!
http://42explore.com/figlang.htm
Basic information for elementary students on figurative language including links, activities and webquests. 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

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, 17^th 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

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

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 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

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

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

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: 18^th Century Poets, 19^th 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

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 21^st 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 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

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

TWENTIETH CENTURY POETRY                 NEW!
http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/20CAmericanandBritish.htm
Links to a large number of 20^th 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

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

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

THE HAIKU GALLERY             NEW!
http://www.haikugallery.com/
A collection of haiku poems produced by 2^nd and 3^rd grade students. Includes information on how to write haiku. 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

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

POEM HUNTER             NEW!
http://www.poemhunter.com/
A searchable online collection of over 310,000 poems. 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

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

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

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: 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 1^st 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

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

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