Scholars take part in two exercises to boost their knowledge of personification. After reading a detailed description and excerpts from famous poems, writers list action verbs and objects then combine words to create a humorous...

The cat might have got your tongue, but you can’t avoid the elephant in the room while you wait for the other shoe to drop. After all, the early bird gets the worm and the chickens are circling. After researching Poet Laureate Kay Ryan...

Fifth graders write poetry using imagery and practice poetry presentation. In this poetry lesson plan, 5th graders listen as the teacher reads a humorous poem using different voice modulations and presentation techniques. They discuss...

Use text marking and highlighting to explore the structure of a poem. After listening to Allan Ahlberg read "Please Mrs. Butler," learners locate stanzas and patterns on their copy of the poem using the text marking technique. Class...

Poetry can be fun! To set your pupils giggling, have them listen to poems from If Kids Ruled the School by Bruce Lansky. Then, they can study the different types of poetry on www.gigglepoetry.com, and choose one form on which to...

Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. For this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...

A delightful lesson on poetry is here for you and your middle schoolers. Learners are instructed to write a Halloween poem. They get to choose the age range for the audience of the poem. So, it may be scary (for older kids), or humorous...

After a close reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" individuals copy the rhythm and rhyme scheme and rewrite the final stanzas of the poem.

Fifth graders analyze many examples of African-American poetry and examine how different poems reflect the cultural experiences of African-Americans. The poems and spirituals chosen are very effective for public presentation.

Students discuss the meaning and tone of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.  In this sonnets lesson, students compare Spenser's sonnets to Shakespeare's.  Students discuss specific words that add to the humor in Shakespeare's sonnet,...

Second graders read the poem together, "Quack Said the Billy-goat" and discuss what makes the poem funny and which words rhyme. They observe the teacher writing a new first verse, changing some of the text, but leaving the original rhyme...

Students investigate the performance aspect of poetry by reading, writing and discussing poetry pieces.

Students generate a word bank drawing on vocabulary from fifteen school related topics. They use the word bank to write poetry in the styles of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky.

Students read selected poems by Pablo Neruda. They also read short biographies of the author online to gain a better knowledge of the types of adversity Neruda faced throughout his lifetime. They begin to explore the concept of imagery...

Sixth graders explore the writing of Shel Silverstein. They listen to the story, The Giving Tree, explore the Shel Silverstein website, read poems, and create and write a humorous poem.

Fourth graders become familiar with the culture and history of Indiana.  In this James Whitcomb Riley instructional activity, 4th graders read poetry which includes the dialect of Indiana.  Students analyze the poem. ...

Eighth graders identify figurative language and poetry in this literary analysis lesson. Using Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and a YouTube video for "The Walrus and the Carpenter," young readers complete a literary device...

Students discover the formula for writing limericks and use it to write their own poems.

Students study Langston Hughes's poetry, short stories, and his first autobiography. They read and appreciate the candid, honest and powerful creative masterpieces of this black genius and discuss the numerous universal themes and...

Oh, what fun! Young logophiles and neologists create a dictionary-sounding definition for imaginary words and try to fool their classmates.

Students design mythical creatures and write poems about them. They take digital pictures of their artwork and create a digital picture book. They record their readings of the poetry to be added a class recording.

Teaching the Aeneid this year? Read this quick article to develop some plans and strategies for teaching the epic poem to your advanced learners.

Students read the book I Am Tall and complete several reading response activities relating to the poems in the book. In this reading response lesson plan, students focus on the subject of fathers and make speculations about what the...

Third graders choose a Robert Munsch poem to interpret. In this language arts lesson plan, 3rd graders interpret their chosen poem by either acting it out or through illustrations. Once the interpretations are complete, students send...