Poets Teacher Resources

Add a strong poetry lesson to your literature unit. Middle and high schoolers investigate their writing voices with journaling and group discussion, then choose a famous poet to study. They write letters to their chosen poets, explaining...

Feature one famous artist a month with a series of portraits, biographies, and examples of their gallery. With masters such as Augustus Rodin, Francisco Goya, and Michelangelo, the resource provides opportunities every month for kids to...

Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks,...

Whether focusing on African American poets, Black History Month, or the poetic experience, an amazing toolkit that encourages learners to develop unique poetic voices deserves a place in your curriculum. 

A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this lesson mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but to create their...

Ten questions about famous African-Americans are presented in this interactive presentation. If a question is answered correctly, "Happy," the smiley face, is happy; if it is answered incorrectly, he is sad and sick. "Happy" will keep...

Students investigate well known poets, forms, and poetry terms. They explore various websites, complete an online scavenger hunt, and take an online poetry test.

In this word search worksheet, students search and find vocabulary words as they relate to famous poets. Words may be located forward, backward, up, down, and diagonally.

After reading about the life of George Moses Horton, the first slave to publish anti-slavery poetry, learners will recall his major accomplishments, provide a summary of the obstacles he faced, and identify common aspects of the...

Pupils have the unique opportunity to learn about the institution of slavery by reading first-hand experiences as described by George Moses Horton, the first slave to publish anti-slavery poetry.

Here's a new take on a new year. After watching and discussing the video of Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman performing her "New Day's Lyric," young poets craft poems that reflect their feelings about the past year and their resolutions...

An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...

Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...

When delving into such writings as "I Too Sing America" or "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by poet, novelist, and playwright Langston Hughes, don't forget to provide this important historical background information on the Harlem Renaissance...

The expanded timeline of Emily Dickinson's life is displayed on these slides. A plethora of information is presented covering main events, Dickinson's limited relationships, and her poetry. The majority of the slides contain the text of...

Students engage in a lesson plan that looks at the culture of Japan to isolate the practices of painting and writing in several different traditions. They conduct research about the lives of the artists using a variety of resources. The...

Free verse poetry is often regarded as poetry without structure, but in reality, it is a poetic form that adheres to its own poet's thought and breath patterns. Delve into the rules and famous examples of free-verse poetry with a short...

Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...

How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...

Believe it or not, the world's first author was a woman! A short, illustrated video tells the story of Enheduanna, a Sumerian princess, priestess, and poet who is credited as being the first author. 

It wasn't easy being a woman, a nun, a poet, and an activist for women's rights in the mid-17th century, especially in Mexico. Juana Ramirez de Asbaje was all the above. Learn more about this amazing woman in a short video that details...

In this art and literature worksheet, students answer short answer questions about famous books, authors, characters, and more. Students complete 20 questions.

Although some African American abolitionists—such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass—are well known, others, like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, remain in the shadows of history. Harper was a poet and activist who played an...

Learn more about the work of Gwendolyn Brooks with a language arts lesson plan. Young learners read an informational passage about the acclaimed poet before attempting a shape poem of their own.