Middle School English

The Red Wheelbarrow Video

Unit 3: Poetry

Great poetry resources

The project is assembling an electronic archive of volumes of American poetry prior to 1920. The full text of each volume of poetry is being converted into digital form and coded in Standard Generalized Mark-up Language (SGML) using the TEI Guidelines, with various forms of access provided through the WWW.

Unit 1

Child Labor Resources

Lots and lots of great reading resources

Mini-lessons

Emily Dickinson Rap

Lyric Poetry Matrix The following matrix lists information about the poems read. As you view the matrix, look for common characteristics, relationships between characteristics, and unique qualities that stand out.

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.

Metaphor Poetry

Interactive Activity

Welcome to Poetry 180. Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives. Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed.

How To Read a Poem Out Loud Listen to former Poet Laureate Billy Collins talk about reading a poem.

Welcome adventurers! You are about to "step into the poet's shoes." But, like Cinderella's glass slipper, only one shoe is right for you. To find the right fit, you will be trying on many different shoes--exploring a variety of poets and their poems to find a poet whose writing has special meaning for you. Once you have found your match, you will select a poem, slip into the poet's shoes, and perform your poem for the class.