Four weeks into the new school year, my new poetry class is quickly becoming my FAVORITE class of the day. Here’s what we’ve done so far… but know that we are just getting started, so stay tuned. Read on…
Category Archives: Poetry Lessons
A New Poem Activity for The Wanderer
While our study of The Wanderer included some note-taking, reading the poem aloud, and completing a close-reading activity, I wanted us to go one step further to get more out of this beautiful verse. So when I read about something called the “Ubi sunt” motif present in The Wanderer, I took notice… especially when I considered how it might be a way for students to better connect personally to this poem.
Back to school: Four icebreaker poetry ideas
Get to know your students with these poetry mentor texts School is starting soon in most locales of the United States and teachers are busy gearing up to find interesting. low-stakes ways to get students writing. Poetry is always a no-fail way to encourage students of all ages to get back in the swing ofContinue reading “Back to school: Four icebreaker poetry ideas”
Three back-to-school ELA lesson ideas
Needing some fresh ideas for the first day back at school? Want to avoid the ubiquitous “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” drudgery?
Movie captions and text create unique poems
When text passages from a novel mingle with captions or subtitles from its accompanying movie, interesting things happen. Here’s what I mean: I always watch movies with the subtitles on. It helps me catch every word of dialogue and also catch every nuance given through the sound effects.
Teaching 9/11 Twenty Years Later
If you’re needing a round-up of resources for teaching 9/11, you’re in a good place. In this post, I’ve compiled links to all my 9/11-related articles. Hopefully, one of these will give you some ideas as you make plans to remember 9/11 in your classroom this year.
“Song of Myself” Video Project Reveals Walt Whitman’s Importance Today
And then I stumbled upon something amazing: Whitman, Alabama. This was the inspiration I needed to demonstrate the importance of Walt Whitman’s poetry in American culture today.
Three Poems to Pair with The Great Gatsby
Have you ever wanted a few poems to pair with The Great Gatsby? Y’know, a few good, not-too-longish poems to work as bell-ringers, if needed, or add-on texts to supplement literary analysis essays?
The Dream of the Rood: a dream of a poem
Last fall, as I read and planned lessons for Beowulf, “The Wanderer,” and “The Seafarer,” I kept coming across “The Dream of the Rood.” It wasn’t included in our textbook, but since I kept reading about it (and it was included in my trusty Norton anthology, after all), I became more and more curious. Fast forward: my “Dream of the Rood” close reading activity is here!
The Slice of Life Poem
Recently, it occurred to me that slice of life writing would work equally well in poetic form.
