Writing: Poetry for Upper Levels
These sites are about poetry and writing poems for upper grade levels. There are many examples of poetry, including audio recordings of poets reading their work or people reading and talking about their favorite poems, as well as textual resources. There are lesson plans and activity ideas. Students can write their own poems, write a poem collaboratively, or organize a poetry slam. Includes eThemes resources on poetry for elementary levels, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Maya Angelou.
Grades
- 8,
- 9,
- 10,
- 11,
- 12
Links
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Poetry Express
This online writer's resource has tips for creating, sharing, and publishing poetry. There are fifteen ideas for poems you can write right now, and an interactive tool for quick inspiration. NOTE: This site links to a site with a discussion forum.
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The Poetry Archive
This is an online collection of recordings of poets reading their poems, along with the text. You can browse poems by title, form, or theme. There are biographies of the poets and resources for teachers and students such as tips for listening, activity ideas, and a children's archive for younger students.
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Representative Poetry Online
This online index contains over 3,000 English poems by 500 poets. The index can be searched by poet name, date, poem title, first or last line, and keyword. Also included are a glossary, bibliography, and timeline.
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PBS: Poetry Site
On this site, students can read poems by other teens, or watch videos of teenagers talking about and reading their favorite poems. There are lesson plans, information about poetry slams, and examples of the rules and forms of poetry. Students can learn about ways that poetry relates to their lives.
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PBS: Poetry Slam Lesson Plan
This lesson plan uses a poetry slam to give students practice writing, performing, and judging poetry. Students can work cooperatively to organize a competition, and gain confidence in their group interactions and ability to write poetry.
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Favorite Poem Project
This project, developed by former United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, features videos of Americans reciting their favorite poems. There are also teaching lesson plans and other resources for teachers.
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PBS: Fooling With Words
This site details the 2000 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, the largest poetry event in North America. There is a Teacher's Guide, lesson plans, audio clips, a slide show, and poems from each of the festival's featured poets. NOTE: This site contains a discussion forum.
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Academy of American Poets
Explore this extensive site to find information on poems, poets, and poetry events. There is a poetry audio archive, podcasts, and resources for educators including lesson plans. NOTE: This site has a discussion forum.
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Collaborative Poetry
Here is a group activity idea to help students get used to the process of writing poetry. NOTE: This site for teachers contains sponsored links, ads, and a chat room.
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Teaching Poetry
Here are five activities designed to help students relate poetry to their lives. Students can use the online report generator to write about their responses. NOTE: Some of the activities include links to commercial sites with ads.
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Poetry General Knowledge Quiz
Take this short quiz to test your knowledge of general poetry terms and concepts.
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30 Days of Poetry
Here is a collection of thirty lesson plan ideas along with examples of student poems.
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Ray's Poetry Page
This is a large collection of lesson plans that can be adapted to suite individual classroom needs. NOTE: This site links to a site with a guestbook. NOTE: Most of the links on the links page are broken.
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Poetry 180
This site contains 180 poems selected by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins with high school students in mind. The program offers one poem for each of the 180 days of the school year that can be read or listened to. This site also links to the Library of Congress's extensive poetry website.
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Poet's Corner
Poet's Corner is an online collection of public domain poetry resources. The poems included range from single stanzas to entire books. This site houses author, title and subject indexes, biographies, photographs, a daily poetry break, and more.
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Poetry General Knowledge Quiz
Take this interactive quiz to test your knowledge of poetry terms. You can see your results immediately.
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eThemes Resource: Writing: Poetry for Elementary Grade Level
These sites provide examples of different forms of poetry written for kids. Includes haiku, acrostic, concrete, limerick, free verse, couplet, and cinquain. Students can read the examples and then create their own original poetry. Includes a link to an eThemes Resource on poets.
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eThemes Resource: Author Study: Robert Frost and Modern American Poets
These resources are about the poet Robert Frost and his contemporaries. You will find biographical information, full-text poems, audio files, images, and lesson plans. Included are sites about other modern American poets such as Carl Sandburg, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams. Included are three related eThemes resources on poetry.
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eThemes Resource: Author Study: Maya Angelou
These sites are about author, poet, performer, and activist Dr. Maya Angelou, who wrote "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and was the second poet in U.S. history to compose and read a poem for a presidential inauguration. Find out about her life and works, read some of her poetry, and listen to interviews.
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eThemes Resource: Author Study: Emily Dickinson
These websites are about Emily Dickinson and her poetry. Read her poems and learn about the life of the famous poet. Includes analysis of her poems and lesson plans.
