Reading poetry is one of the most valuable lessons in high school English classes. There is so much to learn from each poem, and each analysis adds value to both the current poem students are studying and to future poems. However, teaching students how to analyze poetry can be rather difficult. Here are five ways students can begin to analyze poetry.
Fun poetry activities for the Secondary ELA classroom that get kids writing poetry and learning about the tools poets use to create poems.
All to often, our list of Black poets and artists gets limited to the writers who have been anthologized over an over again. I see Langston Hughes “Harlem” and Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” over and over again. These poets, phenomenal poets, are often reduced to
Analyzing poetry can be a scary thing, for both teacher and student. There are so many terms to know and understand, and so few words in a poem! When it comes
Teaching students how to write argumentative papers can be a challenging task. From teaching students how to include and refute the counterclaim to ensure students find the most relevant evidence to support their claims, teachers have their work cut out for them. This blog post will go over exactly how to teach argument writing in the secondary ELA classroom.
Pictures inspire poetry. Help middle and high school students to develop writing skills with these 13 engaging appraoches.
Engaging students in blackout poetry is a great way to teach poetry and encourage creativity. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to teach blackout poetry.
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
Poetry can be tough to teach especialy online. Using fun poetry activities and sketch notes can make poetry come alive again!
Roundup with lots of Montessori-inspired poetry activities for a poetry unit or for individual poetry activities at home or in the classroom.
While teaching the parts of speech is oftentimes a lesson that one would find in the elementary classroom, high school students also need to know their parts of speech. Learn about how to teach the parts of speech with these simple steps.
Looking for some ways to engage students in American literature? Check out tips for working with technology, rhetoric, and poetry!
We all know the benefits of discussion in the classroom whether it be teacher-led, Socratic, or any of the other effective strategies for getting kids talking. However, silent discussions can also be a powerful tool for active reading and learning. Silent discussions work well because: All students participate. Classroom discussions can be monopolized by a ... Read more
3 Ways to Use Drama in the ELA Classroom By Danielle from Nouvelle ELA Using drama in the ELA classroom is one of those things you may have thought about doing, but never gotten around to. Maybe you don’t feel like you have enough time (a big one for all of us!) or maybe you lack confidence in your own drama-ness. No worries! I’m in the Coffee Shop this week to give you some tips and resources for integrating drama in your secondary English class. I have loved drama since my 3rd grade class got to be dancers in the school’s performance of “The Nutcracker”. When I was in middle and high school, I always wanted to do “acting” options for projects, sometimes asking my teachers ridiculous things like “can I show you the parts of the cell as an interpretive dance?” As a teacher, I seek to give my students the same opportunities. Drama is a great way to build public speaking skills, memory, and community in the classroom. I have used drama with grades K-12 in France, Germany, Puerto Rico, and the US, and students beg for more. Literally. After finals one year, I was planning to show a movie, and students asked to reprise some improv games instead. Awesome! So, where do you start? 1. Start with improvisation. Improv is spontaneous, unscripted acting, and it is excellent for building student confidence. First off, improv games are short and funny. Secondly, students are working toward a common goal. Third, improv is not graded and it is inherently “low stakes”. Here is a great game that I’ve used for English, ESL, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking classes and workshops. This is your go-to game if you finish your lesson early, particularly if it’s the last class of the day or a Friday. “Story, Story, Die!” Choose four students to be Storytellers, and one Pointer. The Pointer picks one person to start the story, and then randomly switches between people. The goal is to continue telling a cohesive story, picking up where the last person left off. A participant “dies” if they make a continuity error (accidentally change the setting, for example) or if they hesitate too long before picking up the thread of the story. The audience can be the judge, and participants can “die” an exaggerated stage death for more fun. Last person standing wins. Why this game is great: *Students are so focused on the story that they often forget 29 people are listening to them give a speech. Awesome! *Students have to listen to the other participants in order to succeed. Awesome! *It is hilarious and no-prep for you. Grab this freebie outlining STORY, STORY, DIE! and two other improv games for the ELA Classroom. 2. Convert “presentations” to “drama”! Remember how my younger self wanted to do an interpretative dance to show understanding of the parts of the cell? It’s time to brainstorm some ways that “drama” could be your final product. After reading “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, my students choose to be the prosecutor or defense attorney in Mrs. Maloney’s murder trial. They write closing arguments as either lawyer, spinning textual evidence to support their case. Each year, I have at LEAST half a dozen students who ask to perform their arguments. Last year, one of my classes surprised me during our reading of Lord of the Flies. They wanted to act out each chapter after reading it, and even selected a student in the class to provide dramatic narration. You do have time for this! It may take a few minutes longer to let them act out a chapter summary, but they are more likely to connect to the material whether they are “on stage” or “in the audience”, and thus you can meet your goals for understanding and engagement. 3. Perform a class play The most complete way to bring drama into the classroom is to commit to performing a whole play, whether it’s Reader’s Theatre, a Staged Reading, or something memorized. This allows students to really dive in and explore characters, plot, and setting, and they will always remember this experience. In the past, I’ve split my class into groups and each group has been responsible for one act in whatever Shakespeare play we were reading. As a class, they decide to either keep a consistent time and place, or change it up for each scene. Depending on the grade level, they use the original text, an abridged text, or create their own lines but stay faithful to the original story. We’ve had everything from post-apocalyptic Romeo and Juliet to a British comedy version of Much Ado About Nothing. You can have students video these or perform them in the classroom. It’s also great to share drama with a live audience who comes fresh to the story and production. Last year, my 9th grade Honors classes worked together to do an abridged version (1 hour) of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They worked for several weeks on this project, and completed mini-lessons on parts of the stage, blocking, voice, and levels. They performed their dress rehearsal for an audience of parents, and their final for the middle school. If you're looking for classroom-tested, 30-minute abridgements, check out my "Shakespeare in 30" series! In addition to weaving it in throughout the school year, I do a dedicated Drama Unit each year (usually with a Shakespeare play). You can grab my Intro Lesson here (an exclusive for the Secondary English Coffee Shop!), and check out how I get students on the same page before we begin. Check out these other drama resources from Coffee Shop authors: Shakespeare Mini-Book by The Classroom Sparrow Improv & Role Play Scenarios by Presto Plans What are ways that you integrate drama in your ELA classroom? We’d love to hear from you in comments or give us an IG shout-out @secondaryenglishcoffeeshop. Have a coffee-tastic day!
Analyzing poetry can be a scary thing, for both teacher and student. There are so many terms to know and understand, and so few words in a poem! When it comes
Getting students engaged in a poetry unit can be a challenge. Here are some fun poetry projects and activities to incorporate in your classroom to help spark
Hi y’all. Let me just say that poetry is quite possibly one of my favorite things to teach. I use it in all content areas. Walk into my room, and you’ll probably find a poem about the rock cycle hanging next to a poem about skip counting. II use a few different forms of poetry ... Read More about Where I’m From Poetry
By Presto Plans A few years ago I became a part-time student and enrolled in a master's course called Writing Instruction. The professor took a unique approach by having us, a group of English teachers, write our own poetry and fiction. It was an eye-opener. I realized that somewhere between high school and my first teaching job, I forgot the lonely and uneasy feeling of staring at a blank page, not knowing where to begin. When the professor allowed us to work with another teacher on the next writing piece, there was a sense of comfort in that I had someone to discuss, collaborate, and share ideas with. Collaborative writing not only broke down my reserve and hesitation, but also allowed me to foster a relationship of trust and partnership with my co-author. I wanted to bring this experience into my own classroom, so I made a point to allow more opportunities for students to write creatively with a partner or a group. Try 5 of my favorite engaging, low-prep collaborative writing activities that you can use in your class tomorrow. Snowball writing is an activity that your middle and high school students will always remember. It can be used with almost any writing genre and is highly-engaging for even your most reluctant writers. I use this method for narrative, poetry, descriptive, and essay writing. I even use it as an introductory icebreaker activity during back-to-school or a semester change! How It Works: - One student starts the writing process for a timed period decided by the teacher. - When time is up, the teacher tells students to crumple up their work into a “snowball” and throw it somewhere else in the room. Get ready to see lots of confused faces J. - Students retrieve one of the snowballs, smooth out the paper, and continue the writing process! (Tip: have students use a pen to make the writing easier to read for the next student) This process is repeated as needed. When all parts are completed, the paper goes back to the original writer who creates a final copy. If you want to know more about how I use this for narrative writing, read this detailed blog post that gives the step-by-step process in more detail. Have your students write a descriptive paragraph using vivid imagery with an activity called Shared Sensory Writing. How it works: - Put students into groups of three and give them an object to describe. - As a group, they decide which of the 3 senses they will focus on (sight, taste, smell, touch, hearing). Each person is assigned a sense, and they write a short paragraph describing the object based only on the sense they receive. - The group combines elements from each of the paragraphs to create a final descriptive piece. Download this activity for FREE by clicking here: Shared Sensory Writing One of the challenging parts of creative fictional writing is developing the story elements that will form the plot. Use the graffiti fiction brainstorming technique as a way for students to work together to spark fictional writing. How It Works: - Set up 4 chart-paper stations around the room with the following titles: Conflicts, Character Traits, Settings, and Themes. Break the class up into 4 groups and have each group go to one of the stations. - The group members work together to “graffiti” the page with potential conflicts, character traits, settings, and themes that could emerge in a fictional story. I fill in a couple of my own examples to get them started. - Have each group spend 3-4 minutes filling the chart paper up with their ideas. Then, have them all circulate to the next station to repeat the process. - When they are done, have each student select one character trait, conflict, setting, and theme from the graffitied pages to develop a unique narrative. You can choose to have them write independently or with a partner. Tapestry poetry was developed by Avril Meallem (of Israel) and Shernaz Wadia (of India). The two women started writing tapestry poetry collaboratively via email. The form consists of two authors writing a 9-line poem based on the same title, and then working together to meld it into one seamless finished product. How It Works: - Put your students into pairs (or let them choose a partner). - Have one of the students select a title for the poem. This student who selects the title is the only one who has the option of using it in the poem (to avoid repetition). - Both students write a 9-line poem. - When they are done, the pair works together to interlace the poem into one. All 18 lines must be included. Students are permitted to make grammatical changes (singular to plural, verb tenses etc.), and adjustments to adjectives and adverbs, but the majority of the poems should remain the same. Download this activity for FREE by clicking here: Tapestry Poetry Sketch and scribble writing is meant to be used with descriptive/narrative writing and will particularly appeal to those artistic students in your classroom. How It Works: - Have students form a group of three. Give each of the students a picture as a writing prompt. The picture prompts below are the ones I use. The images should allow them to use a narrative voice to describe a scene. They should keep the prompt hidden from the other members of the group. - Once the time is up, each student passes the writing to another student in the group who will read it and draw the scene based on the description (no words allowed). - When the drawings are done, they are given to the final student who must write a paragraph based on the drawing. In the end, have students compare and contrast the drawings to the original picture writing prompt as well as the two pieces of writing. Want even more ideas for collaborative writing? Check out these activities from some of the other Secondary English Coffee Shop bloggers! Tandem Writing from The SuperHERO Teacher Group Writing Challenges from Room 213 Two Truths and a Lie from Secondary Sara Round Robin Writing from Nouvelle ELA Have other ideas for collaborative writing? Click the comment button at the top of the post to join the conversation! SaveSave SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
Get your students reading poetry in remote learning. Teach close reading, annotation, and other valuable skills while you're away from your students.
Determining and analyzing main idea is an essential skill for students. So I chose these 10 poems help you meet the needs of your students!
Part way through some lesson last year, I said that my students should “let it go.” I don’t remember what “it” was, exactly, but I remember two or three students jumped up and threw their arms out and sang the line from Frozen. Then, one started making up new lyrics for the song based on my lesson. It was ridiculous and funny and it all happened so fast. See, the thing is that we connect with music, and we don’t have to be particularly musical to do it. Music gets inside our heads and makes us feel things, and some tunes and lyrics never leave us. That’s why I (a non-musical person, by the way) love using music in the secondary ELA classroom. I’ve found that in middle school and high school, music breaks up a bit of the routine and allows students to access information that they may otherwise struggle with or find boring. Music can be used strategically (or just for fun!) in the secondary ELA classroom to increase engagement and retention. Here are seven ways I use music in my English classroom. 1. Present music as an avenue of direct instruction The easiest and most obvious way to use music in secondary ELA is to find a resource that puts a new concept to music. My favorite resource for using music in direct instruction is Flocabulary. I’ve used these short hip-hop videos to review story elements, introduce public speaking, and solidify some research skills. I also LOVE sharing Schoolhouse Rock with my students. Y’all, Schoolhouse Rock was already looking dorky and dated when I was a kid, but just *lean in* to this with your students. Tell them that you KNOW it’s dorky, but that you’re going to embrace that together in your classroom. 2. Introduce Song Analysis Another way to use music as a tool for direct instruction is by presenting songs as texts to be explored, analyzed, and imitated. I use songs to teach plot, genre, and figurative language. They are a short and easily accessible text (3-5 min) that provide a lot of fodder for student discussion. I do a whole Song Analysis lesson as part of my Short Stories unit, and you can download that lesson for free HERE. On my blog, I share 15 Songs to Use in Secondary ELA and 15 (More!) Songs to Use in Secondary ELA. Be sure to check those out, since they include ideas for analyzing song lyrics. 3. Play music to encourage relaxation & focus People from surgeons to athletes have been tapping into music’s relaxing properties before tackling a stressful situation. Remember Michael Phelps’ omnipresent headphones? We can allow our students the same opportunities and play some music while they’re writing, studying, or taking a test. Along this same line, music can be used to inspire creative writing. Encourage students to develop playlists for a certain writing project they’re working on. I often share my writing playlists with students to give them some ideas – my playlist for a sappy YA romance novel is completely different from my dystopian fairy tale rewrite playlist. Students should be encouraged to choose music that moves them towards the end goal: being creative and productive and awesome! 4. Have students create songs to demonstrate learning Music also makes a great option for a final project. Students can demonstrate what they've learned by making a song about it (or rewriting lyrics to a known song). My students write Symbolism Songs after reading Lord of the Flies or The Pearl, showing their interpretation of a symbol through music. 5. Show students how to create study songs Anyone who learned “The Fifty Nifty United States” as a kid knows the power of music to help memorize information. I mean, that stuff really sticks! Students can use music to help them study hard facts or vocabulary and definitions. They don't have to be amazing musicians to find a tune to make it stick - just have them try out making a recording of an effort on their phones. There is a simple ioS app called Recorder for this, or you can get a more sophisticated piece of software like Audacity. Eventually, they'll choose what study methods work best for them, but you can at least show them this tool is available. 6. Encourage storytelling with operas & symphonies You can also use music that's already out there and available to get students writing. Operas and symphonies both provide excellent opportunities for this, since they are a vehicle for a story anyway. You could play a piece from an opera and have students imagine the story. What emotions do they hear from the characters? Who's singing? What conflicts come to mind? You could have students write or discuss the stories they come up with, or even act them out in a scene set to the music. Don't share the original plot with them -- let them explore many possible answers. This is a great way to get them to engage in some creative writing, as well as explore the storytelling devices of classical music. 7. Actually, you know… play some music Also, you could just play music. :) Whenever I want to give students a set time to finish an activity, I put on a song or a playlist. For example, if students need 3-4 minutes to cut out foldables and title the pages of an interactive notebook spread, I'll put on a song. I also used the song “Final Countdown” last year for the last minutes that students assembled their writer’s workshop portfolios. What are some creative ways that you use music in your classrooms? We'd love to hear from you in comments or on IG @secondaryenglishcoffeeshop. :) Check out these other resources for using music by Coffee Shop teachers: Grammar Activities: Musical Grammar Mistakes by Presto Plans Analyzing Music Videos (Volume 2) by Stacey Lloyd
Looking for new poetry for your middle school and high school students? These 30 poems, recommended and tested by secondary ELA teachers in their own classrooms, are sure to engage and inspire your students during National Poetry Month or any time of year.
Using music in the secondary classroom is a great way to engage students, so here are some songs to use in ELA, and some ways to use them. (Blog post)
The Literary Maven is a blog about teaching, books, & teaching books. Find tips and resources for English Language Arts instruction.
P-I-E is a classic but limited way to teach author's purpose. You need receipts! Teach students to "get the receipt" to determine author's purpose.
Looking for new poetry for your middle school and high school students? These 30 poems, recommended and tested by secondary ELA teachers in their own classrooms, are sure to engage and inspire your students during National Poetry Month or any time of year.
I'm here to share with you not only how to teach poetry, but fun poetry activities to include in your classroom as well! If you are looking for fun poetry
The first thing you need to know is this: your students can do oral book reports! It’s up to you to set the tone for a learning environment in which it’s OK to not be great at everything. Learning is messy.
Body biography projects, collaborative learning, novel studies, middle school ELA, high school English
Using music in the secondary classroom is a great way to engage students, so here are some songs to use in ELA, and some ways to use them. (Blog post)
Pronouns are a fundamental grammar concept for middle and high school students to grasp. But teaching grammar is often a challenge! Here are some quick tips and
Are you noticing some gaps in your curriculum? Are you looking for some new, creative ideas for how to fill these holes in your ELA curriculum? This post gives you 10 creative ideas for how to fill holes in your secondary ELA curriculum.
Photographs are great for inspiring all sort of essay writing from personal narrative writing to literary analysis writing to creative writing. Photographs serve the purpose of inspiring writing in our classes and can be used for writing workshop.
Comparing poems fosters critical thinking and deep discussions. Because of their short form, using poetry pairings is a great way to expose students to a variety of writers and writing styles, subjects and themes. Here's 32 pairs of poems, a total of 64 poems, to share with your students throughout the year, during National Poetry Month or to run a March Madness Poetry Tournament in your classroom.
If there’s one genre that intimidates students, it is definitely poetry. Poetry, for some reason, can make students shrink with uncertainty, doubt, and fear before you even begin the unit. However, this collaborative poetry analysis poster project is one that you and your students will absolutely LOVE! When I teach poetry in my classroom, I first like to introduce students to it by teaching them how to read and annotate poetry. By breaking this process down for students, it immediately becomes less intimidating.
If there’s one genre that intimidates students, it is definitely poetry. Poetry, for some reason, can make students shrink with uncertainty, doubt, and fear before you even begin the unit. However, this collaborative poetry analysis poster project is one that you and your students will absolutely LOVE! When I teach poetry in my classroom, I first like to introduce students to it by teaching them how to read and annotate poetry. By breaking this process down for students, it immediately becomes less intimidating.
P-I-E is a classic but limited way to teach author's purpose. You need receipts! Teach students to "get the receipt" to determine author's purpose.
Love it or hate it, poetry is unavoidable in the secondary ELA classroom. This blog post explores high-interest poetry activities to inspire your students to write poems. Poetry writing is a challenging way to target literary analysis skills. Students will enjoy the various poetry writing activities
Make teaching ethos, pathos, and logos fun and engaging with this rhetorical appeals unit! This comprehensive rhetorical appeals unit includes everything you need to teach your middle and high school students about the different, effective persuasive and argumentative writing strategies, including ethos, pathos, and logos. ⭐️ 2023 UPDATE: Now includes PRINT AND DIGITAL! Teach your students about rhetorical appeals using the engaging and interactive multi-day instructional slide. Students follow along with the ethos, pathos, and logos direct instruction using the included rhetorical appeals graphic organizers and doodle notes. This Digital & Print Rhetorical Appeals Unit Includes: An editable, 37-slide PowerPoint (Google Slides, too) Suggested lesson plan calendar Ethos Pathos Logos Doodle Notes Rhetorical Triangle Doodle Organizer Two informational text activities for individual or group practice Three full-text informational passages (The Gettysburg Address, Chief Joseph's surrender speech, and Lou Gehrig's Farewell to Baseball speech) Writing with appeals activity Argumentative essay handout Thesis graphic organizer Counterclaim graphic organizer Essay outline Peer edit form Argumentative essay rubric Suggested answer keys for three speeches Includes digital Google slides! Students will love how engaging this unit is, and this unit delivers content in an easy-to-understand and accessible manner. They'll enjoy the ethos, pathos, and logos activities and improve their understanding of ethos, pathos, and logos from day 1. Prep is quick and easy... Just follow along with the suggested pacing guide, teach the content on the slides to students, and print out the organizers and activities! TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Brittany O. says, "This was the first time I have used notes like these before, and my students ate them up! I even had an unexpected walk-through during the period and my AP loved them, as well!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Christina G. says, "A great supplement for my rhetoric unit to provide support for students who were struggling and to provide additional checks for understanding. Having short, complex texts for a quick review was perfect for my needs." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ First of Her Name. says, "The graphic organizers in this resource are perfect! My students have always struggled with writing thesis statements and counterclaims, but the worksheets in this resource made it incredibly simple! I saw so many lightbulbs click on when using this in my classes!" ___________________________________ You may also like… → Punctuation Teaching Unit → Academic Vocabulary Program → Essay Writing Unit ___________________________________ Helpful Advice: * Make sure you click the "follow" button next to my picture so you don’t miss out on sales and new resources * Please provide feedback on this resource. Doing so will help you earn TPT credits that you can apply toward future purchases! It’s like FREE TPT cash! © The Daring English Teacher, Inc. All rights reserved. License good for single-classroom use only.
Do your kids struggle with understanding metaphor? Perhaps they need to take the metaphor challenge!
5 times for grading essays faster while providing better feedback! These tips will help ELA teachers work smarter, not harder!
