High School Poetry Unit, 4 Weeks, Analysis + Fun Supplements, PDF & Google Drive

This high school poetry unit plan will excite both teachers and teens by ramping up traditional poetry lessons with modern-designed multimedia materials. My MASSIVE poetry lesson bundle includes four weeks of materials designed for high school and advanced middle school students. (60+ pages in PDF + Google Drive versions of all student handouts, 120+ Prezi/Google Drive slides, and online media links)

This HUGE bundle includes:

• A day-by-day calendar to follow with helpful details and nightly homework assignments (read this file first when you open the bundle)

• How to Read a Poem introductory lecture with guided notes handout to provide structure, strategy, and a reference guide for students as they work through all of the poems in this unit

• Know the Lingo poetic terminology grid/matching game activity to help students quickly review poetry terms they already know and learn some they might not already know

• Pop Music/Classical Poetry compare/contrast activity where students deconstruct two songs they enjoy (“Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes and “Breakeven” by The Script) and compare them with classic poems that use the same themes and structures.

• Close reading/poetry dissection activity to use with William Shakespeare’s classic poem, “The Seven Ages of Man.”

• Dynamic lecture to teach William Shakespeare’s poetic sonnet structure and iambic pentameter.

• Write Like Will Sonnet activity with modern topic assignment slips.

• Close reading/poetry dissection activity to use with Robert Herrick’s classic poem, “To the Virgins to Make Much of Time (Gather Ye Rosebuds).”

• Close reading/poetry dissection activity to use with Walt Whitman’s classic poem, “O Me! O Life!” This lesson also includes a compelling media criticism activity.

• Close reading/analysis of Edwin Arlington Robinson's Miniver Cheevy, a famous tale of the man crippled by his love of the past.
• Poetry Cafe: A Spoken Word Experience activity plan, which includes detailed instructions on how to host your own student-led poetry reading, two examples of modern spoken word poets in action, and a student assignment sheet.

• Close reading/historical connection activity to use with Walt Whitman’s classic poem, “O Captain! My Captain!”

• How to Haiku student worksheet with haiku examples and visual inspiration to encourage students to write their own haiku poems

• Close reading/poetry dissection activity to use with Edgar Allan Poe’s classic poem, “The Raven.” This lesson includes multimedia elements and a Faux Poe worksheet/creative writing assignment.

• Compare/Contrast activity of two poems written about Helen of Troy.

• Acrostic poetry handout with advanced example and a student writing challenge featuring three different teacher-choice options

• Blackout Poetry (also known as Found Poetry) lecture and hands-on activity.

• End-of-unit exam, including 18 matching questions, 6 multiple choice, and 6 short answer questions calling on students to analyze two poems they have not previously seen in the unit. Includes detailed answer key.

All materials come with complete, detailed answer keys to ease grading and help guide review/discussion.

Note: Most items included in this bundle are sold separately in my store, but you’ll SAVE MORE THAN 20 PERCENT by buying them together. No need to purchase these items separately if you grab this budget-priced bundle. The other three items – the calendar, Poetry Cafe assignment, and unit exam – are sold only as part of this bundle. If you’d like a closer look at any of the separate items, just click on the links above for more product details and sample images.

Also, this bundle is included in my English 9-10 full-year curriculum. If you already own the full-year download, please do not purchase this item here individually. If you’d like to receive this item plus everything else needed to teach 180 days of English 9 or English 10 at a deeply discounted price, click here to learn more about the full-year curriculum download.

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Wood background image credit: Pexels, Public domain

Cup and notebook image credit: Pixabay, Public domain