There is no one poem that represents the experience of African Americans in the United States, yet the history of racism in this country is seared deeply into the lives of many African Americans. “The Weakness” by Toi Derricotte recounts an experience with racism through the eyes of a young, light-skinned African American girl going shopping with her grandmother in a department store in 1945. The poems in The African American Experience offer a number of perspectives from African American poets that add a rich complexity to students’ perceptions of African American lives.

Clarifying one’s identity is a process that goes on throughout life. In this poetry lesson, students will read, analyze and discuss Adrienne Rich's “Diving into the Wreck” as part of the complicated process of finding, and defining oneself.

The following unit incorporates multimedia and classroom activities to encourage students to explore and interact with poetry by first writing letters to important historical poets as practice for writing letters to the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors, a group that represents poetry in America at its best.

Students will read, critically analyze and write about a series of poems dealing with ghosts and spirits.

In this lesson, students will explore poetry both visually--through a provided video--and orally--through reading the poem "Gate A-4" by Naomi Shihab Nye aloud. Pre-reading/viewing activity will utilize small group tableaux as a way of physically visualizing issues within the poem. Post reading/viewing tableaux will reflect new ideas based on learning, and an optional essay on community furthers student exploration of empathy.

In this lesson, students will listen to a Native American song (included), view a video (included), and read Joy Harjo's poem, "Remember" in order to evaluate and compare visually, quantitatively, and orally the structures and content of a spoken and written poem to those in a Native American song. Activities include small group work and class discussion.

In this lesson, students will explore poetry through listening and reading the poem "The Great Migration." Pre-reading activity will utilize small group discussion of nuance in vocabulary. Post reading activity will utilize tableaux to reflect new ideas based on learning, and an optional poem or short narrative on community furthers student exploration of empathy.

In this lesson, students will explore poetry both visually--through a provided video--and orally--through reading the poem "Translation for Mama" aloud. Pre-reading/viewing activity will utilize short writing and discussion as a class. Post reading activities involve writing poetry modeled on the poem.

In this poetry session, students learn that shapes don’t have to be silent, and poetry doesn’t have to be linear, as they write shapes in verse, and verse in shapes. This lesson bridges the gap between poetry and math!

The following series of activities for the classroom allow students to explore and interact with poetry by writing letters to poets.

Students will read, critically analyze and write about a series of poems dealing with light and darkness.

This unit contains a series a poetry lessons and poem suggestions on the poetry of war. Students will read and closely analyze several 'poems of war' and write their own poem as a culminating activity.

Students will read, critically analyze and write about a series of poems dealing with love.

In this creative activity, students will imagine a scenerio where they have wronged their true love and have 4 lines to convince them to stay. Each student should make careful word choices to write persuasive verse capable of convincing a lost love to reunite. Students will present their arguments in a dramatic way, incorporating music.

Students will read, critically analyze and write about a series of poems dealing with poetry. Students will define poetry in their own terms.

This poetry lesson uses "Manatee/Humanity" to help students develop skills of noticing (seeing, hearing, and feeling) in relationship to poetry.

In this activity, students will read explore both the factual elements of amphibians and the poet's choice to use them as a comparison tool in the poem "Amphibians." Students will discuss and interpret the nuance and meaning of the poem, as well as explore the effectiveness of the metaphor.

In this activity, students will explore "Binsey Poplars" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. A piece of artwork, "Lane with Poplars Near Nuenen Place" by Vincent Van Gogh accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will work in pairs to evaluate the painting and poem's views of nature and how those viewpoints are conveyed.

In this activity, students will read aloud and discuss Walt Whitman's poem, "I Hear America Singing." A piece of artwork accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will need to find the central idea and interpret the nuance and meaning of the poem.

In this activity, students will work in small groups and take turns reading aloud the poem, "Knoxville, Tennessee." Additionally, students will listen to the Blind Boys of Alabama's version of "Wade in the Water" as a way of extending the tone and imagery of the poem. Lastly, students will identify the poet's use of structure and how the placement of lines, length of lines, and word choice affect the development and understanding of the text and its southern cultural roots.

In this activity, students will explore "Lines Written in Early Spring" by William Wordsworth. A supporting photopgraph accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will work in pairs and then groups of four to evaluate both the views of nature expressed and how the poet uses structure, word choice, and other devices to convey his message.

In this activity, students will begin by brainstorming connotations/definitions of the word "love." Next, they will listen to "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields and then work in pairs analyzing the connections between the song and the poem, "Love at First Sight" by Wislawa Szymborska. Students will analyze the use of structure and how the placement of lines, length of lines, and word choice affect the development and understanding of the text.

In this activity, students will explore "Making History" by Marilyn Nelson. A supporting photograph of Rosa Parks accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will first analyze the photograph, then read and interpret the poem based on word choice, imagery, and structure. Group discussion will give way to group work, where students will grapple with central ideas and how one makes history.

In this activity, students will analyze both the historical facts of the Old South Meeting House and January Gill O'Neil's exploration in the poem "Old South Meeting House." Students will discuss and interpret the meaning of the poem in both its figurative language and its historical context.

In this activity, students will explore "Poetry" by Marianne Moore. Supporting photographs accompany this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will view both photos and then write four lines of verse. Afterward, they will read the poem silently and aloud and investigate how the poet uses structure, word choice, and other devices to convey meaning.

In this activity, students will explore "Taking Down the Tree" by Jane Kenyon. Students will discuss the scent of balsam fir and how scent and memory connect. Then, after whole class reading of the poem, students will work in small groups to investigate how the poet uses structure, word choice, and other devices to convey meaning.

In this activity, students will explore "The Chance" by Arthur Sze. A supporting photograph accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will investigate how the poet uses structure, word choice, and imagery to convey meaning.

In this activity, students will analyze a video as well as the imagery and central ideas in the poem "The Metier of Blossoming" As a pre-reading activity, students will view a video of a time lapsed amaryllis. Lastly, students will read the poem twice and then discuss and identify the poet's use of the amaryllis as a metaphor for human growth.

In this activity, students will explore "The Plain Sense of Things" by Wallace Stevens. A supporting photograph accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions that spur conversation regarding imagery, central ideas, and tone.

In this activity, students will explore "The Snowfall Is So Silent" by Miguel de Unamuno. A supporting John Singer Sargent painting accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will work in pairs and then groups of four to evaluate both the views of nature expressed and how both the artist and the poet use structure, word choice, and other devices to convey meaning.

In this activity, students will both listen and read aloud Natasha Trethewey's poem, "Theories of Time and Space." Pre-reading activity involves students bringing in photographs from the past as a warmup for the poem's central ideas. Class discussion will focus on the poet's use of structure and imagery and comparing the impact of the poem when read silently versus hearing it read with the poet's own voice and emphasis.

In this activity, students will explore "This Morning I Pray for My Enemies" by Joy Harjo. A supporting Shibata Zeshin painting accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will work in groups of four to evaluate both the point of view expressed and how both the artist and the poet use word choice and imagery to convey meaning.

In this activity, students will explore "Unpacking a Globe" by Arthur Sze. A supporting photograph accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will first free-associate words and images with the photograph, then read and interpret the poem based on word choice, imagery, and structure. Group and whole class discussions will culminate in each student creating a poem.

In this activity, students will both read and view a video of the poet reading "Valentine for Earnest Mann." Student discussion will focus on the poet's use of structure and imagery and comparing the impact of the poem when read silently versus hearing it read with the poet's own voice and emphasis. Additionally, a supporting photograph accompanies the acitivity and provides extension into the images and ideas presented in the poem.

In this activity, students will both read and listen to a recording of the poet reading "When Giving is All We Have." Student discussion will focus on the poet's use of structure and imagery and comparing the impact of the poem when read silently versus hearing it with the poet's own voice and emphasis.

In this activity, students will work explore WIlliam Carlos Williams's poem, "Willow Poem." Pre-reading, students will listen to Billie Holliday's rendition of "Willow Weep for Me" as a way of extending the tone and imagery of the poem. Then, students will work in groups to create tableaux reflecting both the song (first) and the poem (second). Students will focus on imagery and the means by which the poet conveys that image.

In this activity, students will explore "Winter is good-His Hoar Delights (1316)" by Emily Dickinson. A supporting photograph accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Students will work in small groups to evaluate both the views of nature expressed and how the poet uses structure, word choice, and other devices to convey her message.

In this activity, students will explore "Wonder and Joy" by Robinson Jeffers. A supporting photograph of Orion accompanies this lesson plan, along with guiding questions. Class discussion will focus on evaluating both the views of nature expressed and how the poet uses structure, word choice, and the sonnet form to convey his message.

In this activity, students will both listen and read aloud the Lucille Clifton's poem, "sisters." Student discussion will focus on the poet's use of structure, repetition, and imagery and comparing the impact of the poem when read silently versus hearing it read with the poet's own voice and emphasis.