10th Grade Poetry Lesson

UPDATED FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR: Finally, a poetry unit designed for high-school English that teenagers genuinely love!! Your students' skills in close reading and literary analysis of poems will skyrocket....

The 3-week unit features 60+ canonical poems written by a diverse spectrum of English-speaking poets. The poems and accompanying lesson plans are organized into 12 thematic packets which can be used in sequence over two weeks. That's over 200 pages worth of editable poetry resources!

This unit promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor. The discussion questions, quick writes, literary device quizzes, and analytical writing assignments will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!!

Here are some highlights from this editable 200-page curriculum:

• Homework Packets with Poems (5-6 Poems per Packet): The 12 homework packets contain a total of 71 poems by a diverse range of award-winning poets such as William Shakespeare, John Keats, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Robert Hayden, Theodore Roethke, Maya Angelou, Audre Lorde, Mary Oliver, Gary Soto, Li-Young Lee, Ada Limón, Elizabeth Acevedo, and others. The poems are collected into ten reading packets that focus on prominent literary devices and themes: 1) poems using sensory imagery, 2) poems using figurative language, 3) love poems, 4) poems on ethical dilemmas, 5) poems on complex parent-child dynamics, and 6) poems on cultural identity. Because teenagers have a lot to say about these themes, the poems will set the stage for your class to have fascinating and profoundly productive discussions!! (75 pages)

• Literary Devices Glossary: A glossary with definitions and examples of the various types of figurative language, imagery, stanzas, and syntactic devices. Many teachers already have a glossary of literary devices, but I'm providing this in case you need one. (2 pages)

• Literary Devices Quizzes: A total of ten quizzes, each with 10 questions about a wide range of literary devices: metaphor, personification, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, etc. Open each class with a quiz to assess whether your students can accurately identify the literary devices used in the poems from the homework packets. Answer keys included. (24 pages).

• Discussion Questions: This bundle features a list of discussion questions for the first poem in each of the homework packets. The discussion questions will ensure that every class discussion starts on a productive foot. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions lend themselves to a range of different pedagogical uses: 1) to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, 2) to prompt in-class writing, 3) to assign written reflections for homework, etc. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster deep thinking! Answer keys included. (60 pages)

• Quick Writes: The quick writes give students an opportunity to capture and refine the best ideas generated in the discussion. Quick writes can also help reticent students to gather their thoughts so they'll feel ready and eager to contribute. (24 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on a poem of their choice. The assignment sheet contains detailed instructions for how to generate a formalist analysis of a poem (analyzing how the poem's formal features contribute to its meaning). This kind of formalist analysis is exactly what students are asked to generate on the AP Literature exam! Sample paper included. (15 pages)

This entire resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access all of the materials as PDF documents — which are easy to navigate and quick to print!

My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because all of the resources contain rigorous content that will motivate students to engage in thought-provoking and productive discussions. Thank you for choosing Rigorous Resources.

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

Should you prefer to purchase the poetry units individually, here are links to the five poetry units:

Poetry Unit #1: Sensory Imagery in Poetry

Poetry Unit #2: Figurative Language in Poetry

Poetry Unit #3: Love Poems

Poetry Unit #4: Poems on Ethical Dilemmas

Poetry Unit #5: Poems on Family Relationships

Poetry Unit #6: Poems on Cultural Identity

Store: https://www.TeachShare.com/Store/Rigorous-Resources

"The Raven," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe: these introductory lessons provide digital pre-reading information for the author, genre, and setting. The lessons also include vocabulary study, practice and assessments.

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

PDF FILE. Plus, each ZIP file comes with a PDF folder containing 8 printable worksheets to be used with the PPT lesson! These printables include Connotation and Grammar sort, Word Study, and Vocabulary Quiz with optional word bank and answer key.

EACH POWERPOINT:

1. **Author Bio:** To connect vocabulary with real-world context, we provide author biographies related to each short story. This adds depth to the lesson, allowing students to appreciate the words in the context of the author's life experience.

2. **Setting**: highly informative slides include maps, historical images and intriguing video links to prepare students to have a deeper understanding of the location and time period in which the story takes place. This is a crucial element when preparing students to read outside their own worldview.

3. **Vocab with Concise Definitions :** (See individual lessons for vocabulary words) Our PowerPoint lesson provides clear and concise definitions for challenging vocabulary words, ensuring that students understand the meaning of each word in context as it appears in the text.

4.**Bold Photos:** Visual learners will thrive with our visually appealing slides, featuring bold and relevant images that help reinforce vocabulary concepts and make learning more engaging.

5.**Parts of Speech:** Understanding the parts of speech is crucial for effective language comprehension. Our lesson includes sections dedicated to identifying the part of speech for each vocabulary word.

6. **Grammar Review & Sort** Strengthen language skills with integrated grammar review sections, ensuring students can apply the vocabulary words correctly in their own writing and communication.

7. **Connotation Review & Sort** Dive deeper into vocabulary nuances by exploring the connotations of words, helping students grasp the subtle shades of meaning and usage.

8.**Context Clues Sentences:** Our lesson includes carefully curated sentences that employ context clues, enabling students to decipher word meanings from surrounding text. This fosters independent comprehension skills. These worksheets can be used for practice or assessment.

9.**Quizlet Practice:** Reinforce learning and encourage self-assessment with Quizlet practice sets tailored to the vocabulary words covered in the lesson. This interactive tool allows students to review and quiz themselves.

10**PDF file** 9 organizers, activities, and quizzes

11 **Fun Fact** photos and video links are inserted throughout to bring important elements of the story into context and aid comprehension

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:
· Introduce new story
· Provide backstory to text
· Stimulate group discussion/prediction
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation

PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

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Enjoy -from Kiwious About Vocab!

This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem of a man spiraling into madness, "The Raven." Each product is thoughtfully crafted and allows students to think outside the box by delving deeply into the poem's themes, vocabulary, poetic devices, and figurative language. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. This activity bundle provides a week's worth of material to bring the poem to life!

Included in this Bundle:

• The Raven Literature Guide: This resource features a comprehensive literature guide for use while reading Edgar Allan Poe's arguably most famous work, "The Raven." The packet provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition and encourages students to think critically about plot structure, literary elements, and figurative language within the poem. The wide range of activities in this guide will keep your students engaged as they contemplate the meaning of nevermore.

• The Raven Socratic Seminar Lesson & Materials (also included within Literature Guide): Socratic Seminars are higher order ways of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class text. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, I have done the work for you! This packet includes everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding "The Raven."

• The Raven ESCAPE ROOM: This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for "The Raven." Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task (and it is!), but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. It is the perfect activity for Halloween or any day you want to shake it up with your students without sacrificing learning. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game!

• The Raven Figurative Language Challenge: This resource includes a meticulously-detailed lesson plan using warm-up, explanation, application, and synthesis, and a one-of-a-kind game that will get your students excited about identifying the copious amount of figurative language that pervades the poem. This is the perfect lesson plan for a Friday, on Halloween, or any time you need to amp up the energy in your classroom without sacrificing learning... and of course, it is Common Core aligned!

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This introductory Powerpoint BUNDLE provides digital pre-reading information for the author, genre, and setting. These lessons also include vocabulary study, practice, and assessment.

CLASSIC BUNDLE:

THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson, THE RAVEN by Edgar Allan Poe, THANK YOU MA'AM by Langston Hughes, THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF by O. Henry

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension and aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

PDF FILE: Each comes with a PDF folder containing 8 printable worksheets to be used with the Google Slide lesson! These printables include Connotation and Grammar sort, Word Study, and Vocabulary Quiz with optional word bank and answer key.

• Opening slide
-genre, author photo and short bio.
-PDF of short story

• Setting slides:
-Location photos with map
-Time period photos with live link to period music clip!

*Vibrant Vocabulary Google Slides: see each item description for word lists
-bold photos appear without definition for inference making
-part of speech
-concise definition

• Differentiated Worksheet: used as a pretest, posttest, or practice
• Quizlet practice link
• Part of speech sort
* Word connotation sort
*Vocabulary Organizer
*Prereading Discussion Questions

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:

· Introduce classic short stories
· Provide backstory to literary text
· Stimulate group discussion
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation
PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

****Please be sure to view the preview and watch the video for detailed images and descriptions of the lesson.

Total Pages
31 slides 8 printables
Answer Key
Included
Teaching Duration
55 minutes

This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our highly popular Valentine's Day ELA Escape Rooms!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock. Now, you can facilitate our Valentine's Day ELA Escape Room in the classroom and at home for distance learning with this meticulously-crafted bundle. All tasks are skills-based so that with these fun lessons, learning is not sacrificed. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing with these activities!

How does it work?

Your students are stuck in your [digital] classroom on Valentine's Day and cannot leave until they solve 5 challenging Language Arts skills-based tasks about the holiday of love!

• Hugs & Homophones: In the first task, students will read 8 fun facts about Valentine's Day and must identify the incorrectly used homophone in each passage.
• Love Talk: In the second task, students will read 8 quotes about love from famous figures and must identify the parts of speech of underlined words within the quotes.
• Shall I Compare Thee: In the third task, students will perform a close reading of Shakespeare's famous Sonnet 18, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day. Then, they will answer multiple choice questions about the poem.
• Fondly Figurative: In the fourth task, students must identify the figurative language devices used in popular love songs.
• VDay Trivia: In the final task, students will be quizzed on what they learned throughout the first four tasks and enter their answers to Valentine's Day trivia questions in a fun crossword puzzle. Circled boxes within the puzzle will reveal their final code.

In-Class Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity

Digital Escape Room Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

*Note that this is the digital version of the Valentine's Day Escape Room; tasks are identical, just reformatted for digital experience. Requires use of Google Slides.*

Suitable for middle and high school students and is ideal during the month of February.

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Also, check out more great Valentine's Day products by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Valentine's Day "Love Talk" Lesson Plan

⭐ Valentine's Day Collaborative Writing Activity

⭐ Valentine's Day Figurative Language Practice

⭐ Valentine's Day Love Song Figurative Language BUNDLE

⭐ Valentine's Day Mad Libs

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Can't get enough escape rooms? Check out more by Language Arts Excellence here:

⭐ Halloween ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Thanksgiving ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Christmas ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ New Year's ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ St. Patrick's Day ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Easter ESCAPE ROOM

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This introductory Google Slide BUNDLE provides digital pre-reading information for the author, genre, and setting. These lessons also include vocabulary study, practice, and assessment.

CLASSIC BUNDLE:

THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson, THE RAVEN by Edgar Allan Poe, THANK YOU MA'AM by Langston Hughes, THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF by O. Henry

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension and aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

PDF FILE: Each comes with a PDF folder containing 8 printable worksheets to be used with the Google Slide lesson! These printables include Connotation and Grammar sort, Word Study, and Vocabulary Quiz with optional word bank and answer key.

Google Slide:
• Opening slide
-genre, author photo and short bio.
-PDF of short story

• Setting slides:
-Location photos with map
-Time period photos with live link to period music clip!

*Vibrant Vocabulary Google Slides: see each item description for word lists
-bold photos appear without definition for inference making
-part of speech
-concise definition

• Differentiated Worksheet: used as a pretest, posttest, or practice
• Quizlet practice link
• Part of speech sort
* Word connotation sort
*Vocabulary Organizer
*Prereading Discussion Questions

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:

· Introduce classic short stories
· Provide backstory to literary text
· Stimulate group discussion
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation
PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

****Please be sure to view the preview and watch the video for detailed images and descriptions of the lesson.

Total Pages
31 slides 8 printables
Answer Key
Included
Teaching Duration
55 minutes

This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our Back to School Poetry Escape Room.

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Back to School Poetry Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom with this meticulously-crafted resource. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how much they are learning about poetry while trying to escape!

How does it work?

The ghosts of Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, and Maya Angelou have risen from the grave to lock your students inside your classroom. They are upset because they believe that students spend too much time talking about (fill in the blank with whatever is hip with students these days) and not enough time reading and writing poetry. Students cannot escape until they complete 5 poetry-based tasks to show these ghosts of poets past that they do in fact know their poetry.

• Watch Your Tone: In the first task, students will read 6 poem excerpts and identify their tone. When cards are matched correctly, shaded letters will reveal the code.
• Rhyme Time: In the second task, students will read 8 poem excerpts and determine the rhyme scheme of each. When cards are matched correctly on a chart, numbers on the cards will reveal the code.
• Poe's Anatomy: In the third task, students will closely read A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe and complete an anatomy of the poem. When completed correctly, shaded letters within the answers will reveal the code.
• Ah-Mazing: In the third task, students must solve a challenging word maze. Letters collected along the way form the fourth code.
• Complete the Quote: The final task brings the first four tasks together. Students must match the code words with their definitions and complete a quote about poetry.

In-Class Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity

Digital Escape Room Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This escape room is suitable for middle and high school students and is ideal at the beginning of the school year or any time during your poetry unit without modification. Students will need to know definitions of poetic devices and terms in order to complete the activity. Some of the terms covered: stanza, enjambment, simile, oxymoron, alliteration, rhyme scheme, personification, tone, sonnet, haiku, limerick, acrostic...

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"The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Hear" and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe: these introductory Google Slide lessons provide digital pre-reading information for the author, genre, and setting. The lessons also include vocabulary study, practice, and assessments.

-PDF Link included

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

EACH GOOGLE SLIDE LESSON:

1. **Author Bio:** To connect vocabulary with real-world context, we provide author biographies related to each short story. This adds depth to the lesson, allowing students to appreciate the words in the context of the author's life experience.

2. **Setting**: highly informative slides include maps, historical images and intriguing video links to prepare students to have a deeper understanding of the location and time period in which the story takes place. This is a crucial element when preparing students to read outside their own worldview.

3. **Vocab with Concise Definitions :** Our PowerPoint lesson provides clear and concise definitions for challenging vocabulary words, ensuring that students understand the meaning of each word in context as it appears in the text.

4.**Bold Photos:** Visual learners will thrive with our visually appealing slides, featuring bold and relevant images that help reinforce vocabulary concepts and make learning more engaging.

5.**Parts of Speech:** Understanding the parts of speech is crucial for effective language comprehension. Our lesson includes sections dedicated to identifying the part of speech for each vocabulary word.

6. **Grammar Review & Sort** Strengthen language skills with integrated grammar review sections, ensuring students can apply the vocabulary words correctly in their own writing and communication.

7. **Connotation Review & Sort** Dive deeper into vocabulary nuances by exploring the connotations of words, helping students grasp the subtle shades of meaning and usage.

8.**Context Clues Sentences:** Our lesson includes carefully curated sentences that employ context clues, enabling students to decipher word meanings from surrounding text. This fosters independent comprehension skills. These worksheets can be used for practice or assessment.

9.**Quizlet Practice:** Reinforce learning and encourage self-assessment with Quizlet practice sets tailored to the vocabulary words covered in the lesson. This interactive tool allows students to review and quiz themselves.

10**PDF file** 9 organizers, activities, and quizzes

11 **Fun Fact** photos and video links are inserted throughout to bring important elements of the story into context and aid comprehension

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:
· Introduce new story
· Provide backstory to text
· Stimulate group discussion/prediction
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation

PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

This bundle is also available in PowerPoint.

Enjoy -from Kiwious About Vocab!

This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for Edgar Allan Poe's gruesome tale, The Tell-Tale Heart. Each product is thoughtfully crafted and allows students to think outside the box by delving deeply into the story's themes, characters, vocabulary, and plot development. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. This activity bundle provides more than a week's worth of material to bring the story to life!

Included in this Bundle:

The Black Cat Literature Guide: This resource features a comprehensive literature guide for use while reading Edgar Allan Poe's creepy classic tale, The Black Cat. The packet provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourages students to think critically about plot structure, literary elements, figurative language, and the superstitions within the story. The wide range of activities in this guide will keep your students engaged and help them to gain a deep understanding of one of the most highly regarded tales of American literature.

The Black Cat Socratic Seminar: A Socratic Seminar (or a "Fish Bowl" Conversation as I like to call them with my students) is a higher order way of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource was created to include everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe... with very little preparation required on your end.

The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM: This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task (and it is!), but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. It is the perfect activity for Halloween or any day you want to shake it up with your students without sacrificing learning. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game!

Unreliable Narrator of The Black Cat Lesson Plan (also included within Literature Guide): This resource features a full-length lesson plan and accompanying materials that asks students to delve into the crazed mind of the narrator of Poe's The Black Cat. Through an engaging "True/Untrue Storytelling" activity, precise mini-lecture on the unreliable narrator, guiding questions, and follow-up assignment, your students will be able to understand the sometimes daunting concept of the unreliable narrator and discuss how a story is affected when told through the eyes of one. This lesson plan opens up a new world for students as they realize that many of the books, movies, and tv shows that they have read or seen in the past may have been influenced by an unreliable narrator. Thus, not only is this lesson important, it is intrinsically fascinating to students and the "oohs" and "aha" moments that tend to arise from the discussion make it a blast to teach! I am confident that you and your students will love this lesson as much as mine have for years.

**BONUS FILE: Intro to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint: This product features a highly-engaging introductory PowerPoint Presentation for the Father of Horror himself, Edgar Allan Poe. A unit of study on Poe is not complete without learning the gory and heartbreaking details of his life and what made him into the master poet and writer whom we continue to marvel at today. This 20-slide powerpoint runs through his tragic family life and childhood, relationships, early occupations (before he was the Poe that you know), synopses of some of his most famous works, death theories, and current pop culture references. It concludes with a 10 question quiz to see how well students listened... and trust me, they will be hanging on your every word! This powerpoint encourages class participation, is fully editable to suit your class' needs, and lasts about 30-40 minutes to run through. I suggest presenting this on the very first day of your unit on Edgar Allan Poe. Enjoy and let the horror begin!

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Why is it that calling out sick can actually mean more work as you scramble to come up with a plan for your substitute teacher?

This product features a bundle of 6 (mostly) print & go emergency lesson plans that are ideal for days prior to and returning from vacations, between units, emergency sub plans, or simply those days when you just "can't." (And let's face it, we've all been there!)

Each lesson plan maintains a high standard for student learning and engagement with minimal preparation on your end. Plans are varied yet cohesive and allow for differentiation within your classroom. It is recommended that you read through each lesson plan prior to the start of class to make sure that you have all materials ready as photocopying and in some cases moderate set-up is required. While plans work well for substitutes, you may find that they are so much fun that you will want to experience them with your students yourself!

Purchasing these resources as a bundle saves 20% off the cover price!

Products included in this bundle:

⭐ "Still I Rise" (Angelou) Lesson Plan & Materials -- A best-selling product!

This lesson plan on Angelou's poem can be used in a variety of ways throughout the school year. For instance, the lesson is the perfect jumpstart for your unit on slavery, Civil Rights, poetry, or Women's Rights in America. It can also be used as a stand-alone lesson to get your students to reflect upon and discuss overcoming their own personal obstacles. Given the theme of the poem, the lesson even acts as a great medium for discussing how to to rise above bullying in a society where bullying is sadly so prevalent. These meticulously laid-out materials and lesson plan will have your students thinking, speaking, reading, and writing all in one class period and interacting deeply with one of the most beautiful and resounding works of American poetry.

⭐ We Didn't Start the Fire Activity

This step-by-step two-day lesson plan encourages students to consider what defines their generation and then create their own lyrics to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Every year, this lesson has been a huge hit with my students especially on the last two days of school. Your students will appreciate your taking the time to allow them to step back and reflect upon their world. You will love it because no preparation is needed at all for this very memorable activity!

⭐Shakespeare's "Death Lines" Activity

In this full-length lesson plan, students will closely examine the final lines of Shakespearean characters before their deaths (if you know Shakespeare, there are quite a few!). Following a mini-lesson on the importance of these final words, students will take part in the classic game, Mafia, with a unique, Shakespearean twist. I invented the take on this game several years ago and it has become one of my students' and my favorite days of the whole school year. There is truly nothing like seeing students having a great time while studying Shakespeare. I am confident that your students will love it too!

⭐"Literature Talk" Lesson Plan

This product features an engaging "Literature Talk" activity that will have your students thinking, writing, speaking, and moving all in one class period. In this activity, they must choose between 6 different quotes about books and articulate why the quote aligns with their own perspective. They will have a chance to discuss their opinions in small groups and as part of a full class discussion. The full-length lesson plan can literally be used any day of the school year and is sure to spark thoughtful discussion among your students.

⭐Collaborative Writing Activity

"Collaborative Story Time" is a communal story-telling activity in which students practice using Freytag's Pyramid plot structure in their own narrative writing. In this activity, each student begins a story inspired by a unique evocative photograph. They are prompted to write the exposition of the tale by introducing the setting and main characters. After the allotted amount of time, the story is then passed to another student who is prompted to write the inciting incident or conflict and begin to detail the rising action. The paper is passed from student to student twice more until the story is resolved. When the stories are finished, the worksheet is returned to the original student who can then make edits and is responsible for producing a final draft.

⭐Poe's Annabel Lee Poetry/Song Pairing

Who in the world knows more about love and loss than Edgar Allan Poe? This resource features a full-length lesson plan and accompanying materials for a song/poem pairing of "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe and popular song, "Sad Beautiful Tragic." Lesson plan is Common Core aligned and centers around rhyme scheme, repetition, figurative language, and theme. This student-tested activity is the perfect addition for any unit on Edgar Allan Poe and is guaranteed to enlighten your students on the timelessness of Poe's poetry in an engaging and contemporary way.

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⭐Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence⭐

This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our Poetry Escape Room.

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Poetry Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom with this meticulously-crafted resource. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how much they are learning about poetry while trying to escape!

How does it work?

The ghosts of Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, and Maya Angelou have risen from the grave to lock your students inside your classroom. They are upset because they believe that students spend too much time talking about (fill in the blank with whatever is cool with students these days... probably making TikToks) and not enough time reading and writing poetry. Students cannot escape until they complete 5 poetry-based tasks to show these ghosts of poets past that they do in fact know their poetry.

• Match 'Em Up: In the first task, students must match up poetic terms and devices with their definitions. Letters intersected by the lines between the terms and definitions will reveal their first code.
• Figuratively Speaking: In the second task, students must correctly identify the figurative language used in poem excerpts. When matched correctly, shaded boxes reveal their second code.
• Television: In the third task, students must closely read the poem, Television, by Roald Dahl. Then, they must correctly identify poetic terms and devices within the poem. When matched correctly on a chart, the third code is revealed.
• Playground Blues: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell. Letters of the multiple choice CCSS-aligned question answers following the poem reveal their fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle that forms a quote about poetry. Once the puzzle is assembled and students bring the quote to you, they may escape the room.

In-Class Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity

Digital Escape Room Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This escape room is suitable for middle and high school students and is ideal any time during your poetry unit. Students will need to know definitions of poetic devices and terms in order to complete the activity. Some of the terms covered: alliteration, imagery, free verse, internal rhyme, tone, mood, stanza, stress, onomatopoeia, allusion, hyperbole, syntax, extended metaphor, haiku, oxymoron....

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This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our Shakespeare Escape Room.

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Shakespeare Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom with this meticulously-crafted resource. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how much they are learning about the Bard while trying to escape!

How does it work?

In order to escape from Elizabethan England and return to the present day, your students must escape your classroom by solving 6 different puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Shakespeare FAQs: In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about Shakespeare. Once complete, they must unscramble shaded boxes to reveal the first code.
• The Globe: In the second task, students must correctly identify components of the Globe Theater. Shaded boxes within the correct answers reveal the second code.
• Name That Play: In the third task, students must match fictional newspaper headlines with the Shakespearean play they represent. This task is in the form of a mat puzzle and the code is revealed when students have matched all plays correctly.
• My Mistress' Eyes: In the fourth task, students must analyze one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets, My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the sonnet will form the fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle with a quote from one of Shakespeare’s plays.
• Putting it all Together: The final task brings the first 5 tasks together. Students will learn that each of the codes represent an aspect of one of Shakespeare’s plays. The name of the play is the key to escape Elizabethan England and return to the present day!

In-Class Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 6 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity

Digital Escape Room Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 6 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

**Please be aware that both escape rooms are designed for use with internet access. The purpose of the escape rooms are to learn about Shakespeare, his plays, and the Globe Theater and therefore many aspects will not be common knowledge. It is therefore highly recommended that computers or tablets are available for student use.**

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