Since Robert Frost encouraged our founder Marie Bullock to “get poetry into the high schools” in the 1960s, we’ve been assisting teachers in bringing poetry into the classroom. Here, you’ll find poetry lesson plans, poems for kids and for teens, essays about teaching, a calendar of teaching resources for the school year, a glossary of poetry terms, and more. Our lesson plans, most of which are aligned with the Common Core, have been reviewed by our Educator in Residence with an eye toward developing skills of perception and imagination.
Read more about Teach this Poem’s impact.
Lesson Plans for LGBTQ Pride Month
Browse a selection of lesson plans featuring poems from the rich tradition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer poets and poetry.
Graduation: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about graduating, moving forward, and getting older, with poems like “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, “Dreams” by Langston Hughes, and “Instructions on Not Giving Up” by Ada Limón.
Lesson Plans for Summer
Browse this selection of lesson plans featuring poems related to summer, travel, and warm weather
Lesson Plans by Theme
Find poetry lesson plans organized by theme, occasion, and class subject, including lesson plans featuring poems about social justice, the environment, and many other topics.
Teach this Poem: The Classics
Caribbean American Heritage Month: Poems for Kids
To celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month in June—and the rich tradition of Caribbean American poetry all year long—browse poems by both classic and contemporary poets.
