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 Autumn

Browse this selection of lesson plans featuring poems about autumn.

Lesson Plans for Native American Heritage Month

The following lesson plans feature poems from the rich tradition of Native American poetry

Lesson Plans for Thanksgiving

The following lesson plans feature poems related to the Thanksgiving holiday, gratitude, and ways

Lesson Plans for Autumn

Browse this selection of lesson plans featuring poems about autumn.

Poetry Lesson Plans about History

Browse poetry lesson plans featuring poems about many different aspects of American and world his

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.

Lesson Plans

399 Lesson Plans

Teach This Poem: “Gahé Dzíł / Mountain Spirits” by Crisosto Apache

Teach This Poem, though developed with a classroom in mind, can be easily adapted for remote learning, hybrid learning models, or in-pe

Elementary School

Teach This Poem: “Four Sonnets About Food” by Adrienne Su

Teach This Poem, though developed with a classroom in mind, can be easily adapted for remote learning, hybrid learning models, or in-pe

Elementary School

Teach This Poem: “Without” by Joy Harjo

Teach This Poem, though developed with a classroom in mind, can be easily adapted for remote learning, hybrid learning models, or in-pe

Elementary School

Teach This Poem: “Let There Be” by Manny Loley

Teach This Poem, though developed with a classroom in mind, can be easily adapted for remote learning, hybrid learning models, or in-pe

Elementary School