Teach This Poem, though developed with a classroom in mind, can be easily adapted for remote learning, hybrid learning models, or in-person classes. Please see the suggestions below to help you adapt this lesson for remote or blended learning. We have also noted suggestions when applicable and will continue to add to these suggestions online.
 

  • For activities requiring use of the white board: If you are meeting synchronously, you may wish to have students type their answers into the chat section of a video meeting platform. For asynchronous meetings, you may send students a poll/survey in advance, then share their answers in a word cloud. 

  • For activities requiring students to share images or items: You may want to ask students to all share their images via a video meeting platform at the same time. If you are meeting asynchronously, you might ask students to post an image to your online classroom platform.

  • For activities requiring partner work or small-group discussion: You may assign breakout groups using video meeting platforms in synchronous learning. If you are teaching asynchronously, we recommend modifying so that students are capturing their thoughts in writing. Of course, we encourage sharing their ideas with family members when possible. 

  • For activities requiring whole-class discussion: You may divide the lesson into several sessions for asynchronous learning. Students may share their responses to the poem in a common platform (such as a shared document or a classroom chat), then you may ask them to reply to at least one classmate’s response. 

  • For reading a poem: If you are meeting synchronously, we suggest sharing a video screen that allows for students to annotate together. If you are meeting asynchronously, we suggest asking students to post or share their annotations in your online classroom platform.

  • For listening to the poem: Look for audio of the poem on the poem’s page to the right of its title. If the audio is not available, you could ask two students to read the poem. For asynchronous meetings, students could read the poem on their own or with a family member.

  • For activities asking students to write a poem or response: You may create space on an online platform for students to share and respond to each other’s work.

  • Encourage your students to create anthologies on Poets.org.