Lesson Plan for English 9-12, Easy to Customize to Fit Any Grouping

(The following Lesson Plan was used for a NY State English 12 Regents class to introduce poetry):

You Will Need:

-Plain White T-Shirts, like the ones found at Walmart (I bought the ones for my small class, but you can have students provide their own.)

-Fabric Markers, about 5-10 colors, depending on how creative you want your class to get!

-Printed copies of poems (I used Emily Dickinson poems, and Sylvia Plath, and some of my own personal poetry to spark interest.) 10-20 different poems on small scaps of paper, depending on class size.

1. I began the lesson with a short introduction to some of the most famous poets in our curriculum. How their works are still relevant, how each poem does not have to rhyme, and how poetry can lead to creativity.

2. After the introduction, the class discussed some of the poems and authors in their texts. We discussed meanings, interpretation of poetry, and common misconceptions. The students were asked to look at several poems and decide which one they liked the best and which one they "connected to" and why??

3. I passed out the T-shirts and the fabric markers AND each student was encouraged to use that poem to decorate their shirt. (You can also use folders-much cheaper- than t-shirts).

4. After the t-shirts were completed, each student discussed what it was about the poem they liked, why they chose it, and how they decorated their shirt.

5. The grade for the assignment was given through a five point rubric. I graded on creativity, interpretation, neatness, understanding of the project, and participation. You can choose your own scale.

6. Enjoy! Follow-up consisted of other creative exercises to create their own poems, to understand different types of poetry and key phrases to understanding poetry.