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. 

Dear Poet 2024

Every National Poetry Month we present Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites you

Lesson Plans for Women’s History Month

To celebrate Women’s History Month in March—and women in poetry year-round—browse this selection

Women’s History Month: Poems for Kids

The following poems celebrate Women’s History month and honor the legacy of women poets.

Lesson Plans for Spring

Celebrate warmer weather, the departure of winter, and the beginning of spring with these lesson

Spring: Poems for Kids

Read the following poems about spring, growth, and renewal by poets like E. E. Cummings, Toi Derricotte, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, John Keats, and more.

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

413 Lesson Plans

Teach This Poem: ”Iris Song“ by Rickey Laurentiis

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: “Appalling Heart” by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

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: “Flora numérica/ Numeric Flora” by Mara Pastor, translated by María José Giménez

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: “Emancipation Queen” by Rio Cortez

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