Short Poems

For poetry to be meaningful, it must relate to the lives of its readers. Through Short Poems, teachers can focus on a basic reason for poetry — to say something about the human condition — and lead students to address how it connects with their values, beliefs, experiences, and needs. More than 250 poems from contemporary periodicals and poets not generally accessible can be used in a variety of teaching approaches and can be applied to personal and social topics. Lessons are arranged according to theme. Some themes that may resonate with students include The Art of Poetry, The Perils of Complacency, Learning to Know Ourselves, Dealing with Adversity, and Expressing and Overcoming Loneliness. An index contains an alphabetical list of poets and their poems.

About the Series:
English & Language Arts curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with background and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These materials encourage the development of thinking , reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.