Lesson Ideas Archives - Next Day Teaching

How to teach poetry so students actually learn (and maybe even enjoy it) above a page from a plan book and an annotated copy of the poem "Jabberwocky"

How to Teach Poetry: 5 Common Poetry Teaching Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Learning how to teach poetry effectively can feel a little intimidating. You want your students to enjoy the poems they read, understand the techniques poets use, and maybe even come away seeing poetry as something more than another text to analyze for a grade. The truth is, unless they’re taught otherwise, teachers tend to teach […]

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A handwritten week schedule starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday with Friday circled in pink

Poetry Friday Schedule: How Long Should it Take?

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A Poetry Friday schedule can take as little as 25–30 minutes a week, or you can break that time into five short daily sessions. Either way, you don’t need to carve out hours of instructional time to build a yearlong poetry rhythm into your classroom. The secret to “fitting in” regular Poetry Friday experiences is

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A chalkboard with the words "more poetry is needed" rests on a dark wood background beside a red apple and a piece of chalk

What Is Poetry Friday? Everything Teachers Need to Know Before They Start

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Maybe your state standards ask students to analyze poetry. Maybe it’s springtime and you know National Poetry Month is coming up. Or maybe you have a class of struggling readers and you’ve heard that poetry builds reading fluency. But you don’t have weeks to devote to a full poetry unit – or even a mini-unit.

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A photo of a classroom with the desks arranged in a circle

5 Benefits of Teaching Poetry (And Why Every Teacher Should Try Poetry Friday)

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When I was in school, poetry usually meant reading long poems written by old, dead, white men. My classmates and I slogged through analyzing rhyme schemes, identifying symbolism, and interpreting themes. Snore! So when I found myself as a teacher needing a lesson to fill an awkward Friday time block, poetry wasn’t exactly the first

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An open book with light and sparkles coming out and the word "poetry" in script above it all

How to Teach Poetry in the Classroom with Poetry Friday

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Most teachers remember poetry lessons from their own school years the same way: long poems, complicated symbolism, and endless analysis that made everyone (including the teacher) want to fall asleep. That doesn’t have to be the way you teach poetry in the classroom. One of my favorite weekly routines was Poetry Friday: a simple, discussion-based

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