Links to Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources
There are a number of online resources available that can support your Poetry Out Loud programming, including, but not limited to, the ones listed on this page.
For biographical information about poets that appear in the 2026-2027 POL anthology:
Modern American Poetry: https://www.modernamericanpoetry.org/
Academy of American Poets: https://poets.org/
Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
Poetry By Heart: https://poetrybyheart.org.uk/
For a glossary of poetic forms and terms:
For general lesson plans and resources on teaching poetry:
https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resourcs/lesson-plans/ekphrasis-using-inspire-poetry
https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/discovering-traditional-sonnet-forms
https://poets.org/lesson-plan/poems-about-poetry
https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teaching-poetry-reading-conversation-writing-cycle
https://poets.org/lesson-plan/adding-insult-poetry
https://poets.org/lesson-plan/literature-war
https://www.favoritepoem.org/classroom-resources/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/1751492/line-dancing
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/1750683/in-anothers-voice
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/1753568/lincoln-in-the-house
For lesson plans related to specific poems or poets in the 2026-2027 POL anthology:
Willa Cather
“Prairie Spring”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-prairie-spring-willa-cather
Lucille Clifton
“blessing the boats”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-blessing-boats-lucille-clifton-0
Paul Laurence Dunbar
“We Wear the Mask”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/behind-masks-exploring-culture-through-art-and-poetry
“We Wear the Mask”—ReadWriteThink.org: https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/behind-masks-exploring-culture?tab=2#tabs
General, ReadWriteThink.org: https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/poet-paul-laurence-dunbar
Robert Frost
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-stopping-woods-snowy-evening-robert-frost
General, ReadWriteThink.org: https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/poet-robert-frost-born
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
“Learning to Read”—Edsitement.neh.gov: https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/frances-ellen-watkins-harpers-learning-read
Langston Hughes
General, Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-let-america-be-america-again-langston-hughes
General, Edsitement.neh.gov: https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/poets-voice-langston-hughes-and-you
General, ReadWriteThink.org: https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/discovering-passion-poetry
General, Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/we-sing-america
James Weldon Johnson
“Before a Painting”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-painting-james-weldon-johnson
Ted Kooser
“Abandoned Farmhouse”—Teachers & Writers: https://teachersandwritersmagazine.org/exploring-the-abandoned-farmhouse/
Emma Lazarus
“The New Colossus”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-new-colossus-emma-lazarus
Li-Young Lee
“From Blossoms”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-blossoms-li-young-lee
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Haunted Houses”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-haunted-houses-henry-wadsworth-longfellow
“Haunted Houses”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/ghosts-and-spirits
Jamaal May
“There are Birds Here”—Inside Out Literary Arts: https://insideoutdetroit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/John-Freeman-Youd-Be-Amazed-If-I-Told-You-concrete-imagery-HS-SD-2020.pdf
Claude McKay
General, Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-america-claude-mckay
Marianne Moore
“Poetry”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-poetry-marianne-moore
Alexander Posey
“Coyote”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-coyote-alexander-posey
Alberto Ríos
“When Giving Is All We Have”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-when-giving-all-we-have-alberto-rios
Phillis Wheatley
General, Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-being-brought-africa-america-phillis-wheatley
Walt Whitman
“Election Day, November, 1884”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-election-day-november-1884-walt-whitman
“I Hear America Singing”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/teach-poem-i-hear-america-singing-walt-whitman
“O Captain! My Captain!”—Poets.org: https://poets.org/lesson-plan/and-winner-poetry-and-film
General, ReadWriteThink.org: https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/today-walt-whitman-birthday
William Carlos Williams
General, ReadWriteThink.org: https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/william-carlos-williams-born
General, PoetryFoundation.org: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/1588846/william-carlos-williams
Other Teaching Resources
Ambrose Bierce—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/kemo/learn/photosmultimedia/ambrose-bierce-narratives.htm
Willa Cather—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/people/willa-cather.htm
Willa Cather—WillaCather.org: https://www.willacather.org/about
Paul Laurence Dunbar—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/places/dunbar-house.htm
Ralph Waldo Emerson—RWEMA.org: https://rwema.org/
Robert Frost—NHStateParks.org: https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/robert-frost-farm-historic-site
Francis Scott Key—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm
Emma Lazarus—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm
Abraham Lincoln—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm
Edgar Allen Poe—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/edal/index.htm
Carl Sandburg—National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/carl/index.htm
Robert Louis Stevenson—Parks.ca.gov: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=472
Henry David Thoreau—Mass.gov: https://www.mass.gov/locations/walden-pond-state-reservation
Walt Whitman—NJ.gov: https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/historic/waltwhitmanhouse.html
Lesson Plans by Eileen Murphy that complement Poetry Out Loud
Sonic Patterns: Exploring Poetic Techniques Through Close Reading
Students use the idea of a composed memory and their knowledge of sonic patterns to draft, revise, and share their own original text.
Speaking Poetry: Exploring Sonic Patterns Through Performance
Students engage in a variety of vocal activities and performance techniques based on word sounds and then prepare a recitation for small group performances and compare their interpretative choices as part of the reflection process.
“I didn’t expect to learn so much about other people through POL. Each champion picks their poems for a reason. It truly shows what they’re passionate about and what they want to share to the world.”
Joy Ogunsakin, 2026 New Jersey State Champion