Nature and the Self Poetry Lesson
Lesson Plan
1 hour 30 minutesGrades3, 4, 5English Language Arts
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Written by Emiliano Amaro, Lisa Greenwood, Angelique Hammack
About this lesson
Students write a poem about a piece of nature and share their poem with the community.
Inquire: Students listen to a poem and construct a shared understanding or meaning of nature.
Investigate: Students explore their school area for something they consider to be a part of nature and use this as inspiration for a poem.
Inspire: Students create a poster with their poem and images that describe their poem.
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Everything you need to teach it
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Suggestions
- This lesson would tie in with a unit of study on poetry or as a way to celebrate Earth Day.
- The Investigate and Inspire section can be completed on separate days or in an ELA block.
- The Inspire section can be completed over two days. Students can create their posters on one day and present and reflect on a separate day.
- Student action and justice are explored as students think about the perspectives of different writers and how they respond to nature. In turn, students explore their own relationships with nature, write a poem about it, and share it with their community.
- This lesson explores SEL concepts of fostering self-awareness and social awareness as students make connections between themselves and the natural world.
Prerequisites
- Before the lesson, find out which native inhabitants lived where your school community is and prepare to recognize them in the land acknowledgement. More information on how to do this can be found in the Teacher Document and the Teacher Slideshow.
- Obtain a copy of the book Thanku: Poems of Gratitude by Miranda Paul. The book can be found on Epic!. The following poems from the book are nature-themed and can be read aloud: “Giving Thanks,” “Dear Sky,” “Flights,” “Constellation,” “Drops of Gratitude,” “Falling Leaves,” “The Perfect Rock,” “Autumn By the Sea,” “Paint the Sunset,” and “All This.”
- Collect art supplies for students to use to create their posters.
- Students should have a baseline understanding of the poetry genre.
Differentiation
- The lesson plan provides options for identifying nature, including a class walk outside, observing outside from the window, and using Google Maps to view the school campus.
- Students have options to present their posters and poems, including reading the poem aloud, creating a video, making an audio recording, and sharing a printed copy of the poem.
- Students can use the provided sentence frames in the Teacher Document and slides for class or group discussions.
- Visual sentence boards are included in the Teacher Document to support student responses.
- Optional graphic organizers are in the Student Document and are differentiated to offer students additional support during the writing process.
- Students can share their posters individually, or the class can collaborate on an organized effort to share multiple posters in a community location.
From the scientist review
Students can gain knowledge about nature and human interactions with it through this lesson. They can also use poetry to communicate best practices for protecting the environment in public places and schools. Our science team reviewed the lesson and approved it for use in the classroom.
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About the teacher writers
Emiliano Amaro
3-5 ELD and ELA Teacher
Emiliano Amaro holds a Bachelor's degree in Society and Environment from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Education from the UCLA Teacher Education Program. He has been teaching since 2020 and has six years of experience in elementary education, middle school English, and middle school mathematics. Emiliano holds a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and specializes in social and environmental justice through interdisciplinary teaching and environmental education.
Lisa Greenwood
K-2 Teacher
Lisa Greenwood holds a Master's Degree in Childhood Education from CUNY Hunter College. She has nine years of experience teaching all subjects, including STEM, for grades K–5. Lisa holds New York State Professional Certificates in Childhood Education and Special Education.
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Angelique Hammack
K-8 General and Special Education Teacher
Angelique Hammack is a K–5 educator with a Master of Arts in Education from California State University, San Marcos. She has been teaching since 2017 and specializes in reading, mathematics, and writing in both general and special education settings. Angelique is a certified CALTPA Multiple Subject Scorer and holds an Education Specialist Credential.
