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Poetry Study for High School

Does the idea of poetry study for high school in your homeschool stress you out? Wondering how to make it more engaging, more hands-on, and more interesting in general? You’re going to want to check this out!

Poetry tends to be something that falls to the wayside in our literature studies. We love good books of all kinds — classic and contemporary — but poetry just isn’t always as easy to get into.

Rhyming verse and funny poems were easier for the younger years. Read some Shel Silverstein, A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Seuss (that counts, right?), and poems like that and call it good. Kids get the basic premise of poetry and enjoy the rhymes. There are many great poets for children to study.

What about the high school years, though? There were some poems I specifically remember as being favorites, but nothing really memorable about poetry was covered in my own public school education. I wanted a way to share these poems in a more meaningful way with my daughter in her high school years. A way to appreciate the beauty of words in poetry.

Planning to homeschool through high school can be enough stress in itself. When it comes to trying to work everything in that you want to study and that your teenager wants to study, there is often little room left for the more delightful things like poetry.

You know how it is sometimes when you see a really clever lesson or a creative way to present ideas in your homeschool and you think, “That’s genius! I wish I had thought of that!” That’s the way I feel about the online course Poetry and a Movie from Literary Adventures for Kids.

Poetry Study for High School

Fortunately for us, homeschool mom Chantelle Grubbs did think of this ingenious way to include poetry study for high school in your homeschool. Now we can benefit from her research and planning! Poetry and a Movie self-paced online course combines poetry from some of the greatest poets with movies to provide a study that is high-interest and applicable to real life.

Teens can learn about poetry in a multi-sensory way by studying a poet/poems, and then watching a movie with the theme of that particular poem/poet tied in.

What Does Poetry and a Movie Cover?

  • A Study of the Master Poets with Background Information
  • A Study of Literary Elements and Form in the Poetry of the Master Poet
  • A Movie Suggestion to go along with the Poet
  • Writing Instruction
  • ​Grammar Instruction from Khan Academy
  • ​Fun elements like Poetry Teatime and Trivia Games

There are ten poets and ten movies covered in the course. It is divided into modules with each poet covering a month-long study, which means the course can be completed in 10 months or one school year.

The Poets

  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • William Blake
  • Edgar Allan Poe
  • Walt Whitman
  • Lord Alfred Tennyson
  • Langston Hughes​
  • William Wordsworth
  • William Butler Yeats
  • Dylan Thomas
  • Robert Frost

The Movies

  • Citizen Kane
  • Chariots of Fire
  • Holes
  • Dead Poet’s Society
  • The Blind Side
  • A Raisin in the Sun
  • A River Runs Through It
  • Memphis Belle
  • Interstellar
  • The Outsiders

The course itself is easy to access through the Teachable platform. It begins with a supply list including everything you will need to go along with the course. Most books/movies can be found at the library or easily purchased on Amazon.

homeschool poetry study for high school | homeschooling high school

Our Favorite Features of Poetry and a Movie

  • Students earn one full language arts credit by the end of the course. That’s great for the high school transcripts! It’s also flexible enough to use it as a supplement or just as a poetry study without the language arts lessons.
  • Learning how to write poetry — this course makes poetry approachable even if your teen doesn’t feel that they can do it.
  • Learning how to appreciate poetry — the literary elements, the emotions, the beauty of the words to convey so much imagery in diverse ways.
  • As a parent, I appreciate the links to reviews of the movies that we haven’t seen so I’m prepared for any issues that might arise.
  • The final project includes essay writing of two different types, each on the subject of the poetry you’ve just studied so it all works seamlessly together.
  • My daughter likes the fact that she can log in and complete her work independently, yet we can still have great discussions about what she’s learning through poetry tea time together.
  • Working in a timeline and trivia questions throughout the course keeps things moving and gives students perspective.
  • It’s self-paced and we have lifetime access. No pressure!
  • I feel good about providing this well-rounded poetry resource for my daughter’s education, especially because it’s not something we might’ve had time for any other way.

If you’re looking for poetry study for high school that will hold your teen’s interest and make poetry come to life, Poetry and a Movie will do that. I highly recommend you check it out and add it to your curriculum choices today!

Sara
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