Posts Tuesdays (Grades 9-12)

Course Objective
The High School Poetry course introduces students to the beauty and structure of poetry while fostering creativity and literary analysis. Learners will explore both classic and contemporary poems and develop an appreciation for poetic devices. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• • Identify and analyze common poetic devices, including metaphor, simile, and imagery

  • Explore a variety of poetic forms such as sonnets, odes, villanelle, tanka, and free verse

  • Understand syllabication, rhyme, and the fundamentals of poetic structure

  • Develop their own creative poems while adhering to structural conventions

  • Build confidence in reading, interpreting, and writing poetry

Course Description
Many high school students find poetry intimidating or difficult to understand. This course demystifies poetry by allowing students to play with words and experience different poetic forms from the inside out. Learners will study both classic and popular poems to understand structure, rhythm, and expressive techniques.

Students will gain hands-on experience with:

• • Writing and experimenting with sonnets, odes, villanelle, tanka, free verse, and more

  • Applying poetic devices like metaphor, imagery, alliteration, and rhyme in their own work

  • Analyzing poems for meaning, structure, and stylistic choices

  • Emphasizing creativity and self-expression over perfection

By the end of the course, students will have a strong foundation in high school poetry, equipped to read, interpret, and compose poems with confidence, creativity, and understanding of formal structures.