The Meet a Poem project provides approachable introductions to Dickinson’s poems, helping students and readers ask deeper questions and forge personal connections to poetry.
Meet a Poem consists of flexible lesson guides to individual Dickinson poems. Guest educators, creatives, and scholars introduce favorite famous and lesser-known poems, offering experiential techniques for teaching poetry. Each poem is paired with multi-modal strategies for connecting, reading, contextualizing, analyzing, responding, and expanding the exploration.
The Museum developed the framework in consultation with Bruce Penniman, Ed.D. for the study of Dickinson’s poetry. Rather than providing a play-by-play lesson plan, the guides are modular and flexible, allowing educators to adapt the approaches to their students. Drawing on Understanding by Design, Universal Design for Learning, and Culturally and Historically Responsive Education, the guides encourage students to use their own identities and experiences as lenses.
These guides are just a start. With over 1,800 poems to choose from, the Museum plans to regularly introduce new poems on this site.
We encourage you to:
- Download and print the free lesson guides (below).
- Write to Education Programs Manager Elias Bradley (ebradley@emilydickinsonmuseum.org) to share your thoughts.
- Support education programs by donating to the Emily Dickinson Fund.
MEET A POEM LESSON GUIDES
Color – Caste – Denomination –
Grades: High School
Subjects: English, History
Grades: Middle, High School
Subjects: English, Creative Writing
This is my letter to the World
Grades: Elementary, Middle, High School
Subjects: English, Creative Writing