Distance Learning · For Your Classroom

Fall Poems to Teach

I love fall! (And I know you probably do too!) But it’s also my favorite part of the school year. I feel like we’ve had enough time in the school year to get routines down, and get to know each other a little, but the year is still new enough that everything feels exciting!

If some of your poetry lessons coincide with this time of year, here are 12 fall poems that are perfect for high school (and many for middle school as well). I’ve listed just a few of the poetic devices/ characteristics that jumped out at me for each poem, but I’m sure you will discover more in each poem yourself.

All of these are currently available to read for free online. Just click the poem title to visit the link.

  1. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost
    • Rhyme scheme
    • Allusion
    • Personification
    • Alliteration 

An excellent companion to these — or any — poems is this Digital Poetry Choice Board. You can choose from 11 different poetry activities to build your own choice board in less than 2 minutes! Students can click on the activity options you provided to view the included instructions and grading rubric for each project to help them decide if it’s right for them. You’ll save valuable time, and students will be more invested in their poetry study when completing an activity of their choosing.

  1. “Fall, leaves, fall” by Emily Brontë
    • Rhyme scheme 
    • Alliteration
  1. “To Autumn” by John Keats
    • Rhyme scheme
    • Alliteration
    • Personification 
    • Simile
    • New vocabulary 
  1. “Sonnet 73” by William Shakespeare
    • Rhyme scheme
    • Metaphor
    • Alliteration
    • Personification
    • Form poem
  1. “First Fall” by Maggie Smith
    • Free verse poem
    • Alliteration
  1. “September Tomatoes” by Karina Borowicz
    • Free verse poem
    • Personification 

Another fun fall-themed ELA activity is this Grammar Scavenger Hunt! Check it out!

  1. “Song for Autumn” by Mary Oliver
    • Free verse poem
    • Personification 
    • Alliteration
    • New vocabulary 
  1. “Leaves” by Elsie N. Brady  
    • Rhyme scheme
    • Simile
    • Alliteration
    • Personification 
  1. “Theme in Yellow” by Carl Sandburg 
    • Assonance
    • Anthropomorphism 
    • Free verse poem
  1. “Whim Wood” by Katherine Towers
    • Near-rhyme
    • Personification
    • Metaphor
  1. “Autumn Fires” by Robert Louis Stevenson
    • Rhyme scheme
    • Alliteration
  1. “Pleasant Sounds” by John Clare
    • Onomatopoeia 
    • Free verse poem
    • Alliteration

Don’t forget to check out the Digital Poetry Choice Board!

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