Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Lesson plans for "Paul Revere's Ride" and other poems

| Biography and Background | | "Paul Revere's Ride" | | Other Poems |

Biography and Background

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Biography, links to e-texts.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Biography, portrait, and links to related sites from Wikipedia.

"Paul Revere's Ride"

Click here : these lesson plans are on a separate page.

Other Poems

"The Arrow and the Song"
Text of the poem in 3 formats: MP3, PDF, and web page. Also included, one-page graphic organizer in PDF format to assist with comparing and contrasting the arrow and the song. Flesch–Kincaid Readability Level: 9.0

"Hiawatha" — Identify Cultural Influences
After watching a 7-minute video of part of "The Song of Hiawatha," students identify aspects of Native American life represented in the poem and illustrations. This lesson is designed for grades 6-8.

"The Cross of Snow"
Text of the sonnet.

Sample Lesson from the Gold Book
Brief biography of Longfellow, suggestions for reading "Day is Done," "Evangeline," and "The Song of Hiawatha." Answers are included at the bottom.

Identify Cultural Influences - Hiawatha
Students identify aspects of Native American life represented in the poem and illustrations of Hiawatha , illustrated by Susan Jeffers, based upon the epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Includes video and handout. Designed for grades 5-8.

"Psalm of Life"
Text of the poem in 3 formats: MP3, PDF, and web page. Also included, 1-page graphic organizer in PDF format to assist with analysis. Flesch–Kincaid Readability Level: 8.0

"There Was a Little Girl"
Text of the poem in 3 formats: MP3, PDF, and web page. Also included, graphic organizer in PDF format to assist with word study.

"The Village Blacksmith"
Text of the poem in 3 formats: MP3, PDF, and web page. Also included, vocabulary activity. Flesch–Kincaid Readability Level: 8.0

"The Village Blacksmith": The Reality of a Poem
In this lesson students analyze the historical context of the poem as a way to understand its theme.

Lessons Learned from Longfellow’s Blacksmith
This blog post comes from a site called "The Art of Manliness," a tongue-in-cheek site. In its playfulness, though, it presents some valuable insights. Consider challenging students to write a similar blog in which tone and content work together as they relate a poem to their own lives.

"The Wreck of the Hesperus"
This lesson focuses on characterization, mood, conflict, and the role of allusions.

"The Wreck of the Hesperus "
Text of the poem in 3 formats: MP3, PDF, and web page. Also included, 1-page graphic organizer to help with analysis of this narrative poem. Flesch–Kincaid Readability Level: 8.0