Mater Amabilis™

  • Home
  • Overview
  • Subjects
    • Religion
      • L1B New Testament
      • Level 1B Catechism
      • L1A- A Life of Our Lord for Children
      • L2-Y1- First Christians Reading Schedule
      • L2-Y2-St. Patrick’s Summer
      • Level 3 & 4 Gospel
      • Level 3 Old Testament
    • Language Arts
    • History
      • National History Outline for Australian Students
      • L1B|L1A-This Country of Ours
      • L1|L2-Introduction to American History
        • L1|L2-Further Reading–American History
      • L1|L2-Introduction to British History
        • British History Lesson Plans
        • L2|Y1-Further Reading–British History
        • L2-Our (An) Island Story
        • L2-Introduction to British History for American Students
        • L1|L2-2year-Introduction to British History for British Students
        • L1|L2-3year-Introduction to British History
        • L2-Introduction to British History for British Students – 3 Year Option
        • L1A|L2|L3-Our Lady’s Dowry
      • L1A -Bible History
      • L1A-Ancient Egypt
      • L2-Ancient Greece
      • L2-Ancient Rome
      • Level 3 World History
        • L3-Y1|Y2 – World History Reading List
      • L3-American History
        • L3-From Sea to Shining Sea Reading List
      • L4-20th Century History Update 2024
      • L4-20th Century World History (old)
    • Geography & Earth Studies
      • Introduction to Geography and Earth Studies
      • L1B-Map Location Key
      • L1B-Rivers and Oceans
      • L1A-Weather
      • L1A–Y1– Maps & Mapping
      • L1A-Y1-Earth Studies – Weather
        • British Weather Lore
      • L1A-Y2-Mountains and Volcanoes
      • L3-4 Geography: History of Exploration
      • L4 – Geography of Europe
      • L3|L4-Geology
    • How to Study Shakespeare
      • Shakespeare Plan
      • An Introduction to Shakespeare
      • Comedy of Errors
      • Hamlet
      • Henry V
      • Notes on Julius Caesar
        • Julius Caesar
      • Macbeth
      • Much Ado About Nothing
      • Notes on The Merchant of Venice
        • The Merchant of Venice
      • Notes on The Taming of the Shrew
      • The Tempest
      • Notes on Twelfth Night
    • Science
      • Notes on Nature Study
      • L1B-Nature Study
      • L1A–Y1-Science
        • L1A-Y1-ARCHIVED-Science
      • L1A–Y2-Science
        • L1A–Y2-ARCHIVED- Science
      • L2-Y1-Science In Ancient Greece
      • L2-Y2-Human Body and History of Medicine
      • L3|L4-Science
        • L3-Science Through Time (Secrets of the Universe)
        • L3-ARCHIVED-Science
    • Poetry Plan
      • How to Read a Poem
    • Tales
      • L1A Tales
      • L2 Mythology
      • L3&4 Tales
    • Picture Study
      • Picture Study Resources – All Levels
    • Music Appreciation – All Levels
    • Civics
      • Plutarch
  • Prep Level
  • Level 1B
  • Level 1A
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Level 4
  • High School – Level 5 & 6
    • High School Religion
    • High School English
    • High School History
    • High School Geography
    • High School Science
    • High School Mathematics
    • High School Government, Economics, and Civics
    • On Track to Graduation
    • A Sample Daily Schedule

Poetry Levels 1-4

POETRY PLAN

Revision as of July 2022. This plan gives more time than the previous one for longer poems for families who wish to memorize the selections, or to add additional poets per term if families wish.

Note: The 36 week charts will not be updated for the 2022-23 school year, so you’ll need to use this document as your guide if following the new plan.  

Helpful Guide

How to Read a Poem by Sally Thomas

Useful for all levels, though for Levels 1 and 2, it’s definitely not necessary to ask most of these questions. A parent might gently acclimate a young child to observing patterns of rhyme, for example, as the child might notice things in nature. Poetry study and nature study have a lot in common, in fact, and this may be a useful way to think about approaching poetry, especially in the early years: mostly to delight in it, but also to talk about whatever somebody notices in a poem.

Ways to “do poetry” in your homeschool: 
  • Read the poem  first yourself, so that you can identify any difficult vocabulary and tell your children beforehand what those words mean. If there’s any context that might not be apparent to them, but that would help with their understanding, sketch that for them beforehand as well (poets tend to do this when giving readings of their own poems, because it helps an audience to listen better)
  • Read it aloud. You might read a short poem on Monday, then put it up on a whiteboard for the family to enjoy for the rest of the week, reading and then reciting it to each other. A long poem, such as “Casey at the Bat,” might be read in stages, a little bit at a time, over many days, just as you might read a chapter book. As with any reading, read only so much as your audience can pay attention to, and stop before attention wanes. 
  • Memorize. Begin with the shortest poems, a line at a time. Practice daily for a week. For longer poems, start by memorizing memorable excerpts in manageable lengths. An older child might choose to memorize a long poem in its entirety for exam week. 
  • Copy. Once a child is writing with some fluency, give 1-2 lines daily until a poem is finished. A Level 2-4 student might copy four lines at a time. It’s all right to be still copying one poem while you move on to reading another. It’s also all right not to copy a whole poem. 

Note that until Level 4, The Harp and the Laurel Wreath is the core text for poetry, unless otherwise indicated. Parents are welcome to substitute poems from other resources, or use other anthologies — a number of our favorites are listed at the end of this document. But HLW does give, over many years, a rich and thorough introduction to the tradition of poetry in English, at accessible but gently challenging levels. 

Families are also encouraged to read poetry outside school time for enjoyment.

Families with 3 or more children may want to pick 1 or 2 levels’ poetry to focus on rather than each year’s selections. 

Level 1B

The lesson plan for poetry at this level is simply to read aloud together and enjoy. Families may opt to memorize a poem weekly, or at their discretion. 

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath: Robert Louis Stevenson

1-2 poems per week

NB: All these poems are in the public domain and may be found easily online and printed out, if a family desires a free option. 

It is all right to revisit poems the family might have read earlier, as in all the selections from Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses. In fact, The Harp and the Laurel Wreath is set up to reintroduce the same poems again and again at higher levels, with the idea that each rereading will bring pleasure and the reward of greater insight. 

There are more Stevenson poems in The Harp and the Laurel Wreath than there are weeks in the term. Families are welcome to substitute favorite Stevenson poems not listed here for any of the listed poems. 

Some very short poems are doubled up, giving two poems a week. 

Week 1: Whole Duty of Children, p. 19, At the Seaside, p. 19

Week 2: Rain, p. 20, Happy Thought, p. 20

Week 3: Singing, p. 20, Time to Rise, p. 21

Week 4: Windy Nights, p. 28

Week 5: Bed in Summer, p. 28

Week 6: Where Go the Boats, p. 29

Week 7: Foreign Lands, p. 30

Week 8: The Land of Counterpane, p. 31

Week 9: My Shadow, p. 32

Week 10: The Wind, p. 33

Week 11: The Moon, p. 34

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

For a poetry “exam,” the child may choose one poem to recite from memory

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath: A.A. Milne

NB:  Milne’s When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, from which selections are taken, are also listed for this level. Milne’s poems are in the public domain and may be easily found online as well. 

Again, if these have been read before, it is FINE to read and enjoy them again. 

Week 1: The Christening, p. 40

Week 2: Furry Bear, p. 41

Week 3: At the Zoo, p. 42

Week 4: Disobedience

Week 5: Buckingham Palace

Week 6: The King’s Breakfast

Week 7: Pinkle Purr

Week 8: Rice Pudding

Week 9: If I Were King

Week 10: Market Square

Week 11: Us Two

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

**Poem to memorize for Christmas, if desired: A Christmas Carol, p. 47

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath: General Children’s Poems

Week 1: Singing Time, p. 21, I’m Glad, p. 22

Week 2: Once I Saw a Little Bird, p. 21

Week 3: Bird Talk, p. 22

Week 4: The Little Turtle, p. 23

Week 5: Animal Crackers, p. 23

Week 6: Merry Sunshine, p. 25

Week 7: There Once Was a Puffin, p. 26

Week 8: The Owl and the Pussycat, p. 43

Week 9: The Duel, p. 45

Week 10: The Song of Mr. Toad, p. 46

Week 11: Psalm 23

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Level 1A

Students continue reading in The Harp and the Laurel Wreath. This level offers a wide and generous feast of reading in the English and American poetic tradition. Because poems are longer, many are offered at a rate of one every other week, to facilitate reading and memorization. 

NB: Primary Language Lessons includes poetry lessons. The family may choose to do the PLL poetry lesson for a week instead of the poem listed in the rotation, OR to skip the PLL lesson and concentrate on the poem listed in the rotation. It is advisable not to try to do both. 

Level 1A Year 1

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: The Flag Goes By, p. 59

Weeks 3-4: The Children’s Hour, p. 60

Weeks 5-6: The Village Blacksmith

Weeks 7-8: The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls

Weeks 9-11: Casey at the Bat

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: Old Ironsides, p. 68

Weeks 3-4: Hiawatha’s Childhood, p. 69

Weeks 5-6: Columbus, p. 73

Weeks 7-8: America for Me, p. 74

Weeks 9-10: Sea Fever, p. 75

Week 11: Requiem, p. 83

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

**Poem to memorize at Christmas, if desired: Christmas Everywhere, p. 76

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: Spring, p. 81

Weeks 3-4: Christopher Columbus, p. 84

Weeks 5-6: Pocahontas, p. 86

Weeks 7-8: George Washington, p. 87

Weeks 9-10: Benjamin Franklin, p. 89

Week 11: Captain Kidd, p. 83

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Level 1A Year 2

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: The Fool’s Prayer, p. 77

Weeks 3-4: The Ballad of William Sycamore, p. 90

Weeks 5-6: Paul Revere’s Ride, p. 94

Weeks 7-8: Sheridan’s Ride, p. 100

Weeks 9-10: The Star-Spangled Banner, p. 103

Week 11: O Captain, My Captain!, p. 99

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: Solitude, p. 104

Weeks 3-4: The Destruction of Sennacherib, p. 105

Weeks 5-6: The Spider and the Fly, p. 107

Weeks 7-8: The Ride of Collins Graves, p. 109

Weeks 9-10: How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix, p. 112

Week 11: A Child’s Wish, p. 106

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Poem to memorize for Christmas: Christmas Bells, p. 63

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: Charge of the Light Brigade, p. 115

Weeks 3-4: Father William, p. 117

(you may also like to read Lewis Carroll’s parody of this poem)

Weeks 5-6: An Old Woman of the Roads, p. 119

Week 7: The Lake Isle of Innisfree, p. 118

Week 8: The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, p. 118

Week 9: The Violet, p. 120

Week 10: The Builders, p. 121

Week 11: The Eagle, p. 124

Level 2

At this level, students continue to explore a wide and varied feast of poetry in English via The Harp and the Laurel Wreath, reading, enjoying, and memorizing. As time goes on, their reading becomes more mature and sophisticated, though they will occasionally encounter some old friends from earlier levels. 

As in Level 1A, students will encounter occasional poetry lessons in their language-arts text, Intermediate Language Lessons. A family will need to choose between the poetry lesson and the poem in the week’s rotation; do not do both. 

Level 2 Year 1

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Week 1: Be Strong!, p. 122

Week 2: Jabberwocky, p. 123

Weeks 3-4: Hymn, p. 125

Weeks 5-8: Horatius at the Bridge, p. 159

Week 9: On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, p. 170

Week 10: from The Princess, p. 171

Week 11: The Arrow and the Song, p. 185

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath: 

Speeches from Shakespeare

Weeks 1-2: from The Tempest, p. 145

Weeks 3-4: from Julius Caesar, p. 146

Weeks 5-6: from Hamlet, p. 148

Weeks 7-8: from Henry V, p. 149

Weeks 9-10: from Henry V, p. 151

Week 11: from Macbeth, p. 153

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

**Poem to memorize for Christmas: The Light of Bethlehem, p. 124

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath 

& resources from the public domain

Weeks 1-3: The Lady of Shalott

Weeks 4-8: The Ballad of the White Horse

Week 9: Lochinvar, p. 179

Weeks 10-11: The Soul, p. 181

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Level 2 Year 2

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: Woodman, Spare That Tree!, p. 182

Weeks 3-4: A Psalm of Life, p. 184

Weeks 5-6: In School-Days, p. 191

Weeks 7-8: The Barefoot Boy, p. 187

Weeks 9-10: When the Frost’s On the Punkin, p. 199

Week 11: The Arrow and the Song, p. 185

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath: 

Shakespeare, Speeches and Sonnets*

Week 1: from The Merchant of Venice, p. 153

Week 2: from The Merchant of Venice, p. 154

Weeks 3-4: Sonnet XVIII, p. 156

Weeks 5-6: Sonnet XIX, p. 156

Weeks 7-8: Sonnet XXX, p. 157

Weeks 9-10: Sonnet XXXVI, p. 157

Week 11: Sonnet CXVI, p. 158

*Helpful resource: The Art of the Sonnet

**Poem to memorize for Christmas: In the Bleak Midwinter

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: Winter Memories, p. 193

Weeks 3-4: Dickens in Camp, p. 194

Weeks 5-6: The Things That Will Not Die, p. 197

Weeks 7-8: The Builders, p. 186

Week 9: The Maldive Shark, p. 195

Week 10: There Are Gains for All Our Losses, p. 196

Week 11: Conscience and Remorse, p. 201

Level 3

In this level, students continue to develop as readers of poetry, bringing more and more maturity and sophistication to their encounters with poems. While they are still reading primarily for enjoyment, at this level it is appropriate to begin to consider and notice literary devices in their reading. They will wish to read and refer to the glossary of these terms in The Harp and the Laurel Wreath, pp. 219-222, which may be assigned at the beginning of the first term in this level, alongside the short poem set for that first week. 

Note that the text includes study questions at this level. The student should largely ignore them, though they might be used as prompts for informal, casual discussion as opportunities arise. 

Level 3 Year 1

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Week 1: literary terms, pp. 219-222, “In Coventry,” p. 223

Week 2: The Vulture, p. 224

Week 3: The Height of the Ridiculous, p. 225

Weeks 4-5: How Cyrus Laid the Cable, p. 226

Week 6: Why Tigers Can’t Climb, p. 228

Weeks 7-8: My Familiar, p. 230

Week 9: When I Was in Love, p. 232

Week 10: Portrait By a Neighbor, p. 233

Week 11: The Ticket Agent, p. 234

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: The Feast of Padre Chala, p. 235

Weeks 3-4: Robinson Crusoe’s Story, p. 239

Weeks 5-6: The Cremation of Sam McGee, p. 241

Weeks 7-8: Matilda, p. 246

Week 9: Strictly Germ-Proof, p. 248

Weeks 10-11: The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven, p. 249

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

**Poem to memorize for Christmas: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Week 1: The Purple Cow & Cinq Ans Aprés, p. 251

Week 2: The Embarrassing Episode of Little Miss Muffet, p. 252

Week 3: Jabberwocky, p. 254

Week 4: Thy Neighbors’ Fault, p. 256

Week 5: How to Tell the Wild Animals, p. 257

Week 6: I Never Saw a Moor, p. 258

Week 7: Hymn to the Night, p. 258

Week 8: Barter, p. 259

Week 9: Fame & Father Damien, p. 261

Week 10: Prayer of a Soldier in France, p. 262

Week 11: High Flight, p. 263

Level 3 Year 2

Term 1: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Week 1: Guilielmus Rex, p. 264

Week 2: O Captain! My Captain! P. 265

Week 3: Daffodils, p. 267

Week 4: When I Was One-and-Twenty, p. 271

Week 5: The Head and the Heart, p. 293

Week 6: Travel, p. 294

Week 7: The Wild Honeysuckle, p. 297

Week 8: The Chambered Nautilus, p. 298

Week 9: The Snow-Storm, p. 299

Week 10: The Lake Isle of Innisfree, p. 306

Week 11: Prospice, p. 309

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Term 2: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Weeks 1-2: How the Great Guest Came, p. 311

Week 3: Little Boy Blue, p. 314

Week 4: The Day is Done, p. 317

Week 5: The Tables Turned, p. 319

Week 6: The Virgin, p. 321

Week 7: The Destruction of Sennacherib, p. 322

Weeks 8-11: Lepanto, p. 323

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

**Poem to memorize for Christmas: The Burning Babe, p. 374

Term 3: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

Week 1: The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, p. 330

Week 2: The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd, p. 331

Week 3: A Song, p. 332

Week 4: To Celia, p. 334

Week 5: To Virgins, to Make Much of Time, p. 335

Week 6: A General Communion, p. 336

Week 7: Love (III), p. 337

Week 8: The Pulley, p. 338

Week 9: Edward, Edward, p. 370

Week 10: Get Up and Bar the Door, p. 372

Week 11: Sonnet LXI, p. 379

Level 4

Poetry in this level will be concentrated on the poetry of World Wars and other voices of the twentieth century. Parents may choose to print out the linked pages for each term and bind them. 

Here again, while students may continue to exercise a more sophisticated level of reading, informed by literary terms, they are reading primarily to experience these poems, not to analyze them. There is no “secret code” to poetry, although some poems may need repeated readings, and exercise in use of the dictionary, to penetrate what is happening in them. 

Term 1: War Poetry

World War I resource page

World War II resource page

Week 1: Channel Firing

Week 2: Peace

Week 3: Joining the Colours

Week 4: War Girls

Week 5: For the Fallen

Week 6: In Flanders Fields

Week 7: Strange Meeting

Week 8: Adlestrop

Week 9: Naming of Parts

Week 10: The Death of the Ball-Turret Gunner

Week 11: The War in the Air

Term 2: The Harlem Renaissance

Resource page

Week 1: December 1919

Week 2: The Heart of a Woman

Week 3: Dunbar (the title alludes to the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar)

Week 4: November Cotton Flower

Week 5: America

Week 6: Dreams

Week 7: Childhood

Week 8: A Black Man Talks of Reaping

Week 9: Hard Time Blues

Week 10: Lift Every Voice and Sing

Week 11: I, Too

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Poem to memorize for Christmas: Christmas, Harp and Laurel Wreath, p. 315

Term 3: Twentieth Century American Poetry 

Week 1: The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter

Week 2: Winter Trees 

Week 3: Janet Waking

Week 4: First Fig

Week 5: A Jellyfish

Week 6: [In Just-]

Week 7: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

Week 8: The Fish

Week 9: The Writer

Week 10: We Real Cool

Week 11: Prayer

Week 12: Open/Exam Week

Further Poetry Resources for Levels 1-4

For family read-alouds and strewing for children to pick up and read. 

Talking to the Sun, Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrell*

How to Eat a Poem, Kenneth Koch

All the Silver Pennies, Blanche Jennings Thompson

Early in the Morning, plus other children’s titles by Charles Causley

The Rattle Bag, Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes*

Golden Treasury of Poetry, Louis Untermeyer

Opposites, More Opposites, and a Few Differences, Richard Wilbur

Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris

30 Poems to Memorize Before It’s Too Late, David Kern

*especially good for poetic traditions outside England and America

Levels 5 & 6

Poetry is integrated into the 4 year high school literature plan.

Level 5 Year 1: Classical Epics, British poetry to 1500

Level 5 Year 2: Dante, Poetry & Prose from the Elizabethan to the Neoclassical Age

Level 6 Year 1: Poetry from the Romantic to the Victorian Age

Level 6 Year 2: Genre study of poetry using Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Primary Sidebar

A Catholic Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum

St. Thomas Aquinas & Charlotte Mason

Mater Amabilis

Join us in a private Facebook group for support implementing Mater Amabilis curriculum.

Overview of the Curriculum

VIEW HERE

Getting Started Guide

Click here to download and print our helpful guide to getting started with Mater Amabilis ™ curriculum.

Helpful Resource Pages

Religion

Language Arts

History

Science Overview

How To Study Shakespeare

Nature Study

Geography & Earth Studies

Picture Study

Music Appreciation

Plutarch

Search MA

Amazon Affiliate

This site contains links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Maureen Wittmann earns affiliate income from qualifying purchases made through linked purchases from this site. We are grateful for your support which goes toward the maintenance and upkeep of Mater Amabilis.

Mater Amabilis

“. . . our Blessed Virgin Mary is called Amabilis, or lovable, as being such to the children of the Church.” -Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman

Copywork Made Clear

Here is a new video on the value and process of copywork.

A Tour of the MA website

Here is a brief tour through the website, including how to find the introduction, overview, subject helps, and level landing pages. We have also included a tour of level 1A as an example of the resources available for most levels, and a quick look at the high school levels.

The Joy of Copywork

by Sally Thomas I’ve always loved copywork. In grade school, the nicest days – aside from the days when the art teacher read us Amelia Bedelia – were the days when the teacher handed us a poem, purple, damp, and vaguely vanilla-scented, fresh from the ditto machine. Generally it was a poem of the season, … Read More about The Joy of Copywork

Mater Amabilis gratefully accepts donations toward the maintenance of the site.

Privacy Policy

Mater Amabilis does not collect, use, or store data from visitors.

Third parties (including Amazon and any other site we link to) MAY collect, use, or store data from visitors, and place or recognize cookies on visitors’ browsers. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

Disclosure:

Mater Amabilis is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to offset fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Usage:

Copyright © 2003 – 2022. All Rights Reserved. Use of this material is subject to the terms of the Mater Amabilis™ License Agreement.

Use of the Mater Amabilis™ name and/or image is not permitted without written permission.

Follow us on Social Media

Copyright © 2025 · Mater Amabilis