LESSON ONE: The Influence of Landscape on William Butler Yeats
This lesson plan, designed for grades 7-12, aims to teach students about the influence the landscape of Ireland (the Giant Causeway, Belfast, Trinity College, etc.) had on shaping the poetic voice of William Butler Yeats. It forms a strong base of knowledge about Irish history for the following two lessons.

LESSON TWO: The Influence of Environment on Jack Yeats
Jack, as well as W. B. Yeats, spent considerable time at their maternal grandparents' home in Sligo. As a child, he constructed imaginative line drawings of coastlines, pirates, pirate coves and villages. He also constructed a miniature theater and developed and produced dramatic manuscripts, many of which centered on pirates and sea adventures. This consuming interest in the sea would be evident in his works throughout his life, enhanced by his eventual close relationship with the poet, John Masefield. This lesson plan is designed to help students access the above influences as they are evidenced in the drawings and paintings of Jack Yeats.

LESSON THREE: Influences and Change for William and Jack Yeats
W. B. Yeats was born in 1865 and died in 1939. Jack Yeats was born in 1871 and
died in 1957. These dates are of very special significance to any study of the two artists because the time spans mirror the dramatic changes that occurred in the philosophical, political, social, and ensuing cultural landscapes of the last part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. This lesson is designed to help students better understand the shifting dynamics that would unsettle and re-contour the cultural expression of the above time period, and to use this background to help penetrate the complexity of the themes and forms found in the works of W. B. and Jack Yeats.

LESSON FOUR: The Individual Fingerprints: the Mature Years

LESSON FIVE: Selections of Yeats' poetry related to his involvement in the Irish Nationalist movement

LESSON SIX: Jack Yeats: A Few Samplings From The Mature Years