Essential Understandings
- Poetry as a Lens for Identity: Poetry is a powerful medium for exploring, expressing, and understanding one's own identity, emotions, and experiences.
- Form Follows Function: The structure and literary devices of a poem (e.g., rhyme, metaphor, repetition) are intentional choices made by the poet to shape meaning and impact the reader.
- Cultural Expression through Art: Indigenous poetry often serves as a vessel for conveying cultural identity, history, sovereignty, lifeways, and connection to land and language.
- From Analysis to Creation: The process of critically analyzing poetry provides the tools and inspiration for creating one's own original creative work.
- Performance as Interpretation: Performing a poem (orally or recorded) is an act of interpretation that adds a new layer of personal meaning to the written text.
Overview
This unit is designed to expose students to a variety of music and video clips to pair with Indigenous poet voices. All of the work is centered on the concept of ‘self’ and follows the essential question: How does poetry and creative expression contribute to the understanding of self?
Essential Questions
- How do poetry and creative expression contribute to understanding the self?
Logistics
Where does this activity take place?
Classroom
How are students organized?
In whole class and small groups depending on the activity.
Time Required
5 Days
Oregon Standards
6.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
7.RL.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.*
7.RL.5 Analyze how a drama's or poem's form or structure contributes to its meaning.*
7.RL.7 Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium. ● 8th
MA.9.RE3.8 1. Evaluate media artworks and production processes with developed criteria, considering context and artistic goals.
MA.11.CO2.8 1. Demonstrate and explain how media artworks and ideas relate to various contexts, purposes, and values, such as democracy, environment, and connecting people and places.
TH/SH Universal Understandings: 2. Sovereignty; 3. History; 5. Identity; 6. Lifeways; 7. Language.
Assessment Outcomes
Formative Assessments:
- Exit Tickets: Brief written responses to discussion questions (e.g., reflections on podcast, poem themes).
- Class Discussions & Annotations: Participation in collaborative analysis of poems (Carrying Our Words, 109 Bermuda, This Morning I Pray for My Enemies).
- Graphic Organizer: Completion of a worksheet based on an annotated poem, demonstrating comprehension.
- Peer Review: Providing and receiving feedback on poem drafts.
Summative Assessments (Cumulative Evaluations):
- Annotated Poem: A completed annotation of a selected poem, demonstrating the ability to analyze literary devices and meaning. (Assesses: Analysis & Interpretation)
- Final Original Poem: A polished, original poem inspired by memory or music that incorporates at least two literary devices. (Assesses: Create & Express)
- Poetry Performance/Recording: A live or recorded performance of the final poem. (Assesses: Create & Express, Performance as Interpretation)
- Final Reflection: A written exit ticket or short essay reflecting on the creative process and the unit's essential question. (Assesses: Reflect, Connect & Relate)
Background for Teachers
Before Delivering These Lessons
It is highly recommended that classrooms are created in such a way that all students' voices and choices are heard. Learning for Justice has a wonderful PDF to help instructors navigate classroom discussions: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/lets-talk.
When teaching academic content that includes difficult or emotional topics from a Native perspective, it is essential to create a supportive and respectful classroom environment. Acknowledge that Native histories, identities, and experiences are deeply personal and can evoke strong emotions.
Provide students with opportunities for reflection and personal connection while allowing them to engage at their comfort level. Be mindful that some students may need additional emotional support, including the option to step out, journal privately, or debrief in a safe space.
Encourage a learning environment that values listening, respect, and the lived experiences of Native peoples. Whenever possible, collaborate with Native educators, community members, or cultural resources to ensure accurate and affirming representation. Finally, recognize that learning about historical and ongoing injustices can be challenging for many, and offer space for healing, resilience, and the celebration of Indigenous strength and contributions.
Materials
- Access to screen projector
- Wi-Fi
- District permissions for Spotify and YouTube
- Copier
Unit Learning Targets
Students will be able to...
1. Analyze & Interpret:
- I can define and identify common poetic devices (e.g., metaphor, simile, imagery, repetition) in a poem.
- I can annotate a poem to track my thinking and uncover deeper meanings.
- I can analyze how a poem's structure contributes to its overall meaning.
- I can explain how poets use literary devices to convey themes of identity, culture, and history.
2. Connect & Relate:
- I can compare and contrast how different mediums (written, audio, performed) affect the experience of a poem.
- I can discuss how Indigenous poets express themes of sovereignty, lifeways, and language in their work.
- I can connect the themes and ideas in poetry to my own life and sense of self.
3. Create & Express:
- I can write an original poem that explores a facet of my identity or experience.
- I can intentionally incorporate literary devices to enhance the meaning and impact of my poem.
- I can revise my writing based on feedback and self-reflection.
- I can perform my original poem to convey its meaning and emotion to an audience.
4. Reflect:
- I can reflect on my creative process and how it helped me gain a deeper understanding of myself.