The Power of Poetry

This activity has two parts. The procedure is outlined below.

Have students watch two videos: Amanda Gorman reading her inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb," and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reading "I Have a Dream."

After they’ve watched the videos, ask them to highlight specific rhetorical strategies in those two selections using the Categorical Highlighting strategy. The written texts are included in attachments.

When they finish highlighting, have them respond to the question, "What makes a piece of writing poetry?"

Communicate the following to students:

Overview:

"The video you just watched was of Amanda Gorman reading a poem she has written. You may have noticed some rhetorical strategies, such as alliteration, repetition, allusion, etc., used in the poem. Writers use rhetorical strategies to convey meaning and evoke a response from the reader. How do these rhetorical strategies help the flow of the poem and give it meaning? How does the poet draw you into her thoughts and emotions? To help you answer these questions, use a strategy called Categorical Highlighting to analyze two pieces of writing. Below, you will find instructions about what to highlight in the two selections."

Next, share the following procedure along with the following links:

• The Hill We Climb

• I Have a Dream

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JYftYDHJeYn6qH86_BwdM_ONR9EX3NgG/copy

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n_1Ds5QvSOn5bpr8URa7EPIDMTm_8brS/copy

• Online Discourse Etiquette

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ppq-8cAxdqbrH5uFm30LUcD6YnzccnU/copy

This information may be embedded in an LMS or may be shared in a virtual classroom such as Google Classroom.

Procedure:

1. This activity has two parts.

2. First, have students watch these two speeches:

   • The first video is of Amanda Gorman reading a poem she wrote and delivered at President Joe Biden’s Inauguration on January 20, 2021.

   • The second video is of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Start at 11:10. Instruct students to watch the videos and think about who the audience is and what the purposes are of these two pieces.

3. Next, have students use the Categorical Highlighting strategy to analyze some of the rhetorical strategies used in each piece. Have them think about why the author may have chosen those rhetorical strategies and what effects the strategies may have on the audience.

4. Instruct them to highlight the following rhetorical strategies with the designated colors:

   • [Pink] Alliteration

     is a device frequently used in poetry or rhetoric (speechmaking) where words starting with the same consonant are used in close proximity.

   • [Blue] Allusion is an indirect reference to a work of literature (not explicit) that assumes the reader is familiar with the work alluded to.

   • [Green] Internal rhyme, also known as middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme.

   • [Yellow] Repetition is repeating words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. Repetition is used to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm, and/or develop a sense of urgency.

5. Instruct students to complete the Categorical Highlighting using Google Docs. They can access both texts with these links: "The Hill We Climb" and "I Have a Dream."

6. If students need help using Google Docs for highlighting, have them watch this video.

7. When students have finished highlighting, have them submit both documents.

8. Once they have submitted their documents, have them sign onto the Discussion Board and answer the following question: What makes a piece of writing poetry?

9. Have them make an original, constructive comment on one or two of their classmates’ posts. Remind them that "This is cool," or "Awesome!" are not good examples of constructive comments. Invite them to consider what they like about a particular post—or perhaps whether it made them consider a new angle. Ask them to start off their comment with something like, "I really like how you…" or "I agree with what you said about (blank) because…"

   • Have students watch the Online Discourse Etiquette video to help guide their comments.

   • Have them use the attached Discussion Post Rubric to help develop comments.