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Aboriginal Curriculum Integration Project

English

Poetry Lesson

(Submitted by Heidi Wood - SD 41 Burnaby)

Poem: My Box of Letters
Source: Native Poetry in Canada: A Contemporary Anthology
Poet: Lee Maracle

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

Goal of the Lesson

  1. To have students explore and record their own history through inferential reading of poetry. 
  2. To have students explore meaning in text through guided conversation.

Activate Prior Knowledge

Utilize the “Poet’s Toolbox” (Georgia Heard)

Review with the students what kinds of tools can be used when writing a poem: imagery, metaphor, words (powerful & descriptive), etc.
          
Teacher reviews with the students the templates for “I Am From” poems using the resource:  “Reading, Writing and Rising Up”

Discuss how poems and stories can be non-fiction, autobiographical or fictional. 

Predict

Teachers ask students to consider the following questions while completing the poetry writing/reading tasks below:

What does the title of the poem tell you?
What are some different types of boxes? Letters?

Questions & Interpret

What tools have been used that help you confirm meaning and make an opinion?  Support your answer with examples from the text.

What tools does the author use to convey her thoughts and feelings? (ie. personification of the letters of the alphabet)

What is the purpose and significance behind the structure of the poem? (specifically looking at the couplets, the date in brackets after the title, the age in which she wrote the poem at the end)

What do the “letters” really represent?

What change does the speaker describe in the poem?   Her changing relationship with the letters, words, language – from resentment to have more control over them.

Have you had a similar experience with something you have had to learn or wanted to learn?   Tell this story to a partner.

In your opinion, what is the poet trying to connect with?

What was the speaker’s strategy in coping with her difficult relationship with the alphabet?  Instead of rejecting the letters, words, language, she became their friend and now she has a career as a writer.

Tasks

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

Videos

Lee Maracle Part 1

Click above to view video (Windows Media Player)

Lee Maracle Part 2

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Click above to view video (Windows Media Player)

Reminders/Caution
Discussing family trees and encouraging discovery into a child’s heritage can sometimes cause conflict or unresolved emotions. 

Optional format:

Demonstrate Understanding

Refer to the assessment/evaluation checklist included. (the one included was developed with student input during class discussion)

Reflect on Learning

What did I learn about myself/my family that was new? 
How did this process make me feel during/after?

Extended Learning Activities

  1. Create a class “I Am From” map that show where each child is from and connect the location with a string to their poem.
  2. Create Identity Boxes (sample picture & template included)