I hate to admit it but this book took a while for me to write. There was so much going on in the world and in my head that I kept tripping over stumbling blocks. Well, that is behind me now and looking forward to the future. I can’t believe there is better timing for the release of this title. This book deliberately takes an apolitical approach, while fostering civic engagement and participatory citizenship. I’m looking forward to feedback from my fellow colleagues, so please share either here, on Amazon, or elsewhere.
Today, February 4 is the anniversary of Rosa Parks‘ birthday. Famous for her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa leaves us with an enduring legacy of resistance against racial discrimination and injustice.
People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.
Beyond the Bus Boycott: Rosa Parks’ Activism Before and After 1954 is a lesson to foster lifelong activism. Take a look here.
With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to take a moment to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
As we celebrate, it’s also important to remember the history of this holiday and its impact on Indigenous peoples. A great way to do this is by learning about the Indigenous tribes that originally lived in areas where you live and work. You can use the Native Land website and app to look up an address and find out which tribes were there historically or currently reside in the area.
The Islip UFSD area, where I work, was originally populated by the Secatogue; hence the name of our yearbook. I currently live on land inhabited by the Massapequas but will be traveling to Susquehannock land to visit with my family.
“Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry” –W.B. Yeats
Along with numerous schools throughout the country, next month students at Islip High School will celebrate National Poetry Month. On Friday, April 12 we will use the library all day to highlight and celebrate poems, poets, and poetry. Hands-on activities such as magnetic poetry, Post-A-Poem, Spine Poetry and Blackout Poetry, in addition to poetry recital will round out the gathering. We’ll also have a passive display of novels in verse.
*Remember these activities listed above can be done in any language. Give it a try – Pull out your Spanish language books for spine poetry!
One way to make your Poetry celebration unique, is to include poems highlighting social justice.
Indivisible: Poems for Social Justice (edited by Gail Bush) is an excellent choice. This anthology includes “over 50 works of poetry by 20th century writers on issues related to social justice in American society.” Use with middle school and high school classes.
Here are some helpful resources related to this title:
Interested in additional books? Take a look at Sylvia Vardell’ “Classroom Connections: Poetry and Social Justice” from Book Links.
Or, try using The Poetry Foundation’s Collection – “Poems of Protest, Resistance, and Empowerment” where students can explore “why poetry is necessary and sought after in moments of political crisis.”
Make connections through poetry by creating found poems. “In this activity, students analyze and interpret historical, primary source content, then synthesize the information, making personal connections with history as they retell it from their own perspective. The activity provides an opportunity for students to creatively share their historical understanding with an authentic audience.
While writing original poetry can be daunting to students, this activity uses a “found poetry” strategy. Using rich primary source texts, students select words that allow them to retell the historical content in poetic form.”
“To create a found poem, students select words, phrases, lines, and sentences from one or more written documents and combine them into a poem. Raw material for found poems can be selected from newspaper articles, speeches, diaries, advertisements, letters, food menus, brochures, short stories, manuscripts of plays, shopping lists, and even other poems.” Additional information can be found in this pdf. This activity is similar to blackout poetry.
So as you plan your National Poetry Month celebrations and activities, consider including social justice as a theme.
