• Identify the central idea of the texts.
• Identify and analyze similes and metaphors as effective devices in discussing everyday details.
• Analyze poems’ structure through rhyme, repetition, and form and how these devices increase the poem’s impact.
• Craft a poem using stylistic elements, such as rhyme, repetition, simile, and metaphor, as observed in the mentor poems in the unit.
• Recognize poetry as a means to share stories and experiences, small and large.

1. “AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry” story
2. “Because Poem Assignment”
3. “Central Idea Worksheet”
4. “Central Idea Worksheet Answer Key”
5. “Poetic Elements Worksheet”
6. “Poetic Elements Worksheet Answer Key”
7. “Similes & Metaphors Worksheet”
8. “Similes & Metaphors Worksheet Answer Key”
9. “Unit Evaluation Worksheet”
10. “Unit Review + Practice Worksheet”
11. Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry – Central Idea
12. Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry – Similes and Metaphors
13. Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry – Poetic Elements
14. Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry – Unit Review
15. Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry – Unit Reflection

1. Geok-lin Lim, Shirley. Learning to Love America. Poetry Foundation, youtube.com. August 02, 2017. Web, accessed May 23, 2018. Run time 02:41. Source
2. Jetnil-Kijiner, Kathy. Fighting Climate Change with Poems: Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, youtube.com, Dec. 3, 2015. Web, accessed Nov 27, 2016. Run time 3:56. Source
3. Jetnil-Kijiner, Kathy. Marshall Islands Poet to the U.N. Climate Summit: “Tell Them We Are Nothing Without Our Islands.” Democracy Now!, youtube.com, Dec. 2, 2015. Web, accessed Nov. 27, 2016. Run time 4:01. Source

1. LCD Projector
2. Screen

1. One instructional session: Complete Activities 1-3 and Central Idea Worksheet of Lesson 1
2. Two instructional sessions: Complete Lesson 1 and Activities 1-3 of Lesson 2
3. Three instructional sessions: Complete Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Activities 1-3 of Lesson 3, and assign the Unit Review + Practice Worksheet as homework. Optional: Have students complete the “Because” Poem Assignment (skip the peer feedback section on page 1 of the worksheet)
4. One week: Complete all five lessons with the optional poem presentations

1. “AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry” story
   1. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: “2 Degrees”
   2. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: “Tell Them”
2. “Central Idea Worksheet”
3. “Central Idea Worksheet” Answer Key
4. Jetnil-Kijiner, Kathy. Fighting Climate Change with Poems: Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, youtube.com, Dec. 3, 2015. Web, accessed Nov 27, 2016. Run time 3:56. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65nhhzhZ_x8.

1. Projector

1. Start the slideshow: “Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry – Central Idea”
   Explain to the students: We will begin a unit focused on poetry. Many of you may already be familiar with poetry and different types of poetry. In this unit, we will be focusing on poems by women who are Asian American and/or Pacific Islander.
2. This first lesson of the unit will start with an introduction to some basics about poetry and the poems in the unit. Then, we’ll spend some time focusing on the topic of central idea.
3. Basic Structure of a Poem:

   Prose Structure:	Poetry Structure:
   Sentence	Line
   Paragraph	Stanza

   Be sure to point out that in poems, lines do not necessarily have to be complete sentences. Likewise, a stanza can range from only one line to many, many more.
4. Introducing the AAPI community/identity:
   • AAPI is short for: Asian American and Pacific Islander.
   • We will explore how poems are used to discuss various subjects.
   • Poets often explore different issues, topics, and ways of thinking.
   Themes & Significance of the Unit:
   • Themes of internal conflict and self-discovery through personal narratives of the poets
   • Explore ideas of family, community history, and change
   • Discover how these AAPI women work through their struggles by focusing on and writing about their personal experiences
   • Come from diverse backgrounds and experiences and the creative work they make shows that AAPI culture and their histories are important
   • Using their voice to transform and add to the inclusion of AAPI culture and experiences
5. Explain the importance of the themes, focusing on how these authors use writing and poetry as a medium to share their experiences and to engage in self-reflection and transformative story-telling.
6. Students should recognize the importance of poetry as a way to express oneself, tell one’s truth, and make one’s voice heard, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable communities that haven’t had such opportunities in the past.

1. Today we will focus on two poems by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner (provide a background of the poet):
   1. Born in the Marshall Islands. Moved to Hawai’i at 7. Moved back to Marshall Islands at the age of 25
   2. Climate activist. Addressed United Nations’ Climate Summit in 2014
   3. Writes about nuclear testing conducted in the Marshall Islands, militarism, the rising sea level as a result of climate change, forced migration, racism in America
   4. From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. Equals 1.6 Hiroshima-size explosions per day
      • During WWII, in 1945, the U.S. dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
   It may be necessary to explain and facilitate a discussion around climate activism and the UN. These explanations will help students better understand the significance and impact of Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s work. Highlight how Kathy’s themes come from her own experiences and priorities—climate activism and her home. Below are also definitions for militarism, forced migration, “Hiroshima-sized” explosions.
   1. Militarism: “the belief that it is necessary to have strong armed forces and that they should be used in order to win political or economic advantage” (Cambridge Dictionary)
   2. Forced Migration: “a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts within their country of origin) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects” (Columbia Public Health)
   3. Hiroshima-sized explosions: razed and burned 70% of all buildings; estimated 145,000 deaths by end of 6 months; increased rates of cancer and chronic diseases among survivors; over 90% within quarter mile of where bomb was dropped died, 33% at within one mile, 10% at 1.2 miles (AtomicBombMuseum.org)
2. Explain to students that the class will watch a short video about Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner at a United Nations climate conference. Play Fighting Climate Change with Poems: Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner [run time 03:56] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65nhhzhZ_x8).
   • Ask a few students to share something they learned, something they found interesting in the video.
   • This is a good opportunity to bring up the unit’s significance again: Jetnil-Kijiner uses poetry to fight climate change and to tell stories of her homeland and share her people’s concerns with her audiences.
3. Pass out Central Idea worksheet & worksheet of “2 Degrees” to students.
4. Tell students to do the following while reading “2 Degrees”:
   • Highlight or underline your favorite lines.
   • Star the lines that make you think differently about the poem’s title, “2 Degrees”.
   • Think about the poem’s central idea—circle the lines or stanzas that relate to the central idea.
   • Pay close attention to the last stanza of the poem.
   • Fill out the table in the Central Idea Worksheet.
5. Have students popcorn read the poem. Stop after each stanza to give students a chance to ask questions about unfamiliar words or phrases.
6. “2 Degrees” Central Idea Worksheet: Go over the first row with the class.
   • Pick a student to read the lines on the left in the chart and ask them what they think the lines mean.
   • If necessary, guide them to the key phrases of 2 degrees (the poem’s title), catastrophe, warm the world, etc. to arrive at an interpretation mentioning climate change and 2 degrees as the tipping point.

     Lines from the Poem	Your Meaning
     Scientists say if humans warm the world more than 2 degrees then catastrophe will hit	Example Meaning: Scientists & experts warn that if Earth warms more than 2 degrees Celsius, many different natural disasters, such as storms, fires, rising sea levels, will happen and harm the world.
     Thousands, millions displaced left wandering wondering what happened?

7. Give students the rest of the time for this section to finish the worksheet. Encourage them to ask questions if they don’t understand something as their homework assignment will be similar to this classwork.

1. Pick a couple rows in the table to go over. Ask for volunteers to share their explanation of the lines. If an answer is lacking a key part, have another student help them or guide them to the correct answer.
2. Question #3: What is the central idea of the poem?
   Central Idea: Climate change is a significant problem with very real consequences, especially for at-risk and less protected populations such as the people of the Marshall Islands (where the author is from).
3. Question #4: Mark the lines which support the central idea.
   Examples generally related to climate change:
   Stanza 5:
   
   “Scientists say
   if humans warm the world more than 2 degrees then catastrophe will hit”
   
   Stanza 6:
   
   “Imagine North American wildfires increasing by 400% animal extinction rising by 30% fresh water
   declining by 20%
   thousands, millions displaced
   left wandering
   wondering
   what
   happened?”
   
   Examples specifically related to Marshall Islands:
   Stanza 7 (lines 4-9):
   
   “I tell him for my islands 2 degrees
   is a gamble
   at 2 degrees my islands,
   the Marshall Islands will already be under water
   this is why our leaders push
   for 1.5”
   Stanza 8:
   
   “Seems small
   like 0.5 degrees
   shouldn’t matter
   like 0.5 degrees
   are just crumbs
   like the Marshall Island
   must look
   on a map
   just crumbs you
   dust off the table, wipe
   your hands clean”
4. Question #5: What message is Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner sending in her last stanza?
   Kathy is trying to show how discussions about climate change are important, but it’s also important and necessary consider how climate change impacts people, specifically those in the Marshall Islands.

1. Hand out copies of “Tell Them” to the students. Give students a couple minutes to quietly skim over the poem on their own and note any words they might not know.
2. Spend the new few minutes with students sharing words they noted and trying to figure out what they might mean, providing definitions for words students are having trouble with.
3. Tell students to do the following as they read “Tell Them” (as they did for “2 Degrees”):
   • Think about the poem’s central idea—mark lines or stanzas that relate to the central idea.
   • Pay close attention to the last stanza of the poem.
   • Fill out the table in the Central Idea Worksheet.
4. Students should complete the pages pertaining to “Tell Them” on the Central Idea Worksheet.
5. Lesson 2 Preview:
   
   • Lesson 1 Central Idea Review: Reading & Practicing with “Tell Them” by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner
   • Simile & Metaphor:
   • What is a simile? What is a metaphor?
   • Practice identifying and understanding the meaning of similes and metaphors
   • Similes & Metaphors in Poetry: “Tell Them”

1. “AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry” story
   1. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: “2 Degrees” and “Tell Them”
2. Jetnil-Kijiner, Kathy. Marshall Islands Poet to the U.N. Climate Summit: “Tell Them We Are Nothing Without Our Islands.” Democracy Now!, youtube.com, Dec. 2, 2015. Web, accessed Nov. 27, 2016. Run time 4:01.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUO_qijo0us
3. “Similes & Metaphors Worksheet”
4. “Similes & Metaphors Worksheet” Answer Key
5. “Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry — Similes and Metaphors”

1. Projector

1. Start “Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry —Similes and Metaphors”.
2. Play Marshall Islands Poet to the U.N. Climate Summit: “Tell Them We Are Nothing Without Our Islands” www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUO_qijo0us [Runtime 04:01]) before reviewing homework.
3. Pick a few rows of the table on page 3 of the Central Idea Worksheet to go over with the class, calling on students to share what they filled in as their meaning of the lines.
   • For each question, ask a couple students to share their answers.
   • Then, go over the answer on the slide and discuss briefly as needed, depending on whether the students’ answers were missing any part of the answer.
4. Question #2: What is the central idea of the poem (“Tell Them”)?
   • Most people probably don’t know a lot about the Marshall Islands
   • Kathy tells her friends to tell others about the islands and Marshallese people if asked about her gifts
   • Also wants her friends to talk about how climate change is already impacting the Marshall Islands
   • Important to the Marshallese people that they do not lose their home (the Marshall Islands)
5. Question #3: Write three lines or phrases which support the central idea.
   • Last three lines of stanza 2 and Stanza 3:
     “And when others ask you where you got this
     you tell them
     they’re from the Marshall Islands”
   • Anything from Stanza 4, especially those lines starting with “tell them..”
   • Anything from Stanza 5
6. Question #4: What is the significance of the last five lines (the last example on the table)?
   • Explains how the Marshall Islands are central to Marshallese identity, culture, and way of life
   • Do not want to leave their home and are worried about how climate change might harm islands and ability to continue living there safely

1. Explain to students: In this lesson, you will learn what similes and metaphors are and how to identify, create, and analyze similes and metaphors.
2. Distribute the “Similes & Metaphors Worksheet.”
3. Literal and Figurative Language Examples:
   1. Literal language is used to mean exactly what is written:
      • “It was raining a lot, so I rode the bus.”
   2. Figurative language is used to mean something other than what is written; something symbolic, suggested, or implied:
      • “It was raining cats and dogs, so I rode the bus.”
4. Literal and Figurative Language Meaning:
   1. Literal language: “It was raining a lot, so I rode the bus.”
      • In this example of literal language, the writer means to explain exactly what is written: that he or she chose to ride the bus because of the heavy rain.
   2. Figurative language: “It was raining cats and dogs, so I rode the bus.”
      • In this example of figurative language, there weren’t actually cats and dogs falling from rain clouds. Instead, the rain felt so heavy and large that it was as if small animals were falling from the sky.
5. Simile and metaphor are figurative language.
   Review the following examples and ask the students to explain what they mean.

   	Simile: using “like” or “as”	Metaphor: not using “like” or “as”
   1	Life is like a journey.	Life is a journey.
   2	You are like sunshine on a cloudy day.	You are my sunshine on a cloudy day.
   3	You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye, but I'm getting blown away.	You are a hurricane.

   
   

   	Simile
   4	Her mind is as sharp as a razor.
   5	For I knew his eyes like an old, old song.
   6	Her long, blue skirt was like a river, flowing behind her in the breeze.
   7	His hands were as cold as ice after walking home during the snow-storm.
   8	My good intent has fallen short like an air ball.

   
   

   	Metaphor
   9	His answer to the problem was just a Band-Aid, not a solution.
   10	The path of resentment is easier to travel than the road to forgiveness.
   11	The teacher planted the seeds of wisdom.
   12	The wheels of justice turn slowly.

6. Give students a few minutes to fill out the table, identifying which is a simile or a metaphor. Have them check answers with shoulder partners. Call on students to share and go over the answers as a class.

   		Simile or Metaphor
   13	He is as tall as a tree.	Simile
   14	My book bag feels like a bag of rocks.	Simile
   15	The snow is a white blanket.	Metaphor
   16	She dances like she was trying to shake a spider off her leg.	Simile
   17	He is the Michael Jordan of his basketball team.	Metaphor

7. Analyzing Similes & Metaphors:
   
   1. Similes and metaphors compare one thing to another, showing how the two are similar or different.
   2. Looking back at Table 4, think about what is being compared to what?
   3. Circle the two parts of the sentence that are being compared.

   13	He is as tall as a tree.
   14	My book bag feels like a bag of rocks.
   15	The snow is a white blanket.
   16	She dances like she was trying to shake a spider off her leg.
   17	He is the Michael Jordan of his basketball team.

1. Figurative language is one way that poets express themselves & create imagery. We will be identifying and analyzing similes and metaphors using “Tell Them”.
   • Is the phrase listed a simile or a metaphor?
   • What is being compared (the subject)?
   • What is that subject/thing being compared to?
   • What did the author mean by making this comparison?
2. Fill in the first four rows together as a class, and have students fill out the rest of the worksheet working in groups of 2-3:
   • Pick students/volunteers to fill in these rows as a class.
   • Help students understand the significance of metaphors/similes for the last column, as they may be more inclined to define the comparison itself rather than the significance of the comparison.
   • It may also be necessary or helpful to explain the other imagery that is invoked to celebrate the Marshallese people, their culture, and the Marshall Islands.
   • Give students enough time to fill out at least two more rows on their own.

   Phrases from the Poem:	Simile or Metaphor	What is being compared?	To what?	What is the author trying to say with this comparison?
   black pearls glinting like an eye in a storm of tight spirals	simile	the black pearls	an eye	This is a description of the package of earrings she is preparing for her friends.
   a proud people toasted dark brown as the carved ribs of a tree stump
   our islands were dropped from a basket carried by a giant
   the hallow hulls of canoes as fast as the wind

3. Ask each group to share at least one row they filled in. You don’t need to focus so much on whether the answers are correct, but rather if students feel comfortable identifying and analyzing figurative language and can go from identifying to breaking down to understanding the significance in the use of figurative language.
4. Anything students don’t finish must be completed for homework and is due before the start of Lesson 3. They don’t need to fill in the entire table with examples, but need to fill in at least four examples.

1. Turn in Simile & Metaphor worksheet.
2. Poetic Structure: Repetition, Alliteration, Rhyme, and Form
3. Identifying and Analyzing Repetition, Alliteration, & Rhyme
4. Identifying and Analyzing Form: “Learning to Love America”
5. Poetic Structure in Action: “Tell Them”

1. “AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry” story
   1. Janice Mirikitani: “Sing with Your Body”
   2. Shirley Geok-Lin Lim: “Learning to Love America”
2. Geok-lin Lim, Shirley. Learning to Love America. Poetry Foundation, youtube.com. August 02, 2017. Web, accessed May 23, 2018. Run time 02:41.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp9C3slA3s0&t=2s
3. “Poetic Elements Worksheet”
4. “Poetic Elements Worksheet” Answer Key
5. “Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry —Poetic Elements”

1. Projector

1. Begin the “AAPI Women Poetry — Poetic Elements” slideshow, pass out the Poetic Elements Worksheet, and have students turn in the Lesson 2 homework. Explain to students:
   • Like figurative language, poets use other stylistic elements to make their work personal, unique, and more powerful.
   • Repetition, alliteration, rhyme, and form are examples of other elements poets may use in their poems.
2. Repetition: The use of the same words or phrases to create a beat, rhythm, or develop emphasis.
   • “How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, in the icy air of night!”
   • In this example of repetition, the writer is emphasizing and bringing the audience’s attention to the tinkling of the subject [bells].
   1. Go over the first two examples with the class, picking students to identify the use of repetition.
   2. Give students about a minute to circle/underline the instances of repetition in examples 3-5. Go over the answers with the class, again picking students to share their answers.

   	Repetition
   1	Common sense is not so common.
   2	If you think you can win, you can win.
   	Identify the repetition in the following:
   3	And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.
   4	I want her to live. I want her to breathe. I want her to be happy.
   5	The horror! Oh, the horror!

3. Alliteration: The repetition of the first sounds of words
   • The blue balloon bobbed around the room with every breeze that came through the window.
   1. NOT the letters of the words that matter, but the sounds
      • “the crispy chicken” is NOT an example of alliteration
   2. Creates a flow through the pattern of sounds and adds to the beauty of the piece of writing
   3. Go over the first two examples with the class, picking students to identify the use of alliteration.
   4. Give students a couple minutes to circle/underline the alliteration in examples 8-10. Go over the answers as a class, asking students to share their answers. Pay close attention to #9 as that’s supposed to test students to see that they are focusing on sound, not spelling, when identifying alliteration.

   	Alliteration
   6	Mickey Mouse is one of the most popular Disney characters.
   7	The instructor checked our rope and said it was not knotted well enough.
   	Identify the alliteration in the following:
   8	She shook the shells so hard that each broke into many tiny pieces.
   9	Tim thought his sister certainly skipped class on Monday.
   10	Her description painted a pretty picture for those who didn’t go on the trip.

4. Rhyme: A type of echoing which uses a correspondence of sound.
   • “It was quite a shock to find my sock sitting atop the rock.”
   • This rhyme example, shock, sock, rock, shows how rhyme can be used to establish a rhythm or beat.
   1. Go over the first two examples with the class, picking students to identify the use of rhyme.
   2. Give students about a minute to circle/underline the instances of repetition in examples 13-15. Go over the answers as a class, again picking students to share their answers.

	Rhyme
11	I have the measles and the mumps, a gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
12	This precious book of love, this unbound lover, to beautify him only lacks a cover.
	Identify the alliteration in the following:
13	From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.
14	True words end; lies extend.
15	Being two beings requires a rage for rigor, rewriteable memory, hybrid vigor.

1. Tell Students: The form and structure of a poem relate to the particular pattern and organization of the poem. They can be created through:
   • the length of the lines.
   • the rhythm of the lines
   • the arrangement of stanzas, lines, and the spacing in the poem
   • the use of literary devices like rhyme and repetition
2. Form and Structure in “Sing with Your Body” by Janice Mirikitani:
   1. Janice Mirikitani: Provide a quick biography of Janice Mirikitani, who is featured in the original version of the AAPI Women Poetry Unit, using the facts in the slideshow.
      1. Activist & community organizer
      2. She and her family were imprisoned in Rohwer, Arkansas concentration camp during mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
      3. Co-founder & President of Glide Foundation, focused on empowering poor & marginalized communities in San Francisco and helping them overcome poverty
      4. Using “Sing with Your Body” to understand and study form and structure
   2. Explain that this poem shows form and structure that is visibly unique and significant.
   3. Ask students to point out any unique qualities they see. How do these things make the poem or parts of the poem stand out? Encourage students to mark what they notice and write notes on the poem.
      The next slide points out some features that students hopefully caught on their own.
   4. Point out the features on the slide with the red mark-up, particularly:
      • how the placement of lines creates a swaying or dancing movement in the poem;
      • the repetition of the line “go quickly” and it’s intentional spacing and placement;
      • the unique spacing style in the last few stanzas
      
   5. Give students 15 minutes to answer the four questions on the following page of their worksheet about “Sing with Your Body”. Have students share their answers for #2 with a shoulder partner.
   6. For each question, have a couple students share their answers. As much as you can, ask students to explain their answers if they do not already. These questions and the students’ answers should highlight the significance form can have on a poem and how the audience interacts with the poem.
      1. What words, phrases, or lines draw your attention most? Explain
         Answers will vary.
         • Notice and/or ask if other elements discussed in the unit (alliteration, rhyme, repetition, simile, metaphor) influenced which lines students were drawn to.
         • If yes, ask students to identify which of the five was involved in their example/answer.
         • Follow-up question: Was it that stylistic element that caused the students to choose those lines, words, phrases or was it something else (certain words, themes, etc.) instead?
      2. How does the organization of the poem and the pattern of the lines and verses make you feel about the poem? Do you enjoy this structure or dislike it? Explain.
         Answers will vary.
      3. Imagine that Janice Mirikitani had all the lines of the poem lined up on the left side with no extra spaces between the lines. How would this structure change the impact of the poem?
         Possible answer: The poem would be less effective at creating an image of dancing or creating a unique rhythm. It’d make the poem lose its personality and relate less to what the poem itself is about.
      4. Choose one example of unique form (particular spacing, line structure, punctuation, capitalization, etc.) from the poem and explain how it adds meaning to the poem.
         Possible answers:
         • Line placement—creates swaying + a rhythm
         • Repetition & placement of “go quickly”—sets rhythm; puts emphasis on those lines as well as the ones that follow them and are at the opposite margin of the page
         • Spacing of last stanzas—creates direct focus and emphasis on her closing message
         • Limited punctuation—rhythm and breaks are created by line spacing and repetition instead

1. Pass out copies of “Learning to Love America” and introduce Shirley Geok-Lin Lim as the last author whose work will be analyzed in the unit. Students will use her poem “Learning to Love America” to complete a unit review assignment that covers the different poetic elements that were discussed over the course of the unit.
2. Shirley Geok-Lin Lim:
   
   • Born in Malaysia in 1944
   • Wrote and published first poem at ten. By the time she was eleven, she knew she wanted to be a poet.
   • As she read more, she realized she wanted to write her own voice and that of her community rather than simply continue reading about others.
   • Themes revolve around questions of identity, transition, race, gender, and the complexities of relationships, reflecting and building upon her own life experiences
   • Memoir, Among the White Moon Faces, addresses experience of migrating to the U.S. from Asia and sense of not belonging she felt as an Asian immigrant in America
3. Play Learning to Love America by Shirley Geok-lin Lim (youtube.com/watch?v=rp9C3slA3s0&t=2s) [Run time 02:41] to preview the poem for the class. Then, return to the previous slide and encourage students to look ahead at the poem and discussion questions and take notes as necessary.
4. Students will complete the rest of the worksheet for homework, but should be given five minutes to skim the poem and the accompanying discussion questions so they can ask any questions they may have before they have to complete it on their own.

1. Unit Assignment: “Because Poem”
2. Unit Review + Practice Worksheet

1. “Because Poem Assignment” story
2. “Unit Review + Practice Worksheet”
3. “Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry — Unit Review”

1. Projector

1. Tell students to turn in their homework from the previous lesson. Begin the “AAPI Women Poetry — Unit Review” slideshow.
2. Remind students of the different concepts the unit covered. For each topic, call on a student to define or give an example of that concept.
   1. Central Idea
   2. Figurative Language—simile and metaphor
   3. Poetic Elements—repetition, alliteration, rhyme, and form

1. Begin by telling students they’ll be writing their own poem incorporating the concepts they’ve learned.
   1. Modeled after “Learning to Love America”
   2. Pause for a moment: Give students one minute to talk about what they remember about the unique style and organization of “Learning to Love America” and what concepts from the unit were used in the poem with their shoulder partner.
   3. While students are doing this, pass out the “Because Poem Assignment.”
   4. The students’ own poems will be focusing on repetition & figurative language
      • Point out repetition and figurative language in “Learning to Love America” (image on slide) so students can see these elements after talking about it with their shoulder partner.
2. Tell students: You will be writing about characteristics of your family, neighborhood, culture, or identity that are unique and that you want others to learn about.
   1. Have students popcorn read the description of the first two paragraphs and the bulleted list.
   2. Tell students to think about what they want the central idea and subject of their poem to be.
   3. Try to give a personal example of what you might write about, but something that cannot easily be copied by students (ex: being a teacher).
3. Give students five minutes to brainstorm what the central idea and subject of their poems. Tell students to write their ideas or notes on their worksheet, either under #1 or on the back of the page.
4. What is the title of your poem?
   1. Remember: This will be the statement/phrase to which the rest of your poem responds.
      • For example, Shirley Geok-Lim’s poem responds to the title “Learning to Love America”
      • She creates a list of reasons to makes up the poem, telling why she learned to love America.
   2. Again, it might be helpful to share what you might title your sample poem.
5. Students will be working on their poems in pairs to work through their ideas with one another and provide feedback to each other.
   1. Pair up the students yourself for the first round of sharing & feedback. Try to pair students with those they may not often get paired up with.
   2. Each person in the pair should share their poem’s subject and title (if you have one) with your partner.
   3. Each student should ask one question or give one comment on the subject or title. Write this down on your “Because Poem Assignment” along with your partner’s name.
   4. Find a new partner and repeat steps 1 and 2.
      • If you find that students’ feedback to one another seems particularly helpful, you can have the class do a third round of switching partners and giving feedback.
      • Each round of partner sharing & feedback should last no longer than 5 minutes.
6. Have students return to their seats and have volunteers read the questions on the slide.
   • What emotions are you trying to focus on in your poem?
   • What parts and traits of the subject and your relation to it are you going to focus on in your poem?
   • What are some important events in your family or community’s history?
   • What traditions, activities, or practices are unique to your family, culture, or community?
     1. Give students time to look over their partners’ comments and think about the questions on the slide.
     2. Tell students: Use these questions and feedback from your classmates to decide if you want/need to change the subject and/or title of your poem.
        1. You may want to give them the option to work in pairs so they can ask for advice during this part.
        2. Gauge how students feel and whether they need more class time to work on their subject and title.
7. Pass out the “Unit Review + Practice Worksheet” and tell students the rest of the class will be spent on the Because Poem and the review worksheet, using it to review and practice the concepts covered in the unit.
   1. Encourage students to keep their poem assignment in mind while completing the worksheet since the worksheet’s practice prompts will help with the figurative language they’ll need to use in their poems.
   2. Go around the class and check-in with students about any questions/concerns they might have about writing their poem, particularly those who were thinking of changing their poem’s subject or title.
   3. Tell students that anything they do not finish in class must be finished for homework.
8. Go over the first example on the worksheet with the class:
   1. Using the subject of “homework”, description of “easy”, and comparison of “two+two”, an example of a sentence you might come up with is:
      Finishing the reading homework for history was as easy as solving two + two.
   2. If there is time towards the end of class, ask a couple students to share their sentences, identifying the subject, description, comparison, and whether it was a metaphor or simile.

1. Direct students to the second page of the “Because Poem Assignment” to go over the requirements and expectations for the poem:
   1. Poem has a clear central idea or subject
   2. Poem is at least 10 “Because” lines long
      • Explain that not every line has to begin with “Because” and lines can be as short as one word long
   3. Contains at least one simile and one metaphor
   4. Contains at least one example of alliteration or rhyme
   5. Contains at least two examples of form
      • Explain that this will be part of Lesson 5’s Revision process
   6. Grading will also take into account grammar, spelling, and proper punctuation throughout the poem.
   7. Does not have to be typed, but must be written neatly and clearly.
2. Bring a rough draft of your Because Poem to class tomorrow.
   1. You will need this for Lesson 5 classwork
   2. Does not need to be typed, but must be written as a poem just filling out the worksheet does not count
3. Lesson 5: Unit Wrap-Up
   1. Poem revisions and presentations (extra credit)
      
      • Explain that presentation would consist of reading their poem and briefly (in one or two sentences) identifying one poetic element and explaining its significance to the poem.
      • Ask who would be interested in reading their poem in front of the class so you have a rough estimate of how much time to allot for that section of the class.
      • Make sure students know that raising their hands not does not mean that they must read their poem or that if they do not, they won’t be allowed to present—it’s merely to get an estimate.
   2. Unit Evaluation—class discussion

1. “Because Poem Assignment” story
2. “Unit Review + Practice Worksheet”
3. “Unit Slides: AAPI Women Poetry — Unit Review”

1. Projector

1. Begin the “AAPI Women Poetry — Unit Reflection” slideshow, and briefly share with the class what the last lesson with consist of:
   1. Poem Revisions
      1. Using form in your poem
      2. Peer revisions
      3. Writing your final draft
   2. Poem Presentations
   3. Unit Evaluation
      1. “Unit Evaluation Worksheet”
      2. Class Share-Out
   4. Before leaving the preview slide (slide 2), ask/pick students to review what form is.

1. Quickly review the definition and use of form with the students:
   1. Relates to particular pattern & organization of the poem
   2. Can be created through:
      1. the length of the lines
      2. the rhythm of the lines
      3. the arrangement of stanzas, lines, and spacing in the poem
      4. the use of literary devices like rhyme and repetition
   3. Why? → emphasize certain parts, create movement in poems, add emotion (fun, drama, etc.)
      • Think back to Janice Mirikitani’s “Sing with Your Body”
2. Pair students up to work on their revisions, and tell them to answer the following questions in their pairs. They do not need to write down the answer to turn it, but can write it for their notes if they’d like.
   1. What emotion do you want your poem to have? How does your poem make you feel?
   2. What lines or stanzas do you want to get the most attention or emphasis?
3. Now students will revise their poems to incorporate form. Tell students that an easy way to think about adding form to their poems, is to think about it as illustrating the answers they just shared through their poem. Again, think back to “Sing with Your Body”.
   1. Ways to create form, include changing:
      1. the length of the lines
      2. the rhythm of the lines
      3. the arrangement of the stanzas, lines, and spacing in the poem
      4. use of capitalization, punctuation, etc.
      5. the use of literary devices like rhyme and repetition
   2. How can you use form (and the specific techniques listed above) to add or subtract emotions or emphasis from certain lines and stanzas?
4. Now, have students rewrite their poems with at least two examples of form. (Give them ~15 minutes.)
   1. Encourage students to ask questions and actively check on students/pairs across the room.
   2. Make sure it is clear to students that they only need to incorporate examples of form, not necessarily all that were listed on the previous slide.
5. Have each student should share their new draft with their partner.
   
   1. As partner 1 shares their poem, the partner 2 should be thinking about whether the form matches the answers partner 1 shared earlier.
   2. If it does, great! If not, the pair should discuss what is missing and the partner 2 should give suggestions on how partner 1 can add that!
   3. Partner 2 should also give general feedback or other suggestions they might have relating to other poetic elements covered in the unit (metaphors, similes, alliteration, rhyme, repetition)
   4. Allow about 10 minutes for this activity. Tell students at the halfway point that they should be switching roles to keep the activity on track.
6. Now students will write their final drafts, incorporating all the suggestions, comments, and past revisions.
   1. The students have been making many revisions, so this should not take long. Depending on whether many students are planning to present, you can shorten or lengthen the time allocated for this part.
   2. Depending on whether working in pairs has been helpful for the students, you could allow them to talk to their partners during this process as they incorporate each other’s feedback.
7. Have students who are not presenting their poem (optional/extra credit) turn in their poem. Those who are presenting would turn it in after their presentation.

1. Remind students that presenting consists of reading their poem and identifying one poetic element and explaining its significance to the poem.
2. Have students who want to present go one at a time, and thank each student for sharing their poem with the class at the end of their presentation.

1. Pass out the “Unit Evaluation Worksheet”, and give students no more than 10 minutes to fill it out.
   1. This will not be graded, but is rather for your use to evaluation the unit.
2. Use any leftover time to have students share out their answers. Pick and choose which question you would like the class to discuss.
3. Thank the students for their cooperation and effort over the course of the unit. Be sure to commend them for writing, revising, and sharing—whether with their partners or the entire class—a poem, as this is a very difficult thing for many people, even many writers, to do.