HOW DOES POETRY DEFINE AN ERA?

English & History /Noah, Onyx, & Mikaela

Student Version: Student Version

Introduction/Overview of Experience
How does literature and poetry define an era? This five day digital learning experience
challenges students to answer that question. Merging both English Language Arts and
History disciplines/standards, this project transports students to the pivotal Civil Rights
Movement during 1960s America. Each day, students will explore significant events that
occurred during the Civil Rights Movement and the artifacts that emerged as a result
(poetry, photographs, key figures, etc.). Digging into the structures of poetry as well as
drawing on the historical background, students will be able to analyze the message authors
convey while gaining knowledge on the Civil Rights Movement.

At the end of this experience, students will create their own multimodal presentation
(either in small groups or independently), researching a recent movement from the 21st
century. Students will curate both historical sources about the event as well as creative
artifacts (poetry, music, photography/ art) that define the social justice movement. Overall,
this digital learning experience highlights the importance of the Civil Rights Movement in
America as well as gives students the opportunity to discover how poetry and other works
characterize a movement or era.

Standards
History:

● HS.H4. Examine how historically marginalized groups have affected change on

political and social institutions.
● HS.H4.2 Explain how artistic, philosophical, and scientific ideas have developed and
shaped society and institutions.
● HS.H4.3 Examine how access to information and technology has been used to
influence society
● HS.SP2.1 Analyze how contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
● HS.SP2.2 Analyze the ways in which perspective shapes recorded history.
● HS.SP4.3 Integrate evidence from multiple relevant sources and interpretations into
a reasoned argument.
● 11-12.RH.6 Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or
issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
● 11-12.RH.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in
diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
● 11-12.RH.9 Integrate information from diverse sources both primary and secondary
into coherent understanding of an idea or event noting discrepancies among
sources.

English:

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 ● 11-12.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a
question (including a self‐generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or
broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
● 11-12.RI.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text,including determining
where the text leaves matters uncertain.
● 11-12.RI.9 Analyze foundational U.S. and world documents of historical and literary
significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.
● 11-12.RL.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g.,
recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how
each version interprets the source text.
● 11-12.RL.4 Determine the meaning(s) of words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including figurative and connotative meanings, while analyzing the impact of
specific choices on meaning and tone.
● 11-12.RL.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific
parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning, as well as its aesthetic
impact.
● 11-12.W.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including
new arguments or information.
● 11-12.RI.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in
different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in print in order to
address a question or solve a problem.
● 11-12.SL.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence in an organized,
developed style appropriate to purpose, audience, and task, allowing listeners to
follow the speaker's line of reasoning, message, and any alternative perspectives.
● 11-12.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, use of evidence, and use of
rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of
emphasis, and tone used.

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 ● 11-12.SL.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media and
formats in order to make informed decisions and propose solutions, while
evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies.

Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to…

History

● Describe key events and figures of the Civil Rights Era, by writing a 2-4 sentence
response detailing the impact of these events and/or figures on the greater civil
rights movement (Day 1)
● Describe the cultural significance of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and its effect on
the Civil Rights Movement by writing a 2-3 paragraph reflection (Day 2)
● analyze the impact of attacks against the civil rights movement and its members on
continuing to fight for equality by writing one paragraph answering the prompt,
citing at least one piece of textual evidence from the poem (Day 3)
● Organize multiple, credible sources into a 5-10 minute multimodal presentation that
incorporates at least two forms of media (i.e., written, audio, visual, etc.) (Day 4)
● Analyze and compare multiple sources of information to construct an effective and
clear argument, creating a multimedia presentation that contains 6-8 credible
resources that explains a modern social movement (Day 4 & 5)
● Produce a 5-10 minute multimodal presentation, presenting and defending an
argument using evidence from their research into social movements and scoring an
80 out of 100 on the rubric (Day 5)

English

● Analyze and explain the structure and elements of the speech and how these
choices work to create meaning by writing a 2-3 paragraph reflection using at least
one example from the text (Day 2)

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 ● Explain how poetry from the civil rights movement characterized the movement by
writing one paragraph answering the prompt, citing at least one piece of textual
evidence from the poem (Day 3)
● Compare multiple interpretations of a major event from the civil rights movement
and evaluate how each version portrays the event by writing a reflection paragraph,
making at least one comparison between two interpretations (i.e., song vs poem,
newspaper article vs poem, etc.) (Day 3)
● Conduct research on a modern social movement (21st century) and synthesize 6-8
credible sources on the movement in a multimodal presentation (Day 4)
● Organize multiple, credible sources into a 5-10 minute multimodal presentation that
incorporates at least two forms of media (i.e., written, audio, visual, etc.) (Day 4)
● Analyze and compare multiple sources of information to construct an effective and
clear argument, creating a multimedia presentation that contains 6-8 credible
resources that explains a modern social movement as well as its characteristics (Day
4)
● Present key findings and evidence in an organized style that takes into consideration
audience, purpose, and prompt by creating a 5-10 minute multimodal presentation
on a modern social movement that incorporates 6-8 credible sources (Day 5)

Texts/Text Types
The following text set was compiled with the goals of the unit in mind. The set contains a
range of historical texts and images to help establish a contextual framework for students
to understand the political and social climate in which the poems, ballads and songs were
produced or popularized. In addition to texts and other documents there are articles and
videos that offer a contemporary perspective on these historic events and their continued
significance in both American history but also as sources of inspiration for continued social
change. In combination with these historical resources, there are also a wide variety of
English sources to use to help provide specific examples of key texts from the Era. Included
with these resources are iconic images, and multiple readings and performances of poems
and songs. These echoes of the past highlight the major social and cultural differences
between the past and the present, but also their impact on spreading the message of the

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civil rights movement. These texts are not an exhaustive list, but serve as a good starting
point with potential to be expanded quite drastically as well as adapted to whatever grade
level needs to be met.

Link: https://wke.lt/w/s/tGrw-t

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 Lesson One: The Spark for Civil Rights

Inquiry Question: How does literature and poetry

define an era?
Standards
English
■ 11-12.RI.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text,including determining where the text leaves matters
uncertain.
History
■ HS.H4. Examine how historically marginalized groups have affected
change on political and social institutions.

Learning Outcome:
● Students will be able to describe key events and figures of the Civil Rights
Era, by writing a 2-4 sentence response detailing the impact of these events
and/or figures on the greater civil rights movement.

Directions

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 ● Hook: Ask students to read directions before observing each of the three
images. These directions will instruct students to take note of appearances,
actions, settings, people, etc. For the last image, students will answer each of
the questions located on the “Things to Look For” slide and put their
responses into this padlet.
● Activity:

Students will get into groups of five (this should be done by the
students themselves, but guide if necessary)

After getting into groups, students will open up Desegregating School

Summaries presentation

■ Students will choose to view either article one, article two, or the
video and sign up their group on the “Presentation Sign Up”
slide
■ Students will read/view the text and write a short summary
(minimum 4 sentences) on their dedicated group summary
slide, citing at least one piece of evidence from the text/ video
● Students can opt for a voice over summary instead of
writing, but their summary must be at least 30 seconds
long and cite a piece of evidence from the article/ video
■ After writing the summary, students will review the summary
slides from the texts they did not read
■ Finally, students will go their dedicated group connections slide
and make at least two connections between their source and
another source

Next, students will create a copy of this RSGW chart

■ They will fill out the Ready and Set columns about the Civil
Rights Movement and then watch this Crash Course video

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 ■ After the video, students finish their graphic organizer, filling out
the Go and Whoa columns
■ Students can take the next 15 minutes to explore the Library of
Congress Civil Rights Era section and update their charts as
needed
● Closing: Students will open this jamboard and pick one of the two questions
to respond to, relating their answers to the content they learned through day
one.

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 Lesson Two: The Power of a Dream

Standards

English

■ 11-12.RL.4 Determine the meaning(s) of words and phrases as they

are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings,
while analyzing the impact of specific choices on meaning and tone.
■ 11-12.RL.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to
structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and
meaning, as well as its aesthetic impact.
■ 11-12.RI.9 Analyze foundational U.S. and world documents of
historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and
rhetorical features.

History

■ HS.H4. Examine how historically marginalized groups have affected

change on political and social institutions.
■ HS.SP2.1 Analyze how contexts shaped and continue to shape
people’s perspectives.
■ HS.SP2.2 Analyze the ways in which perspective shapes recorded
history.

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 ■ 11-12.RH.6 Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same
historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning,
and evidence.

Learning Outcome:
Students will be able to describe the cultural significance of MLK’s “I Have a
Dream” speech and its effect on the Civil Rights Movement by writing a 2-3
paragraph reflection.

Students will be able to analyze and explain the structure and elements of
the speech and how these choices work to create meaning by writing a 2-3
paragraph reflection using at least one example from the text.

Directions

● Hook: Students will be given 5-10 minutes to answer the following question:

“Do you think speeches are powerful tools for sparking action?”

Students will answer the prompt in about 3-5 sentences and share their
responses with a partner or in small groups.

● Activity:

Students will make a copy of the I Have a Dream speech that is linked
in their version. Students are expected to mark up their copy of the
speech in whatever way benefits them most.

Students will watch this think aloud to get a sense of what they should
be doing while close reading the speech.

● Closing:

Students will finish their close reading and annotations as homework

as needed.

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 The primary closing activity will be a reflection in which students will
write approximately 2-3 paragraphs reflecting on the speech and their
understanding of it. Students should also make connections between
what King says in the speech with what they know about the history of
the United States.

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 Lesson Three: History through Poetry

Standards

English

■ 11-12.RL.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem

(e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or
poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text.
■ 11-12.RL.4 Determine the meaning(s) of words and phrases as they
are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings,
while analyzing the impact of specific choices on meaning and tone.
■ 11-12.RL.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to
structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and
meaning, as well as its aesthetic impact.
■ 11-12.RH.6 Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same
historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning,
and evidence.

History

■ HS.SP2.1 Analyze how contexts shaped and continue to shape

people’s perspectives.
■ HS.H4.2 Explain how artistic, philosophical, and scientific ideas have
developed and shaped society and institutions.
■ HS.SP2.2 Analyze the ways in which perspective shapes recorded
history.

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Learning Outcome:

● Students will be able to analyze the impact of attacks against the civil rights
movement and its members on continuing to fight for equality by writing one
paragraph answering the prompt, citing at least one piece of textual evidence
from the poem.
● Students will be able to explain how poetry from the civil rights movement
characterized the movement by writing one paragraph answering the
prompt, citing at least one piece of textual evidence from the poem.
● Students will be able to compare multiple interpretations of a major event
from the civil rights movement and evaluate how each version portrays the
event by writing a reflection paragraph, making at least one comparison
between two interpretations (i.e., song vs poem, newspaper article vs poem,
etc.).

Directions

● Hook: Students will get to “choose their own adventure” for this day.
Students will select one of three poems to close read and analyze.
● Activity: The activities will vary for each poem. Please look specifically at
each poem for its matching directions

“Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall

● Students will start by clicking this link to a newspaper article from the
Birmingham Post Herald that came out a day after the 16th Street
Baptist Church bombing.
○ Students will read each of the captions on the newspaper,
writing down their observations, thoughts, etc.
● Next, students will read each of the slides discussing the background
of the church bombing as well as the introduction to Randall’s poem

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 ● Students will then watch this video to get some background on the
influence of Randall’s poem
● After students watch the video, student will
○ First read the poem by themselves. After reading the poem,
students will think about what the poem is about.
○ Then listen to a recitation of the poem. Students will think
about what feelings they get hearing the poem
○ Finally, students will listen to a song version of the poem.
Students will then think about how this version changes their
feelings or meaning of the poem.
● Students will now break down the poem and do a close reading of the
poem.
○ Students will watch the think-aloud example video in the
presentation that goes over annotating a majority of the poem
○ Then, students follow the structure in the video and annotate
the last two stanzas of the poem by themselves
● Finally, students will think about the newspaper article compared to
the poem and think about what kind of feelings they got reading the
article vs the poem. Students will write a short reflection, making at
least one comparison between two interpretations of the poem on this
padlet
● Students will then write a one paragraph response answering the
following question: How does Randall’s poem help define the Civil
Rights movement? Pick one element (tone, rhyme scheme, imagery,
etc.) he implemented in the poem and describe how it emphasizes his
message. The responses will be posted on a discussion board.

“Strange Fruit” performed by Billie Holiday

● Students will start by clicking this link and reading the poem.

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 ● If students like, they can read the poem along with Billie Holiday's
performance.
● As student students read and listen they should mark up their poem.
Ask questions about each stanza

● Ask students guiding questions such as Why is it important? What

does it mean? How does it define the civil rights movement?
● Once they finish marking up their poem they should write an
informative reflection paragraph.

“Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou

● Students will click on this link and read the poem.

● Students will listen to this think-aloud to guide them through the poem
reading and mark-up.
● Once students finish marking up their poem they should write a
reflection paragraph.

Closing:

● For the closing students will write a reflection paragraph on the mark-ups they did
on their poems.
● Students will post these paragraphs on a discussion board. And take note of what
they learned. This will benefit them later on in their assignments.

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 Lesson Four : Making Modern
Connections

Standards

English

■ 11-12.W.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce,

publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response
to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
■ 11-12.RI.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively)
as well as in print in order to address a question or solve a problem.
■ 11-12.SL.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence in
an organized, developed style appropriate to purpose, audience, and
task, allowing listeners to follow the speaker's line of reasoning,
message, and any alternative perspectives.
■ 11-12.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, use of
evidence, and use of rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links
among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
■ 11-12.SL.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in
diverse media and formats in order to make informed decisions and
propose solutions, while evaluating the credibility and accuracy of
each source and noting any discrepancies.

History

■ HS.SP4.3 Integrate evidence from multiple relevant sources and

interpretations into a reasoned argument.

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 ■ 11-12.RH.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
■ 11-12.RH.9 Integrate information from diverse sources both primary
and secondary into coherent understanding of an idea or event noting
discrepancies among sources.

Learning Outcomes:

● Students will be able to analyze and compare multiple sources of information to

construct an effective and clear argument, creating a multimedia presentation that
contains 6-8 credible resources that explains a modern social movement.
● Students will be able to conduct research on a modern social movement (21st
century) and synthesize 6-8 credible sources on the movement in a multimodal
presentation.
● Students will be able to organize multiple, credible sources into a 5-10 minute
multimodal presentation that incorporates at least two forms of media (i.e., written,
audio, visual, etc.)

Directions

● Hook:
○ No hook on this day to maximize the amount of time students have to
begin working on their final project.
● Activity:
○ 21st Century movement project
■ Students will work in small groups to research a 21st century
social movement.
■ Students will be creating a multimodal presentation
incorporating various forms of media (i.e., written, audio, visual,
etc.)
○ Project Guidelines:

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 ■ Contains 6-8 credible sources that detail what movement the
students are researching, the purpose of the movement, and
background information of the movement.
■ Blends at least 2 types of media together (Ex. text & images or
audio & video).
■ Presentations can be digital such as powerpoints or physical
such as posters or trifold boards.
■ Presentations should be between 5-10 minutes in length,
students are expected to be able to answer questions either
during or after presenting.
■ This rubric will serve as a guide for expectations
● Closing:
○ Students will fill out this google form, asking students
■ Which 21st century social moment they would like to do for the
final project
■ What medium they plan to use (i.e., Google slides, Prezi, Video,
Poster, etc.)
■ What current, credible sources they plan to use

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 Lesson Five : Gallery Walk/
Presentation Day

Standards

English

■ 11-12.W.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce,

publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response
to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
■ 11-12.RI.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively)
as well as in print in order to address a question or solve a problem.
■ 11-12.SL.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence in
an organized, developed style appropriate to purpose, audience, and
task, allowing listeners to follow the speaker's line of reasoning,
message, and any alternative perspectives.
■ 11-12.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, use of
evidence, and use of rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links
among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
■ 11-12.SL.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in
diverse media and formats in order to make informed decisions and
propose solutions, while evaluating the credibility and accuracy of
each source and noting any discrepancies.

History

■ HS.SP4.3 Integrate evidence from multiple relevant sources and

interpretations into a reasoned argument.

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 ■ 11-12.RH.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
■ 11-12.RH.9 Integrate information from diverse sources both primary
and secondary into coherent understanding of an idea or event noting
discrepancies among sources.

Learning Outcome:
● Students will be able to analyze and compare multiple sources of information to
construct an effective and clear argument, creating a multimedia presentation that
contains 6-8 credible resources that explains a modern social movement.
● At the end of the five day experience, students will produce a 5-10 minute
multimodal presentation, presenting and defending an argument using evidence
from their research into social movements and scoring an 80 out of 100 on the
rubric
● Students will present key findings and evidence in an organized style that takes into
consideration audience, purpose, and prompt by creating a 5-10 minute multimodal
presentation on a modern social movement that incorporates 6-8 credible sources.

Directions

● Hook:

No hook today, students will instead use this warm-up period to make
final adjustments and preparations for their presentation.

● Activity:

Students will participate in a presentation/gallery walk, they will share

their research with classmates and provide information on their
chosen organization.

Keep this rubric in mind!!!!

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 ● Closing

Students will discuss with their group members the things they
learned about the civil rights movement, the role of literature in social
movements, and how modern social change is affected by literature.

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