"Identity" poetry activity.

This is the lesson I had planned on doing my last day of student teaching.

But you know what? The celebratory free day was much better, in my opinion. :)


Polanco's poem, "Identity," which this activity is centered around, was introduced to me in one of my learning-about-how-to-teach classes, this past spring semester. I loved it, as I love most poems about identity and finding out who you are. I think these themes in particular ring true for teenagers. They're still in that phase where identities are like their clothes: questionable and frequently changed.


Objectives:
*Students will take a close look at a poem that uses extended metaphor.
*Students will create an extended metaphor poem of their own!

Materials:
*"Identity" by Julio Noboa Polanco.
*"Identity" worksheets and cross-change poem sheet

Procedures:
*Read the poem aloud with your students.

Identity

Let them be as flowers,
always watered, fed, guarded, admired,
but harnessed to a pot of dirt.

I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed,
clinging on cliffs, like an eagle
wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks.

To have broken through the surface of stone,
to live, to feel exposed to the madness
of the vast, eternal sky.
To be swayed by the breezes of an ancient sea,
carrying my soul, my seed, beyond the mountains of time
or into the abyss of the bizarre.

I'd rather be unseen, and if
then shunned by everyone,
than to be a pleasant-smelling flower,
growing in clusters in the fertile valleys,
where they're praised, handled, and plucked
by greedy, human hands.

I'd rather smell of musty, green stench
than of sweet, fragrant lilac.
If I could stand alone, strong and free,
I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed.

-Julio Noboa Polanco

*What do the students think this poem is about? How do they know this?

*Have students read the poem to themselves again silently, marking the images that stand out most to them.

*Have students work in pairs or small groups to map out the images in each stanza, one by one. What is the narrator speaking about in each section of the poem? Who is the "them" he continually refers to?

*Students may use the following questions on their worksheet to guide their discussions:

1.Why do you think Polanco compares himself to a weed?


2.What kind of a person do you think Polanco is, from the way he describes “weeds” in his poem? (Use evidence from the poem!)




3.What kind of people do you think are the “flowers,” and what is Polanco’s feelings towards the “flowers” of our society? (Use evidence here, too!)

*Now, have students consider what an "extended metaphor" is. Is Polanco's metaphor of himself as a weed effective? What does it say about him as a person?

*Now it's time for students to write their own poem!

Polanco’s “Identity” is an extended metaphor poem. Polanco tells us a lot about his character by simply describing this “weed” that he identifies himself with.
Now, it’s your turn to write an extended metaphor poem!
First, let’s find something you might identify yourself with…
Answer the following open-ended questions:

1.If I were a plant or animal, I’d be a _______________.

2.If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a ____________.

3.If I were a color, I’d be ___________________________.

4.If I were a vehicle, I’d be a _______________________.

Anything else you might compare yourself to?
Now choose one, and write!

*Provide students with the copy-change model, but let them know that if they feel they need to break free of the provided structure and go on their own, they should! This is all about THEM.

Identity
By _______________________________________


Let them be as _______________________________________

always___________________________________________________________________

but ______________________________________________________ .


I’d rather be a ____________________________________ ,

______________________________________ like _________________________________

____________________________________________________________________ .


To have ___________________________________________ ,

to _____________________________________________________________ .

To be __________________________________________________________

or __________________________________________________________ .


I’d rather be _____________________________________ , and if

then __________________________________________________________ ,

then to be __________________________________________________________________

where ___________________________________________

by _____________________________________ .


I’d rather ________________________________________________

than _________________________________________ .

If I could _______________________________________________ ,

I’d rather be a ________________________________________ .

*It might be fun at the end to have some willing students share their works of art. I always like to create along with my students, and having a teacher share his/her own work first tends to break the ice. Have fun!