Lesson Introduction
What is poetry’s superpower? Its ability to save, heal and empower those who are drawn to its possibilities. In this lesson students will listen to Nehiyaw, Dené and Métis spoken word artist Zoey Roy’s personal account of how poetry has shaped her life. They will reflect on their own stresses or frustrations they face and the outlets they choose to help let go and heal. The second part of the lesson will be an opportunity to explore other Indigenous poets in the PIV anthology and their motivations for writing. They will research and present their findings to the class.
Learning Objectives
Students will have the opportunity to:
Read works by several different Indigenous poets
Understand reasons why someone might write poetry
Appreciate the potential power of healing through poetry
Interpret the emotion of a poem
Work collaboratively to research and recite a poem
Materials and Resources
- CBC: Unreserved with Rosanna Deerchild: The Power of Poetry (aired March 11, 2022). First 26 minutes (Language warning: Uses ‘bad-ass’ in the introduction)
- Access to the internet to use Poetry in Voice website and research poets