Spoken Poetry: Then and Now
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Spoken Poetry: Then and Now

Poetry can provide insight into how important events and big ideas affect individuals. In this lesson students will hear a contemporary poem and a poem from a period in American history, then conduct their own research about that time period. As students learn about the cultural and historical context, they will discuss how what they learn influences their understanding of the poems. While this lesson plan focuses on Latina experiences in the western United States, it can be used with many topics in recent American history by substituting new poems for the ones referenced here.

Name of Cultural Institution : 
Library of Congress: Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature
Lesson plans standards: 
Social Studies Writing Standard 7: Conduct short and 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.
Social Studies Writing Standard 8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over-reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
Social Studies Writing Standard 9: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection and research.
Social Studies Reading Standard 9: Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies between sources.
ELA Reading Standard 3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
ELA Reading Standard 6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
ELA Reading Standard 9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
ELA Writing Standard 4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
ELA Writing Standard 5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
ELA Writing Standard 8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
ELA Writing Standard 9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
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