"I believe Icarus was not falling as he fell, but just coming to the end of his triumph." - Jack Gilbert
Learning to Fly - Poems before Song of Solomon: There are poems here about flying, about names, about race, and about justice. There is so much in Toni Morrison's masterpiece - and the poems that are chosen to be read and discussed before we jump into the novel - have never been so important. As I said in the introduction to this unit - I want to give the students a "second reading" of this book, while they are doing their first. These poems will help do just that by introducing ideas, themes, and concepts that will give the students a lot to think about and connect as they are doing their reading. The harsh truths and magical realism in this book require a leap of faith by the readers that is almost as challenging as the leap that the protagonist makes at the end of the book.
As usual on "Poems before..." day there is no quiz and you need to get started right away. I usually stand at the door and give the handout with the poems to the students as they enter (and tell them to start looking at it right away). For more specifics on the actual poems and songs - see the notes below next to the Poems & Songs handout and the notes on my Lesson Notes on the Poems (in my handwriting - also found below)
As with most (though not the last) Poems Before, break the students into small groups (it is usually best and quickest if you do this by just pointing. There are 9 poems to be distributed, and some of the poems are large - you will need to purposefully make the groups for those poems larger (perhaps 3-4 students instead of the usual 2). You should encourage those larger groups to split the especially long poems (and give these more students) into sections - tackled by mini-groups within their group. There are also a few poems, quotes, and a song that you will do together as a class
Give the students about 5-8 minutes to prepare their poems - you will need the rest of the time to go over them (and listen to the songs) as a class. Once they are done (or time is up) - you can begin tackling the poems together. By now, being the 8th time I've done poems before a book this way - the students are much more comfortable - and you'll be surprised how quickly they get through it - but even more - how intelligent their interpretation is.
Once you begin the discussion, remind students that they are to write notes directly on their handouts as the group is reading the poem aloud (always how they should begin their presentation). Anything is fine - but as always with poetry - What is the story? What is taking place? See my page On Poetry. They can link it to other things - but first we need to figure out what's happening in the poem. Here are the poems and songs See the PDF of my copy of the Poems with my Notes - for my take on the poems - the things I'd be sure to bring up.
"Failing and Flying" by Jack Gilbert. Wow - so much here in this poem. Song of Solomon has so much to do with flying - and it also has to do with the act of attempting and of little triumphs. For thoughts on the other poems see my handwritten notes on the poem (found in a PDF below) - Group 1
"Wings" by Miroslav Holub - Group 2
"Roots" by John Piller - Group 3
"If We Must Die" by Claude McKay - Group 4 - Song of Solomon concerns itself with the Civil Rights movement and with civil rights over a century. This poem and the next epitomize and introduce students to the sentiments they will encounter in the novel.
"Justice" by Langston Hughes - usually given to one student (if possible a person of color)- or read and discussed together as a class.
from "A Wreath for Emmett Till" - Group 5 - Emmett Till and his murder play a pivital role in the book - it's good to know as much as possible going into it.
"In Flight" by Jennifer Sweeney - Group 6
Longfellow Quote - read together
"An Apple-Gathering" by Christina Georgina Rossetti - Group 6
"The Myth of Innocence by Louise Gluck - Group 7 (large group)
"Guilt" by e e cummings - very small, read together
"The Deserted House" by Alfred Lord Tennyson - Group 8
Anita Baker quote - read together
"Stations" by Audre Lorde - Group 9
"This Must be the Place (Naive Melody) - song to be listened to together
Matsuo Basho quote - read together
The bookmark for this novel has the titles of the poems on it - so it will bring this class - these ideas to the forefront as they are doing their reading. At the end of class, remind them of what is due - there will be a quiz - and to follow their bookmarks (which have those titles from the poems on them) and read ahead.
The Poems with my Notes: PDF - This is made from a combination of earlier incarnations of the poems, along with the most recent. You will find poems repeated as there are different editions of the handout. Obviously, every teacher, just as every student will have a different take on these poems and songs (just as I would expect them to add and subtract their own verse). I believe these poems and song compliment what is happening in the next lesson - note there are no notes for the last page of this packet as they are revisited poems (and a text).
Poems before The House on Mango Street Handout: Docx PDF
The novel, The House on Mango Street, has many ideas, and many themes. The poems - as always - cover some of the ideas and themes that will be encountered in the book. Some of these include - what exactly is "home", the idea of the "other", women's place in society, find our true path
In most of my handouts that have text to be analyzed - I make sure to leave a wide margin for the students to write notes (both as they're reading and as we talk about the texts as a class). I will usually have these on a desk by the door and students will grab or be given one as they enter the room. These poems are given plenty of room for students to take notes on.
Bookmark with Poem Titles Docx PDF
This is the song that we play at the end of the lesson (the lyrics are on the handout) - some years when I knew time would be at a premium - I played it as the students were entering the classroom - before the bell rang or alternatively after the bell rang - as the students were leaving. Use every second.
These poems - really work well in a Remote setting. You do have to make sure that you have remote grouping set up.
As we usually do with poems before novels - we divide into groups and then come back and read and report what we've learned from the poems. We read some wonderful, sad, beautiful poems - as a prologue to our unit on The House on Mango Street. The poems are about houses, homes, innocence, women who wait and many of the other themes that will be encountered during our time with Sandra Cisneros's masterpiece.
Though I have included a Group Work for this lessson - I urge you go ahead with a Class Discussion. I may have been gone that day or we may have been plagued with so many absences due to AP Testing that I made a Group Work. To have an opening discussion when more than a few students are absent was, to me, a not worthwhile task. In any case, in our discussion we cover all the chapters through page 32. As always, the students have done the reading for homework - and this time - they are happy to discover that the reading takes (generally) less than 20 minutes. In addition to talking about what happens in each of these vignettes (this is a Ring Master Teacher type discussion as most opening (and closing) classes are), we also talk about what the "house" (ideal desire for Esperanza or other characters) is for each Chapter.
I think the quote at the top of this page: I believe Icarus was not falling as he fell, but just coming to the end of his triumph," by Jack Gilbert really sums up so much of what the students will read in this incredible novel.