Watch (5-10 mins): Learn about 22-year-old Amanda Gorman (Links to an external site.) (PBS NewsHour), who read her poem at the inauguration. Amanda Gorman read her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the inaugural events The First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is a fan of Amanda’s poetry. (Links to an external site.)
You can also watch Gorman delivering her inaugural poem below, and read a copy of it here (Links to an external site.).
https://youtu.be/LZ055ilIiN4 (Links to an external site.)
As you watch, think about the following questions and jot down notes:
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
What stands out to you?
Does any of the poem or the author herself resonate with you?
In an interview with The New York Times (Links to an external site.), Gorman said, “Now more than ever, the United States needs an inaugural poem. Poetry is typically the touchstone that we go back to when we have to remind ourselves of the history that we stand on, and the future that we stand for.” What do you think she means? How does poetry capture our feelings or attitudes in a way that traditional speeches or prose does not?
Free Write/Free Response: Choose one.
Write your own three line poem in reply to Gorman’s poem “ Choose a line, a vibe or a moment from the poem to inspire your response.”
Stream of consciousness: Capture your vibe or feeling from the poem in one word immediately after viewing.
Please share your observations, and discuss your thoughts with your peers. One way to think about the lines in the poem is to have a conversation with them. What would you say?
Review the Earth Charter I. Respect and Care for the Community of Life. Carefully connect at least three of the principles with Gorman’s ideas.
How does the poem weave in the concepts of respect, compassion, and empathy?
From items #1-6 above develop a discussion post around these activities and be sure to respond to at least three of your peers. Include some type of media (video, photo, etc.) to enhance your discussion post and connect to your ideas or advance the discussion.
You will be graded on quality and relevance, critical thinking, contribution, course connections, professional writing and media included. Please review the grading rubric for more details. The assignment should demonstrate at least 2 hours of work.
Discussions are an opportunity for reflection on your own thoughts, beliefs, questions, and/or concerns regarding a particular topic, issue, or experience. It is a reflection of your learning in the course and a record of your journey through the semester, not a diary. The ultimate purpose of discussions are to provide you with a place to express your ideas and opinions and to facilitate discussion between you and your classmates. Expect each discussion to take 1-2 hours to complete along with 2-3 hours to complete any required readings.
You will be graded on six criteria: quality and relevance, critical thinking, contribution to peers, course connections, writing, and media included
Post your response to the discussion prompt below along with photos, videos, links, or interesting things that relate to the discussion or enhance your thoughts. To size photos properly, please refer to the tutorials about image resizing in the Canvas Student Demonstration Course: https://fgcu.instructure.com/courses/7692
You must post first before you can see your other classmates’ posts.
Read and respond to at least three of your fellow classmates’ postings.
All work reflected in the discussion should be in your own words. If you use other authors’ works you need to properly cite and reference the information including photos, drawings, graphics and/external links.
A great discussion is one that addresses the questions in the prompt while making connections to additional course materials, readings, and experiences. The ability to incorporate these concepts shows a high degree of critical thinking.
You are encouraged to share things from your life, experiences, material learned in other courses or your major and any additional thoughts you have on the prompt. This demonstrates that you are truly reflecting on the topic.
Be detailed and give reasoning behind your thoughts. For example – don’t just say “this place is great!” Tell me why it is great, what led you to your conclusions and ideas about the area.
LINKS TO WATCH/READ
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/poet-tapped-for-inauguration-to-spread-a-message-of-unity
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/books/amanda-gorman-inauguration-hill-we-climb.html
