Listen to the song “Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley.
The following activities and questions are designed to help your students use their noticing skills to move through the poem and develop their thinking skills so they understand its meaning with confidence, using what they’ve noticed as evidence for their interpretations. Read more about the framework upon which these activities are based.
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Warm-up: (pair-share) What do you think this title/phrase means: “I have stood up for you?” What questions, if any, do you have about this phrase?
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Before Reading the Poem: Listen to the song “Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley. What words or phrases stand out? Why?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “I Have Stood Up for You” by Carlos Montezuma. What do you notice about the poem? Note any words or phrases that stand out to you or any questions you might have.
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Listening to the Poem: Enlist two volunteers and listen as the poem is read aloud twice. Write down any additional words and phrases that stand out to you.
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Small Group Discussion: Share what you noticed about the poem with a small group of students. Based on the details you just shared with your small group and the resources from the beginning of class, how does the song compare to your reading of the poem? What imagery do you notice?
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Whole Class Discussion: What do you think of the repetition of“I have stood up for you”? Why? Read the “About This Poem” section of the poem. How does this inform your understanding of the poem?
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Extension for Grades 7-8: Who have you stood up for, or who do you want to stand up for? Why? Write a poem in response. Share your poem with the class.
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Extension for Grades 9-12: In the essay “Ancestors: A Mapping Indigenous Poetry and Poets,” Joy Harjo writes, “[W]ith ancestry as much as you look back you are also looking forward to see who is coming up, because a responsibility of each generation, whether it be blood family or poetry family, is to carefully tend those appearing, who break through the imagination to speak the next world into place.” Work with your class to create an archive of your poetic ancestors.
“As educators, we not only have a responsibility toward our students to engage in societal dialogue; we also create space for students to develop their own sense of self, perspectives, opinions, and beliefs. It is critical that students develop the ability to effectively exercise critical thinking and respectful and productive discourse when exploring and discussing complex topics.” Read a statement of support from NCTE on discussing complex topics in the classroom, and find more resources for teachers.
End-stopped refers to a metrical line containing a complete phrase or sentence, or a poetic line ending with punctuation. Read more.