Look closely at this image of the Kākāwahie bird.
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: What does it mean for something to be extinct or endangered? What do we lose when a species becomes extinct? Why is this important?
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Before Reading the Poem: Look closely at this image of the Kākāwahie bird. What stands out to you about it? Why?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “Today I Am Full of Birds” by Lyz Soto. 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. You might enjoy listening to the poet read the poem.
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Small Group Discussion: Share what you noticed about the poem with a small group. How might the resources from the beginning of class connect to the poem? What imagery can you find in the poem? How would you describe the rhythm of the lines?
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Whole Class Discussion: Which section of the poem interests or surprises you most? Why? How does this section relate to the rest of the poem? How might the poem be different without it?
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Extension for Grades 7-8: Read the “About this Poem” statement. Research extinct or endangered animals. Write a creative piece about your research. Share your writing with the class.
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Extension for Grades 9-12: Write your own creative piece that answers these questions from the poem: “What will you do / to let this bird free? What will you do / to find all the songs / you should sing?” Share your writing with the class.
In the “About this Poem” statement, Lyz Soto writes, “This poem is part of the Delisted project with the attorney, evolutionary biologist, and writer Jennifer Calkins, asking a collection of artists to spend a year communing with a being scheduled to be ‘delisted’ from the endangered species list. I was bestowed the Kākāwahie, a honeycreeper endemic to the island of Molokaʻi, who was last seen in 1963 and is now considered extinct. This bird came to me in dreams and led me back to the bodies of women, particularly brown women, and all the ways we have had to fight to be heard—to be seen, to be safe, to be loved.”