Teach This Poem, though developed with a classroom in mind, can be easily adapted for remote-learning, hybrid-learning models, or in-person classes. Please see our suggestions for how to adapt this lesson for remote or blended learning. We have also noted suggestions when applicable and will continue to add to these suggestions online.
Watch the lyric video of the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.
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 “ghost + furniture + eastern turnpikes” mean to you? What might the other half be if this were part of an equation? Using words, write an equation about home, school, or a place of your choice. Share your equation with the class.
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Before Reading the Poem: Watch the lyric video of the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. What lyrics stand out in the song? Why?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “Turnpike // Ghost” by Hala Alyan. 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 to read the poem aloud): Listen as the poem is read aloud twice, and 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. How does the speaker’s idea of home compare to the resources from the beginning of class? What does home mean to you?
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Whole-class Discussion: What do you think of the title: “Turnpike // Ghost”? Where do you see ghosts or moments of haunting in the poem? What do you think about ghosts? Read the definition of a couplet. Which couplet in the poem is your favorite, or which one are you still thinking about? Why?
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Extension for Grades 7-8: Think back to the equation you wrote at the beginning of class. Write a poem that uses your equation or one that explores ghosts, haunting, home, or another topic.
- Extension for Grades 9-12: Choose another poem to read from this list of poems about ghosts. How might ghosts connect to the idea of home? Do you think the poem you chose is in conversation with Hala Alyan’s poem? Why or why not? Write a short essay about Alyan’s poem and your chosen poem.
“One of the magical things about poetry is the way in which my life connects with the life of readers like you. How my memories trigger special memories of your own, your happy place. ‘Looking for The Gulf Motel’ speaks to that old saying: you can’t go back home, which is true and not true at the same time. We can’t literally go back in time, of course, but we can certainly revive and relive our memories over and over again. In part, that’s why I write poetry: to go back in time in my mind and appreciate the special places and experiences in my life.” Read the rest of Richard Blanco’s letter to Wilson, and more letters from the 2023 Dear Poet project.