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.
Look closely at this image of the Waikiki Beach.
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: With a partner or small group, look closely at one of these photos from the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdown. What do you notice about these images and/or places? What do they make you think? How might the natural world have changed since then?
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Before Reading the Poem: Look closely at this image of Waikiki Beach taken before the COVID-19 pandemic. What do you notice? What does this make you think?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “Waikīkī Returns” by Christy Passion. 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, and write down any additional words and phrases that stand out to you. Or, opt to listen to the poet read the poem by clicking the audio icon at the top right corner of the poem.
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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, do you think the image from the beginning of class connects to the poem? How and why? With your small group, pick your favorite couplet/line and debate why this is the best couplet/line.
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Whole-class Discussion: Why do you think the title is “Waikīkī Returns”? Who or what is returning? What does this tell you about nature? How does this compare to your own experience of the COVID-19 shutdown?
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Extension for Grades 7-8: Read the “About This Poem” statement at the bottom right of the poem. Write a poem about a real or imagined place that is a refuge for you. Share your poem with the class.
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Extension for Grades 9-12: After reading this poem, create your own mini research project in which you research something that interests you from the poem. This might be climate change, tourism, Hawaii, or your own idea. Share your research with your class. (Teachers, if your students are interested in climate change, you can find more resources.)
In our interview with Kanaka poet, Brandy Nālani McDougall, she said, “May is a month that has been dedicated to celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander heritages, but Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, though we’re often viewed as one group, there’s a great deal of cultural, historical, linguistic, class, political, and racial diversity within this group. And, for a while now, there have been discussions within our communities about dis-aggregating this grouping, because we aren’t really sure if this is actually serving any of us. So, from a Pacific Islander poetry perspective, this grouping has resulted in our issues and creative work being somewhat invisible within the American public sphere, because our work tends to be eclipsed by the really amazing work of Asian American poets.” Read or listen to the entire interview here.
End-Stopped Line: a metrical line containing a complete phrase or sentence, or a line of poetry ending with punctuation; the opposite of enjambment. Read more.