Watch the performance of the song “Harbour (Song for Elizabeth)” by Beverly Glenn-Copeland.
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: Do you think that math and poetry can be connected? Why or why not? Join with a partner and share. (Teachers, if appropriate for your grade level, review information about slope intercepts.) How might math help poets?
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Before Reading the Poem: Watch the performance of the song “Harbour (Song for Elizabeth)” by Beverly Glenn-Copeland. What words or phrases stand out to you in the song? Why? What emotions does the song evoke? Why?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “What Space Faith Can Occupy” by TC Tolbert. 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 speaker define love and/or happiness? Why? How does this relate to the title? Why? Can you think of a different title?
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Whole Class Discussion: What imagery is present in the poem? How does it impact the poem? Why do poets write about love?
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Extension for Grades 7-8: To celebrate Valentine’s Day, create your own unique poetry pairings. Read more poems about love, friendship, or complicated relationships. Then, bring in a contemporary or classic song that you feel pairs with your chosen poem. Share your poetry pairing with your class and explain why you chose to create this pairing. In what ways are these poems similar? In what ways are they different? How do they speak to the poem you read in class?
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Extension for Grades 9-12: Use the equation from the poem to create your own poem or diagram for a relationship that is personally meaningful to you. What makes this relationship so important? Share your writing or creative piece with the class.
“Oh monolith. Oh try. It hurts inside and makes me cry sometimes but gives me a feeling of possibility, too. The possibility of space. Of faith. And recognition. I feel recognized by these lines and it helps me remember to work on my own recognizing.” Read a reflection on “What Space Faith Can Occupy” from Expedition Press.