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 this video about how to drape a sari.
The following activities and questions are designed to help your students use their noticing skills to move through the poem and develop their thinking about 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: (think, pair-share) Join a partner or small group. Together, brainstorm different definitions for the word “wrap.” Then, share your answers with the class. What do you notice about the word “wrap?”
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Before Reading the Poem: (Teachers, you may want to select a clip from the following video.) Watch this video about how to drape a sari. What do you notice in the video? What stands out?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “Wrap” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. 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 in the poem with a small group of students. Based on the details you just shared with your small group, how is the word “wrap” used and not used in the poem? How do these uses compare to the definitions you discussed and the video you watched at the beginning of class?
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Whole-class Discussion: What does the speaker value? How do you know? How do the “wraps” at the end of the poem impact your reading?
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Extension for Grades 7-8: In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, choose a poet to read and celebrate this month from this link. Honor your selected poet by creating a poster that incorporates one or more of the poet’s poems and includes biographical data about this poet, along with anything else you find interesting. Present your poster to your classmates and display them at your school.
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Extension for Grades 9-12: In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, select one book, or series of poems by a poet to read this month. Then, create several interview questions inspired by the poet’s work. (Teachers, if you need more resources, please check out this link.)
Aimee Nezhukumatathil encountered Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Mint Snowball” in college, and she says, “I’ve been completely changed ever since.” In this Poets on Poetry video, Nezhukumatathil discusses the poem that brought her to poetry writing, considers the ways love and celebration manifest in her work, and shares her own poem, “Eclipse.” Read more.
A quatrain is a four-line stanza or grouping of four lines of verse. Read more.