Produced for K-12 educators, Teach This Poem features one poem a week from our online poetry collection, accompanied by interdisciplinary resources and activities designed to help teachers quickly and easily bring poetry into the classroom. The series is written by our Educator in Residence, Dr. Madeleine Fuchs Holzer, and is available for free via email.
Featured Poem
X-ray of the Right Hand
This image is in the public domain.
Classroom Activities
- Whip-around: Go around the room quickly and ask each student to share something they’d love to do when they have to choose their life’s work. If a student does not have an idea, they can say “pass” and you can go back to them when the other students have spoken.
- Show your students the x-ray image of the right hand. Ask them to write down what they see—the colors, the light, the dark, the clarity. Where are these aspects located in the X-ray?
- Project the poem “The Chance” by Arthur Sze in front of the class, so all your students can see it. Ask them to read it silently and write down all the words and phrases that jump out at them. Ask a student to read the poem aloud, while the listening students continue listing new words and phrases that draw their attention. Repeat this process while another student reads aloud.
- Ask for volunteers to write their lists on the front board, not repeating any words or phrases that are already written. Point out the images in the compiled list of words and phrases. Hold a discussion about the use of images and why your students think Arthur Sze uses them.
- Referring back to what your students said in the whip-around, ask them to think about their “clear white light [that works] against the fuzzy blurred edges of the darkness.” Have them share what they think this might be with a partner.
- Ask them to write a paragraph or poem about what the image of the “clear white light” means in their lives.