Letter to Earth: Poetry Writing Lesson
Lesson Plan
1 hour 35 minutesGrades6, 7, 8English Language Arts
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Written by Christina Cawdery
About this lesson
In this lesson, students analyze how art and poetry can be used to talk about climate justice and write their own climate change poem with a message of hope.
Inquire: Students read the poem “Dear Matafele Peinem” by Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner and reflect on what they noticed, wondered, and felt about the poem.
Investigate: Students analyze a poem and investigate how climate change is affecting communities and people around the world.
Inspire: Students use the information they collected to create a piece of poetry about a climate change issue.
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Suggestions
- This lesson aligns with Hawai'i's Nā Hopena A'o HĀ-BREATH Framework.
- Students and teachers can explore and discuss the history or experience of the Marshallese people, both in their home country and in Hawai‘i. Resources can include the following:
- Marshall Islands Story Project
- Atomic Heritage Foundation
- Micronesia fact sheet
- Climate Change in the Marshall Islands (5:08) by American Museum of Natural History
- For more movement and kinesthetic learning in the Inquire section, students can discuss the DICE questions using Concentric Circles. Half the class forms an inner circle facing out; the other half forms an outer circle facing in. Students discuss one DICE question with the person in front of them, then the outer circle rotates.
- Students can choose a specific animal or ecosystem for their own poem, and be required to include a "Science Sidebar" explaining the real-world climate threat to that specific subject.
- Students can engage in digital storytelling by recording a spoken word video. Using tools like Adobe Express or Canva, students can overlay their voice over images of the climate issues they are describing.
- To focus on concrete aspects of hope and move students through any climate anxiety, students can create a class "Solutions Wall.” Before they write, students post sticky notes of real-world climate wins like renewable energy growth, successful reforestation, etc., to give them concrete "hope" to write about.
- For a geography and social studies connection, students can research and learn about Micronesia and the Marshallese people.
Prerequisites
- Teachers should preview resources and be familiar with the poem before the discussion.
- Teachers may need some background understanding of the history of the Marshall Islands.
- Students should have a basic understanding of imagery and alliteration, as well as why they are important.
- Students should have a working knowledge of climate change to engage with this lesson. Starting resources include:
- Students should be adept at opening links and looking at resources on their own.
- Students need access to laptops or tablets to see or watch resources.
Differentiation
- Many parts of the lesson can be completed individually, in pairs, or in groups, depending on what the teacher believes is best.
- Teachers can provide more structure or specific writing elements for students as needed.
- Students can research other climate change poems to attach to their projects, analyzing the connection between the two.
- Students can research the Marshall Islands, specifically why low-lying atolls are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise.
- If students struggle to start their own poem, give them a printed copy of "Dear Matafele Peinem" and have them do Blackout Poetry, where they black out words they don't want, leaving a new, shorter message of hope behind.
- For emerging writers, teachers can provide a Mad Libs-style frame for a poem.
- To challenge writers, students can use a specific extended metaphor throughout their letter, much like the ocean imagery used in the original text.
From the scientist review
Students can use poetry and other forms of art in this lesson to communicate and share their ideas for tackling climate change. In addition to learning how to spot alliteration in poetry, they will be motivated to share their own experiences about the effects of climate change and ways they can take deep, rapid, and sustained action. It is advised to teach this lesson because it passed our science review.
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About the teacher writer
Christina Cawdery
Middle School Teacher
Christina Torres Cawdery is a middle-grade English educator at Punahou School in Honolulu, HI. In addition to teaching, Christina is a writer whose work has appeared in places like ASCD, Edutopia, Learning for Justice, NCTE's Council Chronicle, and Education Week. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
