This lesson could extend into multiple sessions with revision exercises and sharing drafts with the class.

The goal of this lesson is to allow space for students to reflect on significant moments in their lives or memories that preoccupy their minds. Students have the opportunity to consider audience or if they would prefer to write a poem for themselves.

Sequence of activities:

Example Reading (10 minutes):  “The Cairo Apartments” by Safia Elhillo from Girls That Never Die. (The full text of the poem can be found in the .pdf version of this lesson plan.) Students can read the poem to themselves and then hear it out loud, depending on ability. Provide an opportunity for students to share about their experience reading and/or hearing the poem.

Potential questions: What sensory details stand out? How does this change your idea about a poem’s form or what it needs to look or sound like? How does the poem make you feel, or what does it make you think about? What words or references were new to you? Do you speak more than one language, and would you include multiple languages in your writing? Why do you think writers choose to write about the past?

Writing Prompt (30 minutes or self-paced): Write about a specific moment in time that you don’t want to forget or can’t stop thinking about. Try to include all the details, so you can always look back at this poem and remember.  

This memory could be of a place, friends, family, event, a memorable dream, or a change in your life. This could be a memory that is difficult to fully represent, or your feelings about that time might be complex.

Think about who this poem is for. Are you writing this for yourself, those who were part of the memory, or a larger audience? What do you want to hide from your readers and what do you want your readers to know? How can you do this through language?  

Optional Sharing (10 minutes): Ask if students would like to share their poem or about the experience of writing their poem as a class or in small groups.