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VACCINATED

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JERICHO BROWN

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INSTRUCTIONAL

NOTE

Feel free to modify, add, or select specific questions from this bellringer to best fit your instructional goals and available time. Adjust as needed to align with your lesson focus or classroom pacing.

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Also, some of the materials in these bellringers contain sensitive subject matter and/or language. Please preview the resources beforehand and make any alterations as needed.

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BELLRINGER FOCUS: LINE BREAKS

  • Read “Vaccinated” by Jericho Brown.
    • Go to http://bit.ly/4lqfg6W to access the poem.
  • Answer the following question(s):
    • How do the line breaks influence the tone or rhythm of the speaker’s voice, especially in the shift between storytelling and reflection?
    • Look at the break between “Our women / Need to perform...” Why might Brown break the line here? What effect does this have on our understanding of “need”?
    • The final line echoes a well-known lyric. How do the line breaks in the last few lines heighten the emotional impact of the speaker’s farewell?

CREATIVE WRITING EXTENSIONS

  • Write a brief poem or monologue that pays tribute to someone who performs to survive or be seen.
  • Describe a moment when you felt unsafe in a space that was supposed to be joyful.
  • Create a short scene in which music or performance offers a kind of escape—for you or someone else.