Asian American Pacific Islander Women

Poetic Elements Unit

Grades 3-7

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AAPI Women Poetic Elements(Grades 3-7)

LESSON 1

Unit Introduction

Central Idea

Image Credit: Pixabay (Royalty Free)

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Basic Structure of a Poem

Prose Structure: Poetry Structure:

Sentence Line

Paragraph Stanza

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• AAPI is short for:

Asian American and Pacific Islander

• We will explore how poems are used to discuss many different subjects.
• Poets explore different issues, topics, and ways of thinking through poetry.

AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry

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• Themes of personal conflict and self-discovery through personal story-telling of the poets
• Explore ideas of family, community history, and change
• Discover how these AAPI women work through their struggles by focusing on and writing about their personal experiences
• Come from diverse backgrounds and experiences and the creative work they make shows that AAPI culture and histories are important
• Using their voice to transform and add to the depiction of AAPI culture and experiences

AAPI Women Voices: Untold Stories Through Poetry

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Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

• Born in the Marshall Islands. Moved to Hawai’i at the age of 7. Moved back to the Marshall Islands at the age of 25
• Climate activist. Addressed United Nations Climate Summit in 2014
• Writes about nuclear testing conducted in the Marshall Islands, militarism, the rising sea level as a result of climate change, forced migration, racism in America
• From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. Equal to 1.6 Hiroshima-size explosions per day
• During World War II, in 1945, the U.S. dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Image Credits: Untold Stories Through Poetry and Asian American Education Project

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Fighting Climate Change Video

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Central Idea Worksheet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65nhhzhZ_x8

Image Credit: United States Department of Energy (public domain image)

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Fighting Climate Change with Poems:

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65nhhzhZ_x8

Image Credit: United States Department of Energy (public domain image)

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• As you read “2 Degrees”:
• Highlight or underline your favorite lines
• Star the lines that make you think differently about the poem’s title, “2 Degrees”
• Think about what the central idea of the poem might be—circle the lines or stanzas that relate to the central idea
• Pay close attention to the last stanza of the poem

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: “2 Degrees”

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Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: “2 Degrees”

Image Credit: U.S. Department of the Interior (public domain image)

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2 Degrees: Central Idea Worksheet

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3. What is the central idea of the poem?

4. Using the chart on the your worksheet and looking back at what you marked on the poem, find which lines support the central idea. Write three of those lines/phrases.

5. What message is Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner sending in the last stanza?

2 Degrees: Central Idea Worksheet

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3. What is the central idea of the poem?

Climate change is a significant problem with very real consequences, especially for at-risk and less-protected populations such as the people of the Marshall Islands (where the author is from).

2 Degrees: Central Idea Worksheet

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Stanza 5: “Scientists say

if humans warm the world

more than 2 degrees

then catastrophe will hit”

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Stanza 6: “Imagine North American wildfires increasing by 400%

animal extinction rising by 30%

fresh water declining by 20%

thousands, millions displaced

left wandering

wondering

what

happened?”

2 Degrees: Central Idea Worksheet

Stanza 7: “I tell him for my islands 2 degrees

(lines 4-7) is a gamble

at 2 degrees my islands,

the Marshall Islands will already be under water

this is why our leaders push

for 1.5”

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Stanza 8: “Seems small

like 0.5 degrees

shouldn’t matter

like 0.5 degrees

are just crumbs

like the Marshall Islands

must look

on a map

just crumbs you

dust off the table, wipe

your hands clean”

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4. Write three lines/phrases that support the central idea of the poem.

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5. What message is Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner sending in the last stanza?

Kathy is trying to make the point that while discussions about climate change are important, it is also important and necessary to remember and think about how climate change impacts people’s lives, specifically those in the Marshall Islands.

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2 Degrees: Central Idea Worksheet

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• Mark any words that you do not understand or know the meaning of. We will go over these together.
• As you read “Tell Them” for homework:
• Think about what the central idea of the poem might be—mark the lines or stanzas that relate to the central idea
• Pay close attention to the last stanza of the poem
• Fill out the table in the Central Idea Worksheet

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Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner: “Tell Them”

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• Lesson 1 Central Idea Review: Reading & Practicing with “Tell Them” by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner
• Simile and Metaphor:
• What is a simile? What is a metaphor?
• Practice identifying and understanding the meaning of similes and metaphors
• Similes & Metaphors in Poetry: “Tell Them”

Lesson 2 Preview

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Curriculum Developer:

Prabhneek Heer

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Curriculum Contributors:

Patricia Kwoh

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AAPI Women Poetic Elements

Lesson 1: Unit Introduction & Central Idea

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