SMALL TOWN ENGLISH TEACHER

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JESSIE LOVETT ALLEN

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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.

BELLRINGER FOCUS: VARIOUS

• Read “Small Town English Teacher” by Jessie Lovett Allen.
• Go to http://bit.ly/3GIhsrj to access the poem.
• Answer the following question(s):
• How does the repeated phrase “You remember the essay” function within the poem? What effect does this repetition have on the speaker’s role?
• What kind of tone is created through the contrast between public actions and private truths? What specific word choices shape this tone?
• Pair the line “One closes her eyes halfway in the mugshot” with another specific line from the poem. How do these two lines work together to shape the theme(s) of the piece?

CREATIVE WRITING EXTENSIONS

• Write a short scene where someone quietly remembers what another person once shared.
• Create a poem that repeats a single phrase to reveal hidden truths.
• Describe a person through the things they've written or said, rather than what they’ve done.