"Those Who Raise Us" poetry has a narrative focus but also allows for deep reflection as students are growing older and beginning to make connections between love, sacrifice, boundaries, and ultimately gratitude to those who contributed to raising us. This writer’s workshop would be ideal around Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day as a gift to those who raised us. Connecting with families in this way would be so special and appreciated. If you are trying writer's workshop for the first time, you'll want to read this overview post, but if you have done it before, read on.
Suggested Texts
“Raised by Women” by Kelly Norman Ellis is a perfect addition to this unit. The poem is a powerful reminder of the adults that shape our multi-faceted identities highlighting how family, community, culture and diverse perspectives form individual identity and help students grow into who they are meant to become. The poem focuses on the different paths women in her life followed while sharing the advice they all shared through dialogue and experience.
The lyrics of “Hey Mama” by Kanye West emphasize the struggles of a single mother working to ensure her son had opportunities and a life full of loyalty and love. The song is about honoring her and promising her the life she deserved once he became successful.
“Knock Knock," a spoken word piece by Daniel Beaty, is another option for a mentor text for this "Those Who Raise Us" poetry workshop. This emotionally intense poem follows a boy’s understanding, as he grows older, that his father was incarcerated when he was a child and how that trauma forms his grief and provides resilience as he grows older. Ultimately he shares a tremendous message to “knock” down doors to forge a journey that is beyond our trauma.
The poem “For My Mother” by May Sarton is a tribute to the author’s mother even though her health declined. The poet celebrates his mother’s life of creativity and chooses to remember her that way, even though she is now struggling physically.
Narrative Elements in Focus
Repetition is a vital narrative focus for "Those Who Raised Us" poetry because it allows the theme of understanding, acceptance and gratefulness to be carried through the poem as a reminder of the purpose of the poem itself. If the repetition changes through the poem, that is purposeful and can be analyzed to discover why.
Students examine how author create voice by honing in on the words we use when we speak or the words that are used at home. Dialogue can be an incredible descriptor and certain words and phrases remind us of those who raised us. Slang and jargon are ways we communicate and often are full of memories, sacrifices, love and assurances that only come from home.
Looking at how authors "show don't tell" shows students how writers develop a sense of belonging for the reader and allow readers to visualize being a part of growing up there too.
Strong verbs and strong nouns are also analyzed as they are incredible descriptors and celebrate actions, people and places that are vivid memories and important to the narrative being told.
Lesson Outline
Always start with the models in this lesson, and try a few different ones to vary speakers and figures in the poems. Annotate for the narrative elements and provide the explicit modeling of what the genre entails. Constructed responses are also a good way to collect data on student understanding of the analysis of the poems and the narrative structures.
Brainstorming asks the students to create a list of “Who raised us?” But also what the word raised means. Students brainstorm synonyms for the word raised to build their lists to include coaches, teachers, community members, and of course family members. Sentence starters help encourage brainstorming for students that may be struggling to generate ideas like, “I wanna tell the whole world about…” or “I’m sorry for…” Sharing with partners is also beneficial to grow ideas. Students then choose their best ideas by circling them.
Once students have finished brainstorming, they can begin their draft focusing on the narrative elements. Always try to write alongside students so they can see you participating and also have another model to examine when you confer with them.
A poetry "readaround" is a tool that provides feedback for students from their peers and can allow for specific revisions. All students share and receive written feedback about their poems and also get a confidence boost.
Assignment criteria is handed out to students along with the peer feedback ensuring students have explicit revision ideas to guide them into publishing their best possible poem. A review of that criteria gives students a visual of the elements they included by using different colors to highlight the elements, and of course revise if they are missing an element.
Reflection and and sharing final drafts are the final steps. Students should always have the opportunity to reflect on their writing and share their growth and goals for the future. A gallery of published work is so powerful and students love to see their work published. Making an anthology is a great addition too.
You acn find all of the resources I use to teach this writer's workshop lesson here.
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