Letter to Earth: Poetry for Climate Change

In this lesson, students analyze how art and poetry can be used to talk about climate justice and write their own climate change poem with a message of hope.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students read the poem “Dear Matafele Peinem” by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner and reflect on what they noticed, wondered, and felt about the poems.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students analyze a poem and investigate how climate change is affecting communities and people around the world.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students use the information they collected to create a piece of poetry about a climate change issue.

Positives

• This lesson aligns with Hawai'i's Nā Hopena A'o HĀ-BREATH Framework.

• Students are given voice and choice throughout the lesson.

• Students engage with a variety of resources and choose the ones that help them best learn.

• Students use creative means to give voice to climate change action.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teacher should preview resources and be familiar with the poem before the discussion.

• Teacher may need some background understanding of the history of the Marshall Islands.

• Students should have a basic understanding of imagery and alliteration, as well as why they are important.

• Students should have a working knowledge of climate change to engage with this lesson. Starting resources include:

• National Geographic: What is Climate Change?

• Climate Change 2021: Summary for All

• Climate Change in the American Mind

• Students should be adept at opening links and looking at resources on their own.

• Students need access to laptops or tablets to see or watch resources.

Differentiation

• Many parts of the lesson can be completed individually, in pairs, or in groups depending on what the teacher believes is best.

• Teacher can provide more structure or specific writing elements for students as needed.

• Students and teachers can explore and discuss the history or experience of the Marshallese people, both in their home country and in Hawai‘i. Resources can include the following:

• Marshall Islands Story Project

• Atomic Heritage Foundation

• Students can research other climate change poems to attach to their projects, analyzing the connection between the two.

Students can use poetry and other forms of art in this lesson to communicate and share their ideas for tackling climate change. In addition to learning how to spot alliteration in poetry, they will be motivated to share their own experiences about the effects of climate change and ways they can take deep, rapid, and sustained action. It is advised to teach this lesson because it passed our science review.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.

Supporting Standards

• English Language Arts
  • Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
    • RI.8.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
    • RI.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
  • Reading: Literature (K-12)
    • RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • Writing (K-12)
    • W.8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
    • W.8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Note On Standards:

This lesson is aligned to SubjectToClimate standards. Review the aligned standards directly in the lesson plan document and teacher slideshow.