“When they called him ‘rebel,’ the poet was not daunted. Poetry is rebellion.”--- Pablo Neruda
Introduction
There are five things I know for certain as a high school English teacher: 1. My students are social creatures. 2. My students are always, ALWAYS filming themselves, uploading content to TikTok and Instagram. 3. My students are also opening their eyes to the injustices of our world and in history. 4. My students are rebellious and yearn for independence. 5. My students hate, no, LOATHE poetry. With this knowledge, I created a curriculum unit that is not only going to appeal to their rebellious, performative, inquisitive, social tendencies, but also turn fact number 5 on its head, by showing them how they can use poetry as a means to rebel and raise awareness. Focusing on the poetry of witness, which brings in historical and social injustices, students will work together to turn these pieces into dramatic performances, while still doing the classic close reading, determining author’s purpose, and recognizing the function of literary devices.
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