Created by Skoll World, "The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is the premier international platform for advancing entrepreneurial approaches and solutions to the world's most pressing problems." This powerful video uses the poem by Maya Angelo "Still I Rise" to illustrate and open a dialogue to divisions in the world today. It juxtaposition of battling forces, music, and the words of the poet are a mesmerizing combination that commands any audiences attention.
Video-youtube created by Skoll.org
Complexity is high. The numerous conflicts the video is engaged in requires a depth of background knowledge. Clarifying with in-depth discussion will provide important value to its content.
No examination of African American poetry is complete without the voice of Maya Angelo. The video emphasizes and accentuates the power of the words in "Still I Rise". Each part of the video screams to be discussed as to its meaning, and it should be. Teachers need to provide background on each visually represented cultural conflict or single out one, as well as the poem lines accompanying them, then lead students in discovering how the lines in the poem bring meaning to the pictures. During discussion students could create a three column chart, one column for a transcript of poem, one to describe videos actions as they happen along side the poems lines, and one for a student connection to what they observe and discussion notes.
Model Library Standards
2.2
Assess the comprehensiveness, currency, credibility, authority, and accuracy of resources:
a. Describe how media resources serve as sources of information, entertainment, persuasion, interpretation of events, and transmission of culture.
b. Identify and assess evidence that supports the main ideas and concepts presented in texts.
L.6.1e. Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others’ writing and speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional language.
L.6.3a. Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.***
L.6.3b. Maintain consistency in style and tone.
Grade 5 Reading Standards
2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. (See grade 5 Language standards 4–6 for additional expectations.) CA
5. Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.
6. Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.
7. Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
Reading Standards for Informational Text
3. Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area. (See grade 5 Language standards 4–6 for additional expectations.) CA
5. Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
Reading Foundational Skills
4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
a. Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.
b. Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
Reference
Angelo, M. Still I Rise. & Skoll.org. Creating Common Ground & #SkollWF 2017. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fthuqMaPe0Y