Teaching & Learning Lab

Metaphors for Freedom Dreaming


The Last Word by Nikki Grimes


I am a door of metaphor

waiting to be opened.

You’ll find no lock, no key.

All are free to enter, at will.

Simply step over the threshold.

Remember to dress for travel, though.

Visitors have been known

to get carried away.



  • Share your screen or project the above image by Shadra Strickland. Give students a couple mintues to observe. Ask them to jot down or speak out loud what they notice and how the image makes them feel.

  • Read the poem The Last Word by Nikki Grimes.

  • Invite students to identify the words, phrases, or images that speak to them.

  • Ask your students to write for 4-5 minutes based on this prompt:

    • What door is waiting to be opened?

  • Have students share one or two lines.

  • Invite students to write, draw, or create a concept map in response to this prompt:

    • How would you represent the emerging metaphor for your own education freedom dreams?

  • Ask students to share their metaphors.