"The Hill We Climb"
by Amanda Gorman
How Do We Use Art to Make the World a Better Place?
Watch & Listen Together.
Words are Powerful.
day 1/2.
Read, Watch, listen (again and again) +
Track Your Thinking/Feelings.
Mark up the text as you read…
Jot/flag/highlight…
parts of the text that…
you love, feel are important, might not understand…
new words
interesting words/powerful words
important questions/wonderings
connections to other things you’ve read, seen or heard.
connections to personal experiences
inferences (background knowledge + text clues = inferences).
day 3/4.
Discuss Together +
Clarify Understanding.
Discuss + Record Thinking.
What is the significance of the poem's title? What might the "hill" signify in American democracy? Why?
What do you think is meant by the phrase "quiet isn't always peace"? If you had to restate this idea in your own words, how would you say this? Can you think of a time when things have been quiet but not peaceful?
Gorman writes that "the norms and notions of what just is, isn't always justice." What do you think this line means? Do you agree? Why or Why not?
Look for the moment where Gorman describes herself in the poem. How does she describe herself? Which of her own identities does she name? Why do you think she chooses to name these identities in this poem about American democracy?
How does Gorman describe what "being American" is or isn't? Why do you think she describes it in this way?
Discussion Padlets:
day 5.
Thinking routine:
Sketch to stretch.
The Power of words & imagery
Choose your favourite passage from Amanda Gorman's Poem "The Hill We Climb" and sketch an illustration to accompany the passage.
On your page...
Must- include the written passage (using proper punctuation) on the paper.
Need- to sketch out a visualization (illustration) to accompany the passage using imagery to stretch your thinking/understanding of the passage;
Try- to think symbolically; showing a deep understanding of the messages of the poem
-to use colour and/or black and white imagery