2021 Post #30 -- "Remember" by Joy Harjo: A Salve for Seniors

by Oona Marie Abrams

I first heard Joy Harjo’s “Remember” recited by Georgia Heard at NCTE 2019. The line I immediately fell into was “Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath.” My eyes welled up, in fact, to hear the line read aloud. It mirrored my birth story: one month premature, cord wrapped around my neck, emergency caesarean. I thought also in the moment I read the poem of my house-bound mother, recovering far too slowly from knee replacement surgery. Through 45 years in a matter of seconds, Harjo’s words connected me to her.

One word, one phrase, one line is often all it takes. Poetry is an explosion of grace into the mundane.

The act of remembering was especially important to my seniors in the spring of 2020 without the rituals that (let’s be honest!) are mostly what senior year is about. The fashion show, the prom, the awards ceremonies, the senior picnic: all pulled from the roster. I shared this poem and the story above with my seniors in late May. Unmuting their microphones, they shared their favorite lines in a “whip-around” and were also invited (but not required) to type into the chat why that was their selection. What followed was such a range of treasured memories and stories from their lives. I then invited students to do a short write beside the poem, which they could later extend upon as a longer piece in their portfolios. Below are some lines from those short writes, some of which became the genesis for other written pieces:

• Remember that first F on a test
• Remember the birds picking at the bread we gave away
• Remember playing varsity, the green line dominating the ice
• Remember the friends you’ve lost, the friends you still have
• Remember something embarrassing, even if you may not want to
• Remember the rage that fueled your determination
• Remember when we used to argue over the smallest things
• Remember when our decisions did not affect others
• Remember the Starbucks trips that made the school day worth it
• Remember all those practices where we said we’d quit but never did
• Remember that stuffed animal that you refused to leave at home
• Remember your first time you looked at somebody differently.
• Remember when we made super buttery popcorn

Try to model your own personal connection with the poem; one time-efficient way to do this is by putting your annotated poem or writer’s notebook under a document camera. We’re all strapped for time these days! Just make your connections and responses as transparent as possible so students can do their best work. Happy sharing!

P.S. Joy Harjo read this poem aloud for PBS Kids and talks a little about poetry.  Find the video here.  

Further Reading:





Oona Marie Abrams (@oonziela) is one of the co-organizers of NerdCampNJ. She lives and teaches in northern New Jersey.

2020 Post #22 -- Poetry in a Time of Coronavirus

by Tricia Evans

For forty years, my spring break pilgrimage has been the same. But just like many other timeworn traditions, my spring break isn’t following the normal trajectory this year. Instead of hikes up craggy Baldy mountain, the soothing music of the Frio River, flame wrapped marshmallows, and family communion, we have chosen social distancing. This is a spring break none of us envisioned. With schools closing, sporting and entertainment venues shuttered, and a constantly shifting newsfeed, life has been disrupted and we find ourselves the subjects of a historic moment.

Recently, in his Twitter feed, Kelly Gallagher provided a reminder that each of us is a historian, and encouraged the chronicling of this unusual time.

Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s When the World as We Knew It Ended is a powerful mentor text for this purpose.

Read the poem aloud,. Ask students to identify the moment in history Harjo is describing. Why is it important for writers to preserve history for future generations?

Consider why Harjo chose a poem as the vehicle for this historic accounting.

After reading the poem a second time, ask students to annotate the poem for structure and then do this collectively under the document camera.

Allow students to take a line, an idea, or borrow Harjo’s structure and craft a poem with the intent of capturing this historic moment for future generations. Some students might benefit from the scaffolded structure below.

Stanza 1
We were (Recount a moment before you heard of the coronavirus.) 

Stanza 2
Big picture showing this moment as it is witnessed on a large scale. Wow your audience with FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE & IMAGERY! 

Stanza 3
We had been watching (a noticing before this moment)

Stanzas 4 and 5
We saw it from (Zoom in. What do you notice? How is life around you different? The same? What are people around you doing?)

Stanza 6
We heard it. (What are you hearing from your family? Your friends? The news? Social media?)

Stanza 7
But then (Conclude with a shift that serves as a reminder of the good that continues to exist in the world today and in the future.)



Allow opportunity for student historians to publish on platforms like Padlet, Flipgrid, or in your personal classroom collection. Celebrate student voice!


Further reading:

Coronavirus Lesson Plan  compiled by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle

Tricia Evans works with curriculum and instruction at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, TX. She believes in the power of words, classrooms, and positivity to change the world.