Here’s an engaging Arts Integration Lesson you may want to use in conjunction with Move Up Day.
Dr. Maya Angelou wrote a poem called, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, in the voice of a girl (possibly 8 to 10 years old), which addresses the fears a child faces when being placed in a new classroom and/or starting at a new school. The narrator presents a fearless attitude when she speaks of common childhood fears such as undefined noises, ghosts, and strangers, but her bravado is only a mask she uses to try and hide her true fears of being different and feeling alone. The key idea is that people often use bravado to mask their true fears. This lesson may help students find courage in overcoming their move up day fears by discussing them (hyperbole or not).
Dr. Angelou said, “I wrote this poem for all children who whistle in the dark and who refuse to admit they are frightened out of their wits.” A copy of the entire poem follows at the end of this lesson.
Angelou’s poem has been published into a book with illustrations by Jean-Michel Basquiat. There is a wonderful, short video (2:45) of Angelou reading her poem to Basquiat’s illustrations. You can preview the clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN4_wfm7rjE. While some may consider the illustrations too strong for little ones, you know best if this would work for your grade level. The book was published for children, and Angleou’s voice is so soothing over the drawings that it dramatically reduces any potential shock value.
If you decide you to use this poem and/or Angelou’s reading of it as your primary work of art to better prepare students for move up day, here are some pre and post lesson ideas.
All Grade Levels: Before reading and or listening to the poem, students list a minimum of 3 move up day fears and/or fears in general. Students can be paired and and compare their fears with a partner. Alternately, students can list things they are NOT afraid of (just as the poem uses hyperbole to mask true fears). Be bold and creative, maybe even a bit silly. Encourage students to go for it!
Post Lesson Activity
All Grade Levels: After reading the poem, lead students in a discussion, helping them identify and discuss phrases or words in the poem that were important or meaningful to them and how it relates to move up day.
Primary: Then, give students blank paper and let them use their imagination to illustrate their fears and/or the poem.
Intermediate: Then, help students write a poem that follow's Angelou’s framework and uses their own fears or non-fears (from the pre-lesson). Time permitting, students illustrate their poems.
How does content tie into curriculum?
This lesson focuses on ELA Standards such as reading and/or writing, speaking and listening, vocabulary, fluency and literature. Specifically, here are the Common Core ELA Standards: RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.4, RL.6.5, RL.6.7; W.6.2, W.6.4; SL.6.1; L.6.1, L.6.2, depending on your individual pre and post lessons.
The Art form we are integrating is Drama, specifically poetry, choral reading and/or oral recitation. The elements of poetry students are exposed to in this poem are primarily rhyming couplets and refrain. A rhyming couplet is two successive lines of poetry that rhyme, have the same meter (rhythm or beats), and complete the same thought. A refrain is a line or lines repeated throughout a poem (or song). Angelou repeats “frighten me at all” ten times. When children are afraid, many times they repeat a line over to themselves and to others to convince themselves and others that they are not afraid. It may be one way children find courage to face their fears.
Is this a good poem to teach students to recite?
Yes! Poetry expresses emotion and should be read out loud to best understand that emotion. As much as possible, encourage the students to read the poem out loud to themselves, partners, small group, or the whole class (choral reading). Help students experiment with their reading. What type of tone should be used? What is the emotion (or emotions) that should be expressed?
Film and stage directors provide guidance to their actors regarding how to make the written word come alive for an audience. As your classroom’s director, you will instruct your students, “actors,” on the rhythm (pacing) and tone of the poem. Read the poem aloud at least three times: the first time without any direction; the second and third times with direction from you. After the exercise, students can discuss and/or write a brief reflection on how each one of their readings changed or did not change. Discuss in small groups and then as a whole group.
If you really want to “pump up the volume” performance-wise, here is a video of one school’s oral recitation of this poem you may want to check out to possibly add to your classroom’s choral reading. The individual poses and group choreography are a fun addition. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w4GLmsRvCE
Do you have any more additional post lesson ideas?
Yes, and it can be differentiated according to grade level. The first one is called Creating a Storyboard. Help students create a storyboard of the poem with each frame of the storyboard representing a stanza of the poem. After reading the poem once, using pencil, students work together in pairs to create visual images of each stanza, creating a storyboard that tells the story of the poem. After the students read the poem again, address text-dependent questions and help students analyze the text. Students return to their storyboard and if they feel their interpretation has changed due to their analysis, revise their storyboard. You may want to have students explain their storyboard and any revisions they made before sharing out.
Another idea is called Red and Blue Discussion. First, students carefully read the poem aloud as a group. Next, students reread the poem taking note of the phrases that interest, scare, impress or surprise them and discuss. Then, students reread the poem again and circle all the people, places or things (nouns) with a blue marker or pencil and discuss. Students reread the poem and circle all of the action words (verbs) with a red marker or pencil and discuss. Finally, discuss with students what the phrase “Life doesn’t frighten me at all” means to them, and then discuss what they think it means to the poet. Students review parts of speech such as nouns and verbs and as well as how to dissect meaning in text.
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