Last week I was transported back in time and sucked into another world. H. M. Bouwman’s book A Crack in the Sea is still mind blowing. This historical fiction novel is a captivating read for both students and adults. Frye and her colleagues said it best, “Fantasy literature, in particular, gives us a safe distance from which to view the world and them return to our world recharged and ready to act” (Frye, et. al., 2018, p. 46). This book led to some lively discussions with my peers about historical events, immigration, and refugees. After diving into the book I wanted to test out a way to really get into a character’s mind. I wanted to walk through the sliding glass door so to speak (check out Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphors) and use my imagination to create a deeper understanding. I created a Persona Poem written from the perspective as Sang, the 16 year old Veitnemse girl. This role acted as a wardrobe so that I could enter into Bouwman’s world (Frye, et. al., 2018, p. 46). Taking on this role allowed me, as the reader, to “adopt an aesthetic stance which” focused my attention “on the lived-through experience of the reading: the emotions, moods, intuitions, attitudes and tensions connected to the ideas and characters embodied in the text” (Rosenblatt, 1994 as cited in Frye, et. al., 2018, p. 48). This creative extension activity can be completed by students. Below is my example.
Sang
I am a guardian and child.
I live in a once beautiful now war-plagued Vietnam.
I wonder how to make wise decisions as my parents might.
I hear whispered voices of my deceased parents as the water slaps to the side of our ride to freedom.
I see miles and miles of ocean reaching for the glimpse of freedom on the horizon.
I want to be free, free from war and free from adulthood.
I’m as strong as a sea-swell.
I am a guardian and child, a girl and a woman.
I question my uncle’s decisions
I feel as if we might not make it but I must be hopeful.
I taste a hint of freedom in the salty water.
I worry about my day-dreamy brother, Thanh.
I excel at loving the only family I have left.
I understand we must take the chance.
I am a guardian and child, brave and afraid.
I say “We should stay.”
I believe we have found our place on this raft.
I dream that I never wake up from finding this safe sailing world.
I will try to live more like a teenager and less like a mother.
I hope my uncle gets home safely and the war ceases to continue.
I was once dreaming the freedom to live MY life, of being an artist.
But now I have a future.
I am a guardian and child.
The reader is now the writer and must be able to justify why they made certain creative decisions. This allows their classmates and their teacher to see the depth of understanding and knowledge about the text. Educators can read more about how Adrienne Stumb worked with other educators to allow students to experience the sliding glass door and enter into Bouwman’s worlds by exploring this article.
Another example of using Persona poems to dig deeper into the story can be found in an article titled The Voices of Children: Re-imaging the Internment of Japanese Americans through Poetry written by Elizabeth Frye and Lisa Hash (2013). I like this example in particular because the lesson is broken up into segments/days.
Day 1: Reading Mentor Texts and Completing the Graphic Organizer
Day 2: Presenting a Template for a Poem and Engaging in a Shared Writing
Day 3: Individual Student Contributions
Day 4: Digital Stories
This lesson left readers with a deeper understanding of the text and they had the desire to become “agents of change” (Frye & Hash, 2013, pp. 31-32).
This week I read Freedom Over Me: Eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life by Ashley Bryant and I watched Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford. These two books give insight to the emotions and lives of slaves, what they looked forward to and what they dreamed of. Freedom Over Me would be a great text to use as a mentor texts before students write Persona poems. All the characters are real slaves and each slave has a poem written from their perspective and then a poem about their dreams.
Additional Teaching Resources for Freedom Over Me:
Additional Teaching Resources for Freedom in Congo Square:
References
Bouwman, H. M. (2017). A crack in the sea. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Frye, E. M., Hardin, B. L., Bouwman, H. M., & Stumb, A. E. (2018). Walking Into the Wardrobe and Through the Sliding Glass Door: Writing Persona Poems with A Crack in the Sea. Voices from the Middle, 26(2), 46–52. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy006.nclive.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=133712987&site=eds-live&scope=site
Frye, E. M. & Hash, L. A. (2013). The Voices of Children: Re-Imagining the Internment of Japanese Americans through Poetry. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 25(4), 30–33. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy006.nclive.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1041740&site=eds-live&scope=site
Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The transactional theory of reading and writing. In R. Ruddell et al. (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.