In this activity, students work in pairs to write a line for a class poem that will fit between Amanda Gorman’s first and last lines:
May this be the day
We come together.
. . .
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.
To help your students generate ideas for their line of poetry, tell them to write two lists of words. In the first list, they should write down emotions they feel during challenging times. They can use what they wrote in response to the journal prompt to help them think of words:
I feel . . .
(Note: Some students, especially English Learners, may find it challenging to find the right words. You may want to give them the choice to write in any language they feel comfortable expressing themselves in. You may also find it helpful to share a list of feeling words, such as Hoffman Institute’s Feelings List, to help your students brainstorm words).
In the second list, students should write down words that represent how we can respond collectively to challenges and create positive change:
We can . . .
Once students have their lists, ask them to discuss with their partners how the words on the two lists might connect. They can think back to the craft moves Amanda Gorman uses in her poem, such as alliteration, assonance, or rhyme, to help them connect words.
Then, using the structures from “New Day’s Lyric” that inspire them and ideas from their lists, ask pairs to create 1–2 lines of poetry for a class version of the poem. For students who benefit from more structure, invite them to choose a line from the poem to use as a model for their own writing. For example:
_____, we come to _____
What was ____, we will ____
Where we weren’t ___, we’re now ____
Once students have finished writing their lines, read the first two lines of “New Day’s Lyric”:
May this be the day
We come together.
Then, ask each pair to read their line in turn. Once they are done, read the final three lines of “New Day’s Lyric”:
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.
(Note: You can also ask students to write their lines on sticky notes and post them on the wall, to create a record of the class poem.)
Finally, ask your students:
- Were there any patterns you noticed in the lines your classmates shared?
- Which ideas or words in the class poem feel most inspiring to you?
- Has your thinking about how we can act collectively during challenging times shifted at all after reading “New Day’s Lyric” and hearing the class poem? If so, how?