This document summarizes a poetry project at a high school in Greece where students studied poems from the Black poetry tradition. The project aimed to develop students' communication skills and multicultural awareness. Students analyzed poems by Maya Angelou, James Weldon Johnson, and others. They discussed themes of equality, heritage, and struggle. Students then wrote their own poems on related topics that were displayed. The project was deemed successful as it met goals of broadening students' worldviews and strengthening critical thinking through exploring Black poetry.

1. FROM BLACK POETRY
TO OUR POETRY
A poetry project at senior high school of Neos Skopos, Serres
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Thekla Kafkia

2. February: in the US & Canada,
October: in the United Kingdom
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3. (ΦΕΚ 1868 Γ2/3994/11-10-
99)
main aim of the curriculum:
•to develop learners’ communicative
ability so that they are able to
respond effectively to various
communicative situations in their
present and future personal,
academic, and professional lives
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4. To fulfill this aim Ss are expected
to be able to:
• produce meaningful written and oral speech of
communicative value
• develop their sociolinguistic ability
• understand and use paralinguistic and extra-
linguistic features of communication &
communication strategies
• to pursue goals they themselves set and value
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• enhance their lifelong learning skills and
strategies

5. • raise their multicultural awareness to live
harmoniously in contemporary
multicultural, multilingual societies
• broaden their world knowledge
• increase their critical thinking and
analysis abilities
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6. 1st class session
Pre-reading:
• whole class discussion on “Black
History” & its celebration
• Ss in groups search biographical data
of poets (Maya Angelou, James
Weldon Johnson, Gwendolyn
Bennett, Kalamu Ya Salaam) on the
internet & present results in class
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7. 2nd, 3rd , 4th & 5th class sessions
While-reading:
Poems we read:
• Equality (Maya Angelou)
• Still I rise (Maya Angelou)
• I know why the caged bird sings (Maya
Angelou)
• To America (James Weldon Johnson)
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8. Poems we read:
• Heritage (Gwendolyn Bennett)
• Advice (Gwendolyn Bennett)
• Even death will not stop me from
struggling (Kalamu Ya Salaam)
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9. 3-stage framework
used for each of the poems
sample pre-reading activities:
•Ss get all words used in the poem in alphabetical order and
spot words that make an impression to them, make connections
between them to find main ideas.
•Ss get jumbled lines try to put them in order
•Ss brainstorm on anticipated ideas involved in poem based on
the title
sample while-reading activities:
•Ss read poems and talk about images, feelings
•Ss interpret meaning from context (who is the character
talking, to whom, what is s/he talking about, why etc.)
post-reading activities: language work (match words to 9
definitions, cloze texts with words from poem etc.)

10. 6th class session
Post-reading:
Group Poetry writing in class
Poems on class notice board
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11. sample Ss’ poems
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12. more sample Ss’ poems
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13. 13

14. project evaluation
successful:
• aims were met:
o Ss’ multicultural awareness
o Ss’ world knowledge
o Ss’ critical thinking and analysis abilities
• a glimpse of the world of poetry
• a glimpse of the world of black poetry
• a chance to think about human rights, civil 14
rights and freedom

15. “Freedom is never given;
it is won”
A. Philip Randolph (1889 – May 16, 1979) 15