Amanda Gorman is a 22-year-old poet who recited her poem "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration. She was born in Los Angeles in 1998 and had difficulty pronouncing certain sounds as a child. She found poetry helped her express herself and practice difficult words. At age 14 she joined a creative writing group for teenage girls. In her poem, Gorman references the divisions in the US at the time, including over racism and justice, but focuses on themes of hope, unity, and bringing the country together.

1. (Solidarity) Poetry Partnership Project IES AL-QÁZERES - IES MAESTRO GONZÁLO CORREAS
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TASK 1
READING COMPREHENSION: Read the text and then answer the
comprehension questions below
Reading about the author
Gorman was born in 1998 in Los Angeles, California. She lived with
her mother, a teacher, her twin sister, and her brother. Gorman
started writing songs and poetry at a young age. She had difficulty
saying certain sounds in the English language, especially the letter r.
She saw poetry as an opportunity to share how she felt and to
practice pronouncing words that were difficult for her.
When Gorman was 14 years old she joined WriteGirl. The group
offered creative writing workshops for teenage girls in the Los Angeles area and also
paired young writers with mentors. In 2014 Gorman received an important prize for a
Poet: she became the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles. The next year she
published a book of poetry, The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough. In 2016 she founded
One Pen One Page, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy and
inequality through creative writing programs.
Gorman titled the poem she wrote for the 2021 presidential inauguration “The Hill
We Climb.” At the time the United States was faced with difficult challenges. COVID-
19 was widespread, and the country
was deeply divided over several issues,
including racism and racial justice.
When Gorman wrote her poem, she
found inspiration from people who
spoke not only about a country divided
but also about a country united. Her
poem is about hope, unity, and justice.
1. How old is she?
2. Where was she born?
3. What problems did she have when she was younger?
4. What is WriteGirl?

2. 5. Can you explain with your words the meaning of “nonprofit
organization”?
6. What problems were there in the United States in the presidential
inauguration?
TASK 2
LISTENING SKILLS PRACTICE
The Hill We Climb: the Amanda Gorman poem that stole
the inauguration show
The 22-year-old poet wowed the crowd with her reading during President
Joe Biden’s swearing-in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp9pyMqnBzk
(till minute 1:11)
broken country justice Light loss
nation peace quiet shade
unfinished
When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find
………………………… 1in this never-ending
…………………………2?
The …………………………3 we carry, a sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast.
We’ve learned that …………………………4 isn’t always
…………………………5,
and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always
…………………………6.
And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a
…………………………7 that isn’t …………………………8,
but simply …………………………9.
We, the successors of a …………………………10 and a time

3. where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a
single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself
reciting for one.
TASK 3
Let’s now classify the words from the poem.
Positive words Negative words
In the last part of the poem, the poet explains something about
her biography. Can you explain what you understood?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp9pyMqnBzk
(From minute 1.11 to 2.23)
TASK 4
Listen to another part of her poem. Look at the words in bold. You
will need them for the next two activites!
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,
but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

4. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colours, characters, and
conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands
before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must
first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never
again sow division.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT
We are going to learn these words about solidarity. Let’s play WITH THEM!
https://es.educaplay.com/recursos-educativos/8358189-
words_of_solidarity.html
https://es.educaplay.com/recursos-educativos/8358060-
words_of_solidarity.html
TASK 5
Write sentences with all the solidarity words we have seen. (at
least 5 sentences) and then, after that, write a short poem by
connecting them all inside the box.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.