American Poetry (2020)

Lesson 12
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ELA

Unit 11

7th Grade

Lesson 12 of 18

Objective


Identify and analyze how the historical context influences the speaker’s point of view in “Ego-Tripping.”

Explain what the lack of grammatical rules reveals about the speaker’s perspective.

Readings and Materials


  • Poem: “Ego-Tripping” by Nikki Giovanni 

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

What do you notice about Giovanni’s punctuation and capitalization in the poem? What does her lack of grammatical rules reveal about the speaker’s perspective? 

Key Questions


  • Who is the speaker? How do you know?
  • How does Nikki Giovanni use tone to develop the point of view? Which diction makes you think that?
  • Look at the structure of the poem. What does her inconsistency in structure reveal about the speaker’s point of view? 
  • Describe the historical/political climate in 1972 when Giovanni wrote this poem. What audience does her poem target? 
  • Based on your knowledge of African American movements in the 1960s and 70s (think back to “Black Is Beautiful” from A Raisin in the Sun unit), how do the politics of the time influence Giovanni’s poem? Answer in at least five to seven complete sentences using details from the text. 

Notes


  • For teacher’s understanding, read this article about Ego-Tripping by Nikki Giovanni.
  • Optional Writing Prompt: Compare how Langston Hughes in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and Nikki Giovanni in “Ego-Tripping” develop the speakers’ points of view in their poems. Make sure to identify who the speaker is in each one of their poems.

Common Core Standards


  • RL.7.5 — Analyze how a drama's or poem's form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.
  • RL.7.6 — Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.

Next

Explain how the structure of the poem supports the theme.

Lesson 13
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