Olivia's+Activity

Choices

I thought I could find love and hold it, blindly I went for it. And tried to hold on to someone I though felt the same. But I was wrong things have changed I was impatient and naïve that I let people take advantage of me. For what was once love has turned to hate. I gave all that I had my mind body and soul, For what, only to be told that I was not the one he wanted to hold. Said he was ashamed to be seen with me. That I was just someone he could control. You don’t know what you did to me.

Then I am reminded of the choices I had made. I have done this to myself. No one is to blame. But only cause myself heartache and pain. My life has turned upside down and now it is crashing down. I do not feel the same I thought if I ignored the pain. The pain would go away and things would change. Why did I decide to change the course of my life? How stupid am I that I cry and cry. Cry out why? Why? Those choices have changed my life completely. And not I must make my escape.

My activity was created around the poem Choices which I attatched above. I would begin this poetry mini lesson by asking students to brainstorm a choice they have made that has resulted in a a feeling of regret. Perhaps it was a missed basket at a ball game? Or deciding not to study for a test which led to a bad grade. Whatever it may be they will create a bubble map of their own brainstorming everything they remember about this experience. I would prompt them to consider feelings before, during, and after the experience, as well as how it affected them personally and those around them. It is important that they see that this is more than just a single thing they did or didn't do, it is a process. After they are done brainstorming I will give each student an evelope with lines cut out from the poem Choices. In pairs student will create their own poem with the lines from Choices. This will probable take students about 20-25 minutes. After they are complete, I will share my new poem and ask students if they would like to share. Next, we will discuss the process they used to create their poem. Did they see Choices as moving chronologically from the relationship to moving on? After discussing their individual processes and their effectiveness, I will present students with the actual poem, and we will discuss how their poem compares to Rueth's poem.

My Poem: Choices

I thought I could find love and hold it, blindly I went for it. And tried to hold on to someone I though felt the same. But I was wrong things have changed I was impatient and naïve that I let people take advantage of me. For what was once love has turned to hate. I gave all that I had my mind body and soul, For what, only to be told that I was not the one he wanted to hold. Said he was ashamed to be seen with me. That I was just someone he could control. You don’t know what you did to me.

Then I am reminded of the choices I had made. I have done this to myself. No one is to blame. But only cause myself heartache and pain. My life has turned upside down and now it is crashing down. I do not feel the same I thought if I ignored the pain. The pain would go away and things would change. Why did I decide to change the course of my life? How stupid am I that I cry and cry. Cry out why? Why? Those choices have changed my life completely. And not I must make my escape.