Shannon L. Ortiz
Objectives
Students will be able to:
Read Tato Laviera's "nuyorican"
Identify main idea of the poem
Explain how Laviera's word choice convey the main idea
Write a response examining Laviera's experience with diaspora
I will begin by asking students to listen while I read the poem aloud. I will not pass out copies of the poem because I want students to listen before they begin close reading. Often I find that students will attempt to interpret a poem without listening to it in its entirety. After I am done, I will ask the students for their reactions. I want students to share what struck them as I was reading.
After students are done sharing, I will pass out the poem and ask the students to read the poem silently. As they are reading, I want students to circle any words that they found they convey the effects of assimilation and diaspora. I want students to write down in the margins why they feel these words assimilation and diaspora. These close reading skills will help them when they write a response to the poem for homework. After about 10 minutes I will ask students to share their answers while I write them on the board. Once students realize that they have written down some of the same answers I will ask: How do these words express Laviera's perception of the Puerto Rican diaspora experience? Additionally, I want students to question: How do Nuyoricans preserve their Puerto Rican culture in the United States? What are the consequences of being a Puerto Rican in the United States? Does Laviera feel these consequences are fair? Why or why not? Students will respond to these questions in a written response for homework.
