AWAKENED VOICES

Discovering Empathy
Poems of the Imperialized

Name: Date:

Assessment Description:
You are going to write a poem from the perspective of an imperialized person/peoples from the
country that you researched in your Country Research Guide. Your poem can be from the
imperialist time period or can be from their modern perspective. The themes that your poem should
revolve around include one or more of the following: power, identity, imperialism, capitalism,
inequality, and freedom. To inspire your writing, choose a mentor text poem written from the
perspective of the country that you researched as well as a photo that depicts their imperialistic
relationship with the United States. Once you have written your poem, you will type it out and
paste it to a poster alongside the photo that you chose. Feel free to decorate your poster with
patterns or designs that relate to your country’s culture.

Assessment Checklist:
-Mentor text poem from the perspective of your country
-Photo of imperialism in your country
-Title of your poem
-Completed Poem Brainstorm
-At least five lines in the poem
-Poem needs to exhibit evidence of taking on the perspective of an imperialized
people group: must have at least three facts from previous activities (Country
Research Guide or Primary Source Documents from Uncovering the Hidden
Perspectives).
-Poem must have respectful language
-Poster with your title, poem, and photo
 AWAKENED VOICES
Discovering Empathy
Poems of the Imperialized

Assesment Resources:
-Here is a list of websites that you can use to help guide your search of finding poems and images to
inspire the crafting of your own poem.

https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/american-imperialism-the-spanish-american-war
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5476/
https://fsgworkinprogress.com/2016/04/20/island-verses-a-cuban-poetry-primer/
https://www.fabulousphilippines.com/mi-ultimo-adios-jose-rizal.html
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/search?query=imperialism

Optional: Sentence Frames:

I am / We are...
I /We believe...
I /We wonder...
I /We see...
I /We feel...
I /We touch
I /We are...
I /We worry about...
I /We cry because....
I /We understand...
I /We say...
I /We dream...
I /We hope...
I /We are...
 AWAKENED VOICES:
Discovering Empathy BRAINSTORM
Mentor Text Poem
Title: Author:

What is this poem about? What is the message? What is the theme? What emotion
does it evoke in you? Why do you like this poem?
 AWAKENED VOICES:
Discovering Empathy BRAINSTORM
Photograph:
What country's perspective is this from:

What event does this photograph depict? What do you see in the photo? What
emotion does this photo evoke? Why do you like this photo?
 AWAKENED VOICES:
Discovering Empathy BRAINSTORM
Your Poem:
Title:

What facts are you using in your poem? What message do you want your
poem to convey? What is your poem's theme? What emotion do you want
your poem to evoke?