Becoming someone unlike yourself

Research and write a poem about someone completely unlike yourself. Research another way of living, another gender, race, ethnicity, or religion than your own. Then based on what you have learned, write a poem using first person. You can be anyone, during any time period you choose, including a circus freak, an alien, a scientist, an Olympian, a medieval knight, an explorer, a villager in the Brazilian rainforest, an adventurer….

Think of key words for your research. You may need to refine your search or do an advanced search to find information on your topic.

Evaluate the sites you are using. Is the information credible? (Avoid using Wikipedia sites.) Find five sites that you feel are reliable. Complete a citation form for each site. This citation information will be included as a Works Cited page at the end of this assignment.

Take notes and cite sources. Write down facts, hyperlink important information, and paste images from your research.

What is fascinating about the topic you have chosen to write about? What did you discover about the topic or yourself during this research? What point do you want to make about this topic? Imagine becoming this person. Include yourself in the poem by using first

person. What does the world look like from this person’s perspective? (How does

this person see the world?) How is this person’s story about all of us?

Your poem should be at least twenty lines and be divided into at least three stanzas. You must use first person.

Your 1. notes, 2. final draft of the poem, and the 3. Works Cited must be in one posting on your Blog. The poem should include a title. Your first name and last initial should be at the bottom of your poem, and the Works Cited should be at the end of the posting.

Assignment adapted from Lessons from a Writer’s Life by Judith Ortiz Cofer