They must assume the same pose as the person whose role they have taken. Students remain frozen until you tap them. Written for her middle school students, this poem is a wonderful example of poetry for two voices . The two-column format allows writers to juxtapose two contrasting ideas, concepts, or perspectives. Alternating lines indicate opposing view points and are read by an individual voice.
Adjacent lines represent agreement or compromise and are therefore read in unison.
Have students pair up. As they read through FDR's speech, they should highlight phrases that might explain why the US government chose to imprison Japanese-Americans. As they read through Ms. Tsukamoto's interview, they should highlight phrases that explain what internment was really like from the perspective of a former camp internee. Students should illustrate their poems and mount them on construction paper. The poetry activity was designed as a team project, but it could also be assigned as an individual project.