Verses & Vibes: National Poetry Month Meetup + A Sneak Peek at Summer
- drheatherbhill
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
This month we connected around the celebration of April as the National Poetry Month! We highlighted Amanda Gorman, whose career as a poet, began as an 8 year old in 2nd grade daring to courageously speak her truth despite having a speech impediment.Together we explored the power of language (body language and spoken) and also talked about how we can use our words powerfully through poetry.
We began with the question: "Can we speak without saying a word?" and explored all the ways we can communicate powerfully through body language. The girls engaged in the Strike-A-Pose TikTok Challenge - where our older girls partnered with the younger girls to learn the dance moves and use their bodies to convey joy and confidence in a 15 minute time period.
We watched a video interview, to uncover how Amanda Gorman uses her word powerfully. In the interview she describes use of words clouds as a strategy for poetry writing, so we drew on this framework to uncover the unique perspectives each girl brought to images that were posted around the room.
Partners engaged in a "Gallery Walk, Talk and Write" where they responded to the questions: What is occurring in the photo? What might that person or animal be feeling? What do we think they need or want? In 2 minute rotations, girls were able to elaborate on their peers ideas to provide rich context for "seeing" the images.
At the close of the rotations, girls took the photo to tables to prepare for writing. I asked them, "How can we use our words, and more specifically their poetry, powerfully to improve the circumstance, and/or the world more broadly?" They were asked to decide who their audience was and what they thought they needed to hear. The questions and responses formed the word clouds they could use as resource for writing. They worked collaboratively to compose and present poems, and provided their peers with really thoughtful feedback. In just a short amount of time, our girls really bore witness to their joy and genius, and it was a pleasure to witness. Check out their presentations below!
What’s Coming Up in The POD?
May Monthly Meetup
The joy of sisterhood continued! We are excited to share that our next session is planned for May 18 from 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM at the Richmond Heights Library. If you have not done so already, click the link below to RSVP for next month's event. Feel free to invite girls you think might benefit from our community and our programming!
Registration for June Summer Camp is now Available!
First on deck... The blackgirlPOD Business Bootcamp & Juneteenth Festival!
The blackgirlPOD Business Bootcamp & Festival is an empowering camp where girls explore fiscal literacy, public speaking, and social entrepreneurship through the lens of Black women in business. Through connection with KaShala Smith of Steeped Pearl Tea and sessions led by Heather Hill, Ph.D., our girls will design, develop, and launch real products, build websites, and market their creations at a vibrant community festival.
Details:
Site: Warrensville Heights Public Library
Date: June 9th - 20th
Time: Monday-Friday, 9:30am - 3:30pm
Cost: $400
What's Included: Camp T-shirt, Workbook and $25 allocation to support your child's product development and business launch,
Daily snacks and beverages (Free Summer
lunch program is available onsite).
BE ON THE LOOKOUT!
More Opportunities are on the way....
Crown & Culture: Braiding Bootcamps
Dads, Daughters & Drones
Also Note... Monthly Meetups will continue through summer!
Details and opportunity for registration and RSVP are coming soon....
Until next post - In love and solidarity,
Dr. Hill
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