Laura Hershey Poetry Lesson: “You Get Proud By Practicing”

Laura Hershey Poetry Lesson: “You Get Proud By Practicing” PDF

Lesson summary:

Students will analyze Laura Hershey’s poem, “You Get Proud By Practicing.” A poet, author, and activist, Laura Hershey first published the poem in 1991. To better understand its context, students will learn about neuromuscular diseases, disability activism in the 1980s, and the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Students will then analyze the poem for repetition and figurative language and understand what Hershey suggests it means to get proud. After discussing the poem, students will write and share their own poems about getting proud using those literary devices. 

Subject and topic:

English Language Arts (ELA)

Grade level:

6th - 10th grades

Duration:

45 - 135 minutes depending on how many activities are completed