Montana History and Poetry, Part 1

April is National Poetry Month! Here are some poets that are worth teaching in your Montana history class (and/or Montana history-related content to teach in English class).

Investigating Gwendolyn Haste's Poetry

Bill Moe, who teaches middle schoolers Montana history in Libby, often sends me things he does with his students to enrich his Montana history class and supplement the textbook, Montana: Stories of the Land. These include panning for gold in the creek behind their school (Chapter 6: Montana's Gold and Silver Boom) and searching the brand book for people they know and recording their brands (Chapter 8: Livestock and the Open Range).

Most recently, he sent an assignment he created that relates to Chapter 13: Homesteading This Dry Land, specifically to the section at the end of the chapter, which focuses on the poetry of Gwendolyn Haste. He sends his students to an online book, The Selected Poems of Gwendolyn Haste. He asks students to choose a favorite poem, copy it down, and then share it with the class. For extra credit he has them write their own homesteading poem.

Birthright: Born to Poetry

Especially for high school students, you can't go wrong having students read, or listen to, the poems collected in Birthright: Born to Poetry - A Collection of Montana Indian Poetry. You can find videos of the poets, who include Minerva Allen Sunk Pa (Assiniboine), Heather Cahoon (Pend d'Oreille), Richard Little Bear (Northern Cheyenne), Henry Real Bird (Crow), and many more, reading their poems on OPI's YouTube channel. In addition to the poems, Birthright includes brief biographies of each poet, discussion points, writing prompts, and tips for understanding.