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Paired Texts > Remember

by Joy Harjo

1983

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Langston Hughes

The speaker in this famous Langston Hughes poem uses symbolism to explain the connection they feel between their ancestry and identity.

Pair “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” with “Remember” and ask students to discuss the common themes in each text. Ask students to compare the relationship of the speaker to the universe in each text. How do students think this shapes the speakers’ identities? Do students think the speaker in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” shares a similar relationship with the universe as the speaker in “Remember”? Why or why not?

8th Grade Poem
The Medicine Bag

The Medicine Bag

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

In Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve's short story "The Medicine Bag," Martin's grandpa visits him and passes down a medicine bag to him, an important object in their family.  

Pair “The Medicine Bag” with “Remember” and ask students to discuss the importance of family in each text. What advice do students think the speaker of the poem would give Martin? Do students think the speaker in the poem and grandpa Joe Iron Shell have had similar experiences? Do students think they share the same ideas about the universe? Why or why not?

7th Grade Short Story 830L