Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Words That Heal”

In this activity, students will explore the long history of Palestinian poetry, connecting Ibtisam’s poetry in Tasting the Sky to a larger tradition of healing trauma through words.

Ibtisam weaves original, free verse poetry throughout the first and last sections of Tasting the Sky. Ibtisam, as we have learned, has a special relationship to the written word—in its ability to process her suffering, connect with others, and help her find herself. But Ibtisam’s relationship to the written word, and particularly poetry, is part of a larger tradition of Palestinian artists, authors, and thinkers who have also used writing to heal from the trauma.

In this activity, you will research the larger canon of Palestinian poetry. Through your research, you will dive deeper into the layered meanings of Ibtisam’s poetry in Tasting the Sky and the larger themes of the book:

• Research and Read. Begin by researching the wealth of Palestinian poetry available online and in your school and/or local library such as Mille’s “3 Palestinian Poems That’ll Reshape Your Understanding of Belonging” and The Los Angeles Review of Books’ “