This lesson pairs two poems with articles about the protests in Tiananmen Square. It can take three to six days, depending. It involves reading informational material and poems, as well as watching a video and listening to some oral accounts from the events. I
I appreciate how this lesson incorporates media in the form of the "Tank Man" video to provide the context for the poetry that you will examine as a class. I think many students are more familiar with that image than they might be with the Tiananmen Square protests themselves, and linking image with poetry will definitely help them to build an understanding of context and meaning. I also love the inclusion of Kristof's account. My students have really loved "listening" to the news in my classroom. I've also used this approach as a pre-reading strategy and it seems to work very well.
It is a technique that I have used many times. I also find discussions to being essential. There is really great follow up material on Kristof's website. He has many anniversary follow up articles that are thought provoking as well. In his evaluation of the lesson, Clay mentioned relating this to the Arab spring protest. I think this is a great idea.