Put on that KTNN

Writing Workshop

Workshop Title: Nostalgia

Step 1

Ask your students, “Is there a time period that you’re particularly nostalgic about? What about that time are you nostalgic about? What fond memories do you remember? Explain.”

Step 2

Read “Put on that KTNN” by Kinsale Drake. When you’re done, briefly discuss the poem. In what ways does the speaker reveal her feelings and nostalgia about her springs and summers back on the reservation? And what are those feelings?

Step 3

Say, “Choose a time (or an object) that you feel particularly nostalgic about. Why are you nostalgic? What do you miss? What do you remember so fondly about these memories?” Then give your students a few minutes to brainstorm.

Step 4

Ask your students to compose a poem similar in sentiment to “Put on that KTNN” in which they focus on a particular time in their past and discuss why they felt so fondly about that period.

Step 5

When the students are done, have them share their responses with one another.

The full presentation may be found HERE.

Analytical Lesson

Area of Focus: Various

Step 1

This lesson allows students to analyze various concepts and skills, so it is recommended that you have covered several of the “standalone” lessons before assigning this one.

Step 2

Start by watching the following TikToks about the radio station, KTNN. KTNN is a Navajo language radio station in Window Rock, Arizona, the seat of the government of the Navajo Nation.

Step 3

Ask your students to make inferences about the radio station based on what they saw in the videos. What kind of music does KTNN play? Who listens to it? How do these people feel about the music and the station? What role does it play in the community?

Step 4

Now read “Put on that KTNN” by Kinsale Drake, a poem about the speaker’s remembrance of the springs and summers on the reservation. As your students are listening, ask them to pay attention to the ways in which the poem reflects similar feelings or sentiments to the TikTok videos.

Step 5

Ask your students to open the following document and go over the instructions with them. In this assignment, your students will go through the poem and identify the emotions it evokes by highlighting specific parts of the text and identifying patterns. When you’ve gone over the directions, give your students time to work.

Step 6

When your students are done, have a few of them project their “colored” poems on the board. Then briefly discuss why they chose to highlight the text with those colors. What did those colors represent in the context of the poem to your students?