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ENGLISH FOR TEENAGERS · GENERAL ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

INSTAPOETS

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1 Warm up

Answer the questions below.

1. Have you ever read poetry on your social media feed?

2. If so, what differences did you find between the two?
3. If you were a poet, would you want to post your work online?

2 Vocab 1

Match the words to their meanings.

1. frame (n) a. people who are involved in education, usually at university

2. reservations (n) b. someone representing a group or company

3. exposes (v) c. a group of people with high social status

4. academics (n) d. something that surrounds a picture.

5. the upper class (n) e. concerns or worries

6. minority (n) f. reveals something

7. ambassador (n) g. a group of people who represent a small portion of the population

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3 Reading 1
Read the text below and match the summaries to the paragraphs.

a. An introduction to an Instapoet who makes works of art using her poetry and different
objects, who now has many works published.

b. An introduction to Instapoetry, and why one would choose it to publish their work on
social media.

c. An invitation to think about Instapoetry as a whole, and whether the reader should consider
producing it.

d. An explanation as to why some people would be against Instapoetry, based on the past
history of poetry.

e. An introduction to an Instapoet who rewrites classics and becomes successful after many
rejections.

f. An explanation as to why people would defend Instapoetry, such as the fact it helps groups
share their experiences with the world.

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Instapoetry
The new shape of poetry?

1. What is Instapoetry and how does it work?

What if you have an amazing idea for a poem, and want to share it with the world as soon as possible? As you may
know, publishing costs money, so you run the risk of spending time and money you may not have at the moment.
There are multiple ways of publishing your work independently, but one in particular is becoming increasingly
popular among young writers: Instapoetry, which is taking not only Instagram, but other forms of social media
by storm. Instapoetry can be made in various formats, but it is generally known for being short, often sharing an
Instagram frame with drawings or pictures. Its main goal is to make poetry more widely available to the billions of
social media users.

2. Arguments against Instapoetry

There are those who have reservations towards this new form of publishing. In conventional publishing, authors
go through a strict and long process of writing and re-writing after their book is edited a number of times, which
means it can take years before the final work reaches the public. While instapoetry certainly makes it easier for
anyone to share their work, some question whether it can be considered literature if it doesn’t follow this process.

3. In defence of Instapoetry

Those who argue for Instapoetry claim that, by criticising it in such a way, the very reason behind what makes
poetry so powerful is ignored. That is, to share a feeling with those who understand it on a deeply emotional level.
It can also provide opportunities to young writers and is a platform to raise awareness of important social issues
such as feminism and to promote inclusion of immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups.

4. Meet Nikita Gill

Nikita Gill, for example, is a British-Indian poet, who has written many award-winning poetry books. Her work
focuses on female retellings of famous stories, as well as tragedies and events around the world. But before her
success, she was rejected by 137 publishers, which led her to eventually post her work on Instagram instead. From
then on, her fame only grew, and she is now an ambassador for National Poetry Day.

5. Introducing Chloe Frayne

Some Instapoets even use their poetry as a canvas. Chloe Frayne, for instance, decorates her works with objects
such as dried flowers, keys and locks, and crystals. Her travels across different continents inspired her poems
on love and travelling, and she has already published three poetry collections with excellent ratings on multiple
websites.

6. Tell us what you think!

Perhaps there are many differences between traditional forms of poetry when compared with Instapoetry.
However, it could be said that this is precisely what allows a new genre to be formed: something different and
contemporary. What do you think? Would you give Instapoetry a try?

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4 Reading 2
Read the text again. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. Instapoetry is the only way to publish your work without a publishing company.

2. People from the upper class and academics thought poetry was limited.

3. Instapoetry is only for minority groups.

4. After her fame on Instagram, Nikita Gill has support from over 137 publishers.

5. Chloe Frayne’s work is well-reviewed by readers and critics alike.

5 Vocabulary 2
Find a word or expression in the text on page three that means...

1. (idiom) becoming very popular (para. 1)

2. (n) judging the faults of something (para. 3)

3. (adj.) that has received prizes (para. 4)

4. (v) give (para. 3)

5. (n) a place to share one’s work (para. 3)

6. (n) a space to do artwork (para. 5)

7. (adv.) exactly (para. 6)

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6 Listening 1

Watch Instapoet, Nikita Gill’s interview and match the questions to the answers.

1. How do you decide what goes on social media and what doesn’t?

2. As a social media celebrity, how do you protect yourself on social media?

3. How was your Emirates LitFest experience?

a. I think the decision really is: only 10% of my work makes it onto social media and it’s because as
an artist, everything you write can’t go on social media. It’s just so much easier to have notebooks
and notebooks and notebooks that you think no one will read, because you’re the most honest self
there. The things that go on social media tend to be the things that I feel may connect the most
of the time to a group of people. A lot of them tend to be about world tragedies, or something
which has happened which really moved me. And that’s how I decide.

b. Well, I take lots of breaks. I recognise that the social media world is not always the most honest
version of the world. And because of that I take a lot of breaks, and like, reconnect with things
like nature, my family, my friends. I spend a lot of time away from it, and I think that’s the only
way we can really protect ourselves on social media: taking time away from it.

c. Coming to the Emirates Literature Festival has been joyous, and fulfilling, and just generally just
wonderful. It’s just been a wonderful experience, yeah.

7 Listening 2

Listen to the interview again and answer the questions below.

1. What is the difference between the poems Nikita writes in notebooks and those she publishes
online?

2. What inspires Nikita’s Instapoetry?

3. What does Nikita do when away from social media?

4. How does she feel about Emirates LitFest?

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8 Speaking 1

Research and choose an Instapoem and present it to the class. Say how you understand it, and what
impacted you the most when reading it.

9 Extension activity 1

In pairs, pretend you are doing an interview; one of you will be the interviewer, while the other
pretends to be either Nikita Gill or Chloe Frayne. You may do further research on the writers to
prepare your answers and questions. Conduct your interviews as a class.

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Transcripts

6. Listening 1

(question on screen): How do you decide what goes on social media and what doesn’t?

Nikita: I think the decision really is: only 10% of my work makes it onto social media
and it’s because as an artist, everything you write can’t go on social media.
It’s just so much easier to have notebooks and notebooks and notebooks that
you think no one will read, because you’re the most honest self there. The
things that go on social media tend to be the things that I feel may connect
the most of the time to a group of people. A lot of them tend to be about
world tragedies, or something which has happened which really moved me.
And that’s how I decide.

(question on screen): As a social media celebrity, how do you protect yourself on social media?

Nikita: Well, I take lots of breaks. I recognise that the social media world is not always
the most honest version of the world. And because of that I take a lot of
breaks, and like, reconnect with things like nature, my family, my friends. I
spend a lot of time away from it, and I think that’s the only way we can really
protect ourselves on social media: taking time away from it.

(question on screen): How was your Emirates LitFest experience?

Nikita: Coming to the Emirates Literature Festival has been joyous, and fulfilling, and
just generally just wonderful. It’s just been a wonderful experience, yeah.

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INSTAPOETS

Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Discuss the questions on Instapoetry below as a class

2. Vocab 1

10 mins.
Students match the vocabulary from the text to their meanings. Correct as a whole class, drilling the correct
pronunciation and asking in which context these words could be used.

1. → d. 2. → e. 3. → f. 4. → a. 5. → c. 6. → g. 7. → b.

3. Reading 1

10 mins.
Students read the text and match the summaries to the paragraphs. When correcting, ask students which sentences
or words helped them decide.

a. 5 b. 1 c. 6 d. 2 e. 4 f. 3

4. Reading 2

10 mins.
Students reread the text and answer true or false for the questions below. If the statement is false, ask students
to look through the text to find the correct statement and underline it.

1. F 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. T

5. Vocabulary 2

10 mins.
Students read the text and find a word or expression that matches the definitions. Correct as a whole class.

1. taking by storm 2. criticism 3. award-winning 4. provide

5. platform 6. canvas 7. precisely

6. Listening 1

10 mins.
Play the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-dtSfP1h0A on Instapoet, Nikita Gill to students.
Students then reorder the questions to the answers below. Correct as a class.

1. → a. 2. → b. 3. → c.

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7. Listening 2

5 mins.
Students listen to the interview again and answer the listening comprehension questions below. Correct as a
class.

1. In notebooks, an artist can be their most honest self, while what goes on social media tends to be things that
she feels may connect most of the time to a group of people.
2. World tragedies and events which happened and really moved her.
3. She spends time with nature, family, and friends.
4. She describes it as joyous, and fulfilling, and just generally wonderful.

8. Speaking 1

10 mins.
Students conduct independent research on Instapoetry, and present one poem to the class. Ask students to pick
a favourite poem between those presented, and give a reason why.

9. Extension activity 1

15 mins.
Students get into pairs to conduct a mock interview pretending to be one of the poets mentioned in the article.
Allow students time to do some research on their chosen author, but also encourage improvisation. Students
present a full interview to the class.

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