Siren Song

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

What is something you find irresistible? A slice of chocolate cake? A sale at the shoe store? When you know you should probably resist the temptation, why do you succumb anyway?

Teaching Suggestion: Lead the class to brainstorm a list of irresistible temptations. Record their ideas. Then, work to classify the temptations into two categories: Healthy and Unhealthy. What conclusions can the class draw about the nature of temptation?

• “Can’t Resist Tempting Food? Scientists Explore Why” by Kara Gavin explains the role brain circuitry plays in giving in to temptation, particularly food or other harmful addictive substances.
• “Why We Can’t Resist Temptation” is a 19-minute episode of the podcast This Is Your Brain. Host Dr. Phil Stieg speaks with cognitive neuroscientist Heather Berlin about the role of the prefrontal cortex in resisting temptation. The page includes a full transcript as well as an audio player.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the poem.

American journalist H.