Teaching

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Teaching Performing Poetry
Professional Development Activity for Enhancing
the Interface between the Junior Secondary and
the Three-year Senior Secondary Curricula through
Promoting the Learning and Teaching of Language
Arts
February 25, 2005
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Before We Start Workshop activity 1
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Getting started Understanding poetry
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What is Poetry?
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Getting ready to teach Understanding poetry
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Understanding the poem

• What is happening in the poem?
• What idea and theme does the poet want to
  deliver?
• How is it presented by the poet?
• Techniques language, sound, imageries,
  punctuation, pattern on the page
• Why did the poet write this poem?
• What is his message or purpose?
• Why do I teach this poem?

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POETRY
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Poetic Language

• Visual imagery

Mental pictures created with words
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• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification

Explicit comparison, using like, as,
similar to, resembles
Implied comparison
Giving human qualities to an animal, object or
abstract idea
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The Wind Is Angry The wind is angry --- Hes
been in a rage all night, Stamping his feet,
bellowing and finally breaking out.
Personification
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The Sea
The sea is a hungry dog, Giant and grey. He rolls
on the beach all day. With his clashing teeth and
shaggy jaws The rumbling, tumbling stones, And
Bones, bones, bones, bones! The giant sea-dog
moans, Licking his greasy paws.
James Reeves
Metaphor
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The Laundry Basket My shirtsleeve hangs Over
the rim of the laundry basket Like a limp human
arm From the jaws of a crocodile. Chris
Hereward
Simile
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Poetic Language

• Sound imagery

Feelings and moods created by sounds
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• Alliteration
• Repetition of initial consonant sounds in words
• Onomatopoeia
• Use of words that sound like
• the objects or actions they describe

Around the rugged rock, the ragged rascal ran
Glass Breaking I flung out my arms Clatter
Clash Crinkle Crunch Now a broom
Swish Swoosh Sweep Swoop

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• Assonance
• Repetition of vowel sounds
• Consonance
• Repetition of consonant sounds anywhere in the
  lines

I rose and told him of my woe
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if
there is some mistake. Stopping by
Woods on a Snowy Evening
(Robert Frost)
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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house
is in the village though He will not see me
stopping here To watch his woods fill up with
snow. My little horse must think it queer To
stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods
and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if
there is some mistake. The only other sound's
the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The
woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have
promises to keep, And miles to go before I
sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
Consonance S (32 times) H (10 times) W (8
times) Assonance long vowels Alliteration
Effect soft hissing sound
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Have a Go!
Workshop Activity 2
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(No Transcript)
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Visual Imagery Key

1. Metaphor (world stage men women players)
2. Personification (night person creeping)
3. Metaphor (life dream soul sleeping man)
4. Simile (soldiers wolf spears stars)
5. Personification (Autumn and Sun are conspiring
   friends)
6. Personification (sea laughing man cliff
   frowning man)

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Sound Imagery Key

• 1. Onomatopoeia (choo-choo puff-puff Pull,
  pull, pull)
• 2. Consonance (s sound)
• 3. Onomatopoeia (boom, crash)
• Consonance (r sound in second line)
• Alliteration (b sound)
• Assonance (ai sound)
• Alliteration (r sound)

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Poetic Language

• Rhythm

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Rhythm Regular recurrence of stressed and
unstressed sounds in the lines

• The attributes of rhythm
• Meaning
• Metrical patterns (regular alternation of
  stressed and unstressed syllables)
• Grammatical structure
• Punctuation
• Pitch
• Pace

E.g. Iambic --- x / (about) Trochaic --- /x
(poem)
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THE SONG OF THE SEA WIND Austin Dobson How it
sings, sings, sings, Blowing sharply from the
sea-line, With an edge of salt that stings How
it laughs aloud, and passes, As it cuts the close
cliff-grasses How it sings again, and
whistles As it shakes the stout sea-thistles
-- How it sings! How it shrieks, shrieks,
shrieks, In the crannies of the headlands In the
gashes of the creeks How it shrieks once more,
and catches Up the yellow foam in patches How
it whirls it out and over To the corn-field and
the clover -- How it shrieks! How it roars,
roars, roars, In the iron under-caverns, In the
hollows of the shores How it roars anew, and
thunders, As the strong hull splits and
sunders And the spent ship, tempest driven, On
the reef lies rent and riven -- How it
roars! How it wails, wails, wails, In the tangle
of the wreckage, In the flapping of the
sails How it sobs away, subsiding, Like a tired
child after chiding
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Poetic Language

• Rhyme

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• RhymeThe matching of final vowel or consonant
  sounds in two or more words
• Rhyming / Rhyme scheme
• A pattern of the end rhymes within the poem

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Whats the rhyming scheme?
Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is
not its goal Dust thou art, to dust
returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.
a b a b
Rain, rain, go away Come again another day Little
children want to play So rain, rain, go away.
a a a a
Write a poem About a lion they said, So from
memories Of lions in my head I wrote about Tawny
eyes and slashing claws, Lashing tail and sabred
jaws
Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder who you
are Up above the world so high Like a diamond in
the sky.
a b c b d e e
a a b b
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Types of poems

• Traditional classification

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Blank verse Unrhymed ten-syllable lines
Ballad A narrative poem written in four-line
stanzas, with swift action and direct style
The Highwayman
Free verse A poem without a regular pattern of
metre or rhyme
Ode A long stately poem in stanzas of varied
length, meter and form
Limerick A five-lined rhymed poem that makes fun
Ode to Autumn
Sonnet A fourteen-lined lyrical poem that
conforms to a set rhyme scheme
Elegy A poem expressing grief, of subjective or
meditative nature
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day?
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Types of poem

• Modern classification

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Diamond poem A seven-lined diamond-shaped poem
that specifies the part of speech in each line,
sometimes with contrasting ideas
Acrostic poem A poem in which the first letter of
each line, when read vertically, spell out a
word, which is usually the subject of the poem.
Haiku A Japanese-style poem of three lines, each
with a fixed number of syllables (5,7,5 or 4,8,4)
-- mainly about nature and feelings
Shape poem Words are placed to make the shape of
an object or ideas described
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Acrostic poem
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Anonymous
shape poem
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shape poem
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Smelly Tofu Yummy! Spicy, savoury Delicious,
heavenly, mouth-watering A brown crispy square of
deep-fried bean curd Disgusting, unpleasant,
repulsive Stinky, greasy Yucky!
Diamond poem
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Have a Go!

• Workshop Activity 3

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(No Transcript)
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Types of Poems (Key)

• A Shape poem
• B Free verse
• C Diamond poem
• D Acrostic poem
• E Limerick
• F Haiku
• G Prose

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Teaching the Poemin Class
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Consider the following

• Is the poem thematically related to the lesson?
• How can you help your students to understand the
  poem?
• How can you help students to appreciate some
  important poetic devices?
• How can you help students to respond to the poem?
  What kind of response will you aim for?

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Teaching strategies

• Use pictures, realia, situations, context etc to
  help students visualise the meaning of the poem.
• Use different strategies and activities to
• encourage students to respond to the poem
• Commenting on the ideas, themes and events
• Relating these to their own experience
• Acting out or writing something related to the
  poem
• extend their language learning experience
• teach about features of poetry
• Let students hear the poem and follow it
• Familiarize them with the intonation, stress and
  inflection patterns

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Lesson Examples

• The Sound Collector by Roger McGough
• onomatopoeia,
• vocabulary development
• support understanding
• My Friend Through My Eyes by Amy Poon
• teaching about metaphor
• framework for students own writing
• Dreams by Langston Hughes (for reference)

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The Sound Collector A stranger called this
morning Dressed all in black and grey Put every
sound into a bag And carried them away The
whistling of the kettle The turning of the
lock The purring of the kitten The ticking of the
clock The popping of the toaster The crunching
of the flakes When you spread the marmalade The
scraping noise it makes
The hissing of the frying pan The ticking of the
grill The bubbling of the bathtub As it starts to
fill The drumming of the raindrops On the
window-pane When you do the washing up The
gurgling of the drain The crying of the baby The
squeaking of the chair The swishing of the
curtain The creaking of the chair A stranger
called this morning He didnt leave his name Left
us only silence Life will never be the same.
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• Step One
• Students match words and pictures
• Step Two
• Students listen to sounds and match them with the
  pictures.
• They then match the item that makes the sound
  with the word for that sound
• Objective
• To pre-teach vocabulary

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Sounds
www.findsounds.com

• Sound 1
• Sound 2
• Sound 3
• Sound 4

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Step three students identify vocabulary in the
poem. They list their favourite sounds
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• Step Four
• Students make poems listing the sounds which they
  hear in particular locations.
• They may use the sounds to tell a story if they
  wish.

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(No Transcript)
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MY FRIEND THROUGH MY EYES You are a star
in the sky, Bright and shining, Guiding me
with your light, With you, I know the
way. You are an umbrella in the
rain, Loving and protecting, You help me so
much, With you, I know I am safe. You are
a candle on a dark night, Warm and
comforting, You make me strong, With you, I
am never alone. You are a rainbow after a
storm, Beautiful and colourful, You always
give me hope, A promise that will
last Friendship is a precious gift A gift
to treasure and keep forever.
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Step One students see pictures, some of which
are related to the poem. They write down words
which they associate with the pictures, including
sounds, smells, feelings not only names of
objects
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• Objectives of this activity
• to prepare students for reading the poem by
  pre-teaching some vocabulary
• to introduce the concept of metaphors as word
  pictures
• to generate some ideas for students to use in
  their own writing

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• Step Two
• Students match the verses of the poem with some
  of the pictures from the first worksheet
• Objectives
• Check comprehension
• Show how words can also create pictures

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Step Three students write word pictures based
on the pictures from the powerpoint but not in
the poem
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Step Four students create poems using their own
word pictures or metaphors
Weaker classes made badges with metaphors on
them as gifts for their friends
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(No Transcript)
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DreamsLangston Hughes
An alternative poem for teaching about metaphors
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die, Life is a
broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to
dreams For when dreams go, Life is a barren
field Frozen with snow.
Please refer to lesson plan
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Your Turn!

• Mini workshop

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The Headmonster

• Refer to the poems The Headmonster and Ghosts
  (yellow sheets).
• Listen to the poems.
• Work in pairs.
• Complete the checklist (beige sheet) for one of
  the poems.

Ghosts
A haunted house?
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Lets Have a Break
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Sharing and Discussion
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Looking at the subject matter

• The Headmonster
• A light-hearted poem about the arrival of a new
  headmaster at the school
• The speaker is probably a student or group of
  students.
• The students are afraid of the new headmaster,
  and a lot of rumours are circulating about him
• Another meaning of the poem is about rumours ---
  Can we always believe what we hear?

• Ghosts
• Also light-hearted, descriptive poem about a
  ghosts party
• The speaker is a narrator, not a ghost
• The poem describes how the ghosts enjoy
  themselves at a party
• They are supposed to be scary ghosts but why do
  they eat sweets and dance a jig?

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Looking at the language and structure

• The Headmonster
• Different senses are used,
• Hearing stomp, werewolfs howl
• Touch icicle stare, razor-sharp
• Images are of scary monsters, supernatural evil
  creatures. The visual element is very strong
• The poem rhymes, and has a strong rhythm, which
  adds to the light-hearted mood
• There is some alliteration eg growls like a
  grizzly bear

• Ghosts
• Mainly visual and sound images
• Many contrasts feature in the poem, e.g. spooky
  images at the beginning, but the middle part is
  quite funny (e.g. a baby sucking its thumb),
  noise vs. silence at different points, dark
  outside and noisy action inside the haunted house
• The poem rhymes, and there is a change in the
  rhythmic pattern which divides description of the
  setting from the action of the party.
• Alliteration, e.g. bone all bare
• Abrupt ending as the ghosts vanish

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Teaching implications The Headmonster

• Curriculum link Halloween or the beginning of
  term
• Preparation brainstorming Halloween context,
  matching pictures and vocabulary
• Vocabulary names of monsters, strong visual
  element makes it not so difficult to put across
  new vocabulary by using pictures and actions
• Language Introducing reported speech Weve
  heard that, Its rumoured that.. in the
  context of passing on rumours
• Activities Matching pictures with verses of the
  poem, drawing pictures of the Headmonster, act
  out his first lesson or assembly. A parent
  writes a letter of complaint, etc

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Teaching implications Ghosts

• Curriculum link
• Halloween / Mystery and fantasy
• Narrative or descriptive writing
• Preparation
• Use of sound effects and pictures to create the
  scene
• Vocabulary and Language
• Many different verbs for movement and sounds
• Descriptive vocabulary setting the spooky scene
• A narrative in the present tense
• Activities
• Act out the scene or draw a storyboard
• Create some spooky food for the ghosts party
• Choral speaking performance
• Read some scary stories for extensive reading

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(No Transcript)
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Performing poetry
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View and Discuss
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You are going to watch the performance of two
students during their rehearsal
First poem One That Got Away Second poem A
Psalm of Life

• While you watch, note the strengths and
  weaknesses of each performance.
• As a teacher, what comments / suggestions for
  improvement would you give to the students?

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Solo Choral Verse-speaking
Getting ready for the rehearsal
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Teachers preparation

• Read the poem aloud to yourself ---
• How would you read it to put across the meaning?
• Experiment different ways of saying it
• Decide how you want the students to say it
• Check pronunciation and meaning of words in
  context
• Note
• any emphasis, stress intonation pattern
• the mood of the poem. Which words convey the mood?

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Teachers preparation (2)

• Identify and mark in the rhythmic stress pattern
  ---
• Put special emphasis on
• words / phrases that carry special meaning
• Words that convey the mood
• Note the end of lines, where to pause and where
  one line runs on to the next

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Rehearsing with the students

• Analyse the poem to identify potential problems
  to the students
• Ensure students good comprehension and
  visualization of the poem
• Model the reading
• Let students experiment reading --- focus on
  correct and clear pronunciation first
• Achieve emphasis by varying the
• volume / pitch / pauses / pace

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Challenges faced by the students

• Poems are difficult to understand because of
• Grammatical omission
• Inversion
• Old English

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One that Got Away by Julie Holder

• Write a poem
• About a lion they said,
• So from memories
• Of lions in my head
• I wrote about
• Tawny eyes and slashing claws,
• Lashing tail and sabred jaws --
• Didnt like what I had written
• And began to cross it out ---
• Suddenly with a roar of rage
• It sprang from the cage of lines
• On the page
• And rushed away into the blue,

• A wounded lion poem
• Half crossed through!
• Its one that got away
• Havent seen it to this day
• But I carefully look,
• In case its crouching, growling,
• Licking its wounds and waiting,
• Under cover in the leaves
• Inside some other book.
• And here I sit
• After all this time,
• Still not having written
• A poem about a lion.

Sentence fragment
Omission (Subject, punctuation)
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A Psalm of Life by H.W. Longfellow
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,   Life is but
an empty dream! For the soul is dead that
slumbers,   And things are not what they seem.
Inversion
Life is real! Life is earnest!   And the grave is
not its goal Dust thou art, to dust
returnest,   Was not spoken of the soul.
Old English
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!   Let the dead
Past bury its dead! Act, act in the living
Present!   Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Contraction
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Rehearsing with the students (2)

• Ensure that students have mastered the
  pronunciation before working on the rhythm and
  intonation
• Train students to highlight the following through
  their voice and facial expressions
• significant words that need special treatment
  (sense words, onomatopoeia)
• the climax / punch line
• the contrast (fast slow, hard soft, staccato
  smooth, heavy light)

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Useful tips

• Teach and ensure understanding of the whole poem,
  but rehearse section by section
• Do not use explanation only ---
• Students must visualise and appreciate the poem
  before they can speak it meaningfully.
• Never allow premature memorisation ---
• Memorization of the words without feeling is
  disastrous
• Its difficult to undo any mistakes

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Choral Speaking
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What poems to choose for verse-speaking

• Poems that you like and have confidence in
• Poems that students understand and appreciate ---
  relevant to their experience
• (For choral work)
• Poems with variety and contrasts
• Avoid static and abstract poems
• Narrative poems are good as a start
• Not poems with I as the subject

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Techniques for Choral Speaking
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Techniques (1)

• Orchestration Use different voices for special
  effect
• Divide poem into
• choral passages,
• small groups,
• solo lines or phrases

Refer to the examples of The Freight Train
Ghost

• Use gestures to conduct the speech
• Listen to the voices ---
• High or low
• Rough or smooth
• Light or dark
• Melodious or monotonous

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Techniques (2)

• Achieve extra effects with judicious use of
• gestures
• movements
• sound effects
• costumes or props

• All speakers using simultaneous gestures
• Individuals / small groups gesticulating on
  certain words / lines

• Percussion
• Vocal effects
• Use of music

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Techniques (3)

• Make pleasant grouping for better vocal and
  visual effects

• Group according to quality of voices (dark /
  light)
• Students speaking together stand together
• Change grouping to fit changes of mood
• Shapes can be related to topic
• All speakers should be seen

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Useful tips

• It is essential for every speaker to know the
  whole poem.
• Never divide the class into groups and give each
  group different parts of the poem to learn.
• It is important for learners to show their
  involvement and enjoyment through facial
  expressions and eye contact
• A good blend of voices and synchronized movements
  show good co-ordination
• Maintain good discipline at all times.

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Lets watch and appreciate

• What do you think of the groups performance?

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Key to success
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SUCCESS !

• Clear speech and accurate pronunciation are of
  paramount importance
• A touch of drama is essential
• Never overdo any extra effects --- they should
  add to and not distract from the poem
• It is important that students enjoy the choral
  work --- know when to stop.
• Aim not at perfection, but spontaneity. Adapt
  your expectation and treatment to bring out the
  best in the students

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Questioning time
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Anthologies of Poems

• Brian Pattern (ed.) (1998) The Puffin Book of
  Utterly Brilliant Poetry. London, Puffin Books
• Michael Harrison Christopher Stuart-Clark
  (Eds.)(1999) The New Oxford Treasury of
  Childrens Poems. Oxford, Oxford University Press
• Sadler, Hayllar, Powell (1981) Enjoying Poetry.
  South Yarra, Macmillan Education Australia Pty
  Ltd
• Michael Rosen (ed.) (1985) The Kingfisher Book of
  Childrens Poetry. London, Kingfisher
  Publications Plc
• Helen Ferris (ed.) (1965) Favorite Poems Old and
  New. USA, Doubleday Company, Inc.
• Pappas, Lewis Middenway (ed.) (1979) Images.
  Melbourne, Longman Cheshire

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Poetry is fun and enjoyable ! Happy teaching and
rehearsal !
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• Thank you!