1 poetry network for english teachers poetry network for english teachers language learning support...
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Poetry NetworkPoetry Network for English Teachersfor English Teachers
Language Learning Support Section, EMB
Invitation for enrollmentInvitation for enrollment
The Poetry Network aims to help you:
Pool resources for poetry teachingOptimise teaching effectivenessEnrich understanding and appreciation Try out different teaching strategiesRespond positively to curriculum changesYield fruits through collaboration
The Poetry Network aims to help you:
Pool resources for poetry teachingOptimise teaching effectivenessEnrich understanding and appreciation Try out different teaching strategiesRespond positively to curriculum changesYield fruits through collaboration
If you want to benefit from this professional network,If you want to benefit from this professional network,please complete the please complete the registration formregistration form and return it and return it to us as soon as possible!to us as soon as possible!
The Poetry NetworkThe Poetry Network
Workshop onWorkshop onPerforming PoetryPerforming Poetryat Secondary Levelat Secondary Level
Language Learning Support SectionLanguage Learning Support Section2121stst October 2006 October 2006
A Diamond PoemA Diamond PoemSpeech Festival
solo choralarticulating rehearsing performing
competition verse-speaking celebration curriculum
understanding appreciating learning
integrated creative English Teaching
Getting Ready to Teach the Poem for Performance
Understanding Understanding the Poemthe Poem
Activity 1Matching
You have been given a copy of the poem “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare”
In the envelope on your table is a “modernized” version of the poem, cut up into sections
Match the sections of the “modernized” version with the original version
Activity 1Matching1.C2.H3.F4.A5.D
6.J7.G8.B9.I10.E
9
““The Listeners” The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare.by Walter de la Mare.
1.1. Now, listen to a reading of the poem.
2. After listening, share the following with a partner:• Did you find the poem
challenging? If so, in what ways?
• What problems do you anticipate in (a) teaching the poem?(b) performing it?
Challenges
Poems can be difficult to understand because of:
1. The language
– Grammatical omission or contraction
– Inversion
– Old-fashioned vocabulary and structures
2. The poetic features
3. The compressed way of expression
4. The reader’s lack of some background knowledge
Challenging language from “The Listeners”
Never the least stir made the listeners.
Though every word he spake …
Inversion
Old
English
Contraction‘Neath the starred and leafy sky …
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken …
And he smote upon the door again a second time …
And his horse in the silence champed the grassesAnd (he could hear) his horse champing the grasses
in the silence
The listeners never made the least stir.
And he knocked on the door again a second time …
Listening in an air stirred and shaken …
Though every word he spoke …
Beneath the starred and leafy sky …
Activity 2
Work in pairs to study the poem
Analysing the poem - meaning1.1. A horseman’s A horseman’s
strange encounter strange encounter in the woodsin the woods
2.2. A narrative poemA narrative poem3.3. Quiet, but tense Quiet, but tense
and eerieand eerie4.4. Narrator, travellerNarrator, traveller5.5. The traveller is The traveller is
perplexed, nervous perplexed, nervous and scaredand scared
6.6. Moonlight, empty Moonlight, empty house with foliage, house with foliage, shadows in the shadows in the hallwayhallway
7.7. Mainly senses of Mainly senses of hearing and sight hearing and sight
8.8. Living creatures vs. Living creatures vs. ghostly listenersghostly listeners
9.9. One long stanza One long stanza
1.1. Subject matter – what Subject matter – what is the poem about?is the poem about?
2.2. What type of poem is What type of poem is it?it?
3.3. What is the mood? Is What is the mood? Is it serious or it serious or lighthearted?lighthearted?
4.4. How many speakers How many speakers are there?are there?
5.5. What feelings do they What feelings do they express?express?
6.6. What visual images What visual images are created with the are created with the words?words?
7.7. Does the poet play on Does the poet play on the senses?the senses?
8.8. Is there any contrast Is there any contrast within the poem? within the poem?
9.9. What is the structure What is the structure of the poem?of the poem?
Analysing the poem - sound
1. Does the poem rhyme?
2. How are the sound, rhythm and pace?
3. Does the sound system help to emphasize the mood?
4. Are there any special sound features (e.g. alliteration, onomatopoeia)
1. Yes, alternate lines rhyme in pairs
2. Sound: soft and quiet. Rhythm: smooth
Pace – generally slow, but moving fast when tension intensifies
3. Yes, the quiet and mysterious atmosphere is emphasized.
4. Alliteration “forest’s ferny floor”, “silence surged softly backward”
Analysing the poem -structure
For each section, discuss the following
Is it narrative or descriptive?What is happening? (narrative)What is being described?
(descriptive)
Narrative – traveller speaks
Descriptive – sets the scene
Narrative – traveller speaks
Descriptive –scene outside
house Descriptive – the atmosphereinside the house
Descriptive– traveller’sfeelings
Descriptive – scene outsideNarrative – traveller’s response
Descriptive – the atmosphereinside the house
The traveller leaves and silence returns
Teaching the PoemTeaching the Poem
Consider the following…
How can you help your students to – understand and visualise the poem?– respond to the poem?
(What kind of response will you aim for? What prompting questions to use?)
– learn and appreciate the significant poetic devices in it?
– express the poem with imagination and feeling?
Teaching strategies Use pictures, realia, music, context, etc to set the mood and
help students understand the meaning and visualise the poem. Employ different strategies and activities at different stages of
the lesson to encourage students to respond to the poem:
• commenting on the ideas, themes and events• relating these to their own experience• discussing or writing something related to the poem
extend their experience in using the language teach poetic features
Read aloud the poem for students to focus on the sound imagery.
Visualising and understanding
Show students pictures which convey some aspects of the scene described in the poem. Ask questions about the pictures.
Some music or soundscape could also be used. Read through the poem and let them listen. (Possibly with
scary background music) Ask very general questions to make sure they have grasped the gist of what the poem is about.
– Who are the “Listeners” of the title?– How does the traveller feel?– Why does he go to that house?– What does he do in the end?
Studying the language
Sequencing a “modern English” version of the story in the poem.
Matching “Old English” and other difficult vocabulary items with modern or more common equivalents.
Ask students to underline those parts of the poem where there are sounds (champing, sound of iron on stone etc.)
Working on meaning and images
Give students a list of things which are inside and things which are outside the house. They have to put them in the correct columns or boxes.
Use this to show how the author makes a contrast between the living creatures outside and the ghosts behind the door in the haunted house. Sounds and movement outside and ghosts inside etc.
Responding to the poem Ask students to
• Draw the inside of the house (use the picture to represent the outside)
• Make a tableau of the scene in the poem, with ghosts inside and traveller outside
• Identify sounds in the poem and perform the poem with recorded or home made sound effects
The background (why the traveller came to the house, what promise he had made) is not explained. Ask students to make it up.
Alternatively, write about what the ghosts did next.
Performing Performing the Poemthe Poem
(Solo verse-speaking)(Solo verse-speaking)
Have a Go!
Read the poem aloud with your partner– The first person reads lines 1-16– The second person reads lines 17-32
Make a mental note: What difficulties do
you face in actually performing the poem?
How would you help students to overcome them?
Teacher’s preparation Analyse the structure of the poem for a good
understanding --- this determines how it should be read.
Note
How many voices are speaking
Any sound that may be problematic to the students
Long and short vowels
Problem sounds for Chinese speakers (‘th, l, r’)
Final consonants --- (e.g.‘ed’ sound after voiced consonants -- champed, leaf-fringed)
Consonant clusters (e.g. cropping, thronging)
Check the pronunciation of any words in doubt
Meaning
Sound
Teacher’s preparation (2) Mark the following:
Rhyming words Pauses --- with end-on lines Stresses
Syllable stress --- work out the basic rhythmic pattern
Words stress• key words in every line• words / phrases that carry
special meaning• words that convey the mood
Work out the general mood of the whole poem and note any changes in it.
Teacher’s preparation (3)
Read aloud the poem to yourself and listen: Is the rhythmic pattern regular or
irregular? What is the effect of the sound pattern? Does the pattern match the mood of the
poem? Do you want to introduce some variations to break the pattern?
Experiment with different ways to say the poem. Does your expression match the meaning
you want to put across? Is the student able to say it as you wish?
Sound it outSound it out
Performing Techniques Use contrast to enliven the reading
A
P
E
lternate
ause
mphasize
Saying it louder, slower and Saying it louder, slower and dramaticallydramatically
Wait for a specific silent ‘beats’ before continuing
fast & slow lines/stanzasfast & slow lines/stanzas loud & soft linesloud & soft lines heavy & light voicesheavy & light voices staccato & smooth staccato & smooth
rhythmsrhythms high and low pitcheshigh and low pitches
Make suitable use of facial expression and gesture
• key words, sense words, key words, sense words, onomatopoeia … onomatopoeia …
• climax / punch lineclimax / punch line
Activity 3
Listen and Note
Listen to the reading and complete the following
on the poem sheet
1.Circle the words that are stressed for special emphasis
2.Indicate the pauses with one or two slashes
RehearsingRehearsingthe Poemthe Poem
Rehearsing with the students
Help students to visualise the poem and project themselves into the alternate roles/ voices.
Model read the poem --- Use a tape to tune them in if necessary.
Instruct students to mark the phrasing, stress, intonation and inflection patterns on the poem sheet.
Listen to the students and work on any speech defects, if any.
Ensure that students have mastered the pronunciation before working on the feeling, rhythm, intonation, etc.
Encourage students to experiment with the reading and practise with one another.
Peer support/learning
Choral SpeakingChoral Speaking
What is Choral Speaking?
A group of people reciting in unison?
A group of speakers expressing their interpretation of a poem imaginatively from memory
Unity Presentation:
controlled, unified and harmonized
The outcome of concerted efforts and repeated rehearsals
+ variations+ variations
Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com
Techniques Techniques for Choral for Choral SpeakingSpeaking
Techniques (1)Orchestration – Use different voices for
special effects.Listen to students’ voices and group
them accordingly: Light or dark High or low Rough or smooth Melodious or monotonous
Divide poem into chorus small groups solo lines or phrases character lines
Use conducting to synchronize the speech
Techniques (2) Achieve extra effects with judicious use of
Gestures All speakers using simultaneous gestures Individuals / small groups gesticulating
on certain words / lines Postures (and hand position)
Train learners to show their concentration and enjoyment through synchronized speech, eye contact, posture and facial expressions.
Sound effects Percussion Vocal effects Music
Costumes or props
Techniques (3) Make pleasant grouping for better vocal and
visual effects Position the students according to voice
quality to create a stereo effect form shapes to highlight the theme
Shapes or grouping can be changed to show a change of mood or meaning
Scatter solo speakers among the group, but place character speakers together in the front row
All speakers must be seen --- arrange them according to height on risers
Practise entering and exiting the stage --- The performance begins as soon as their names are called and finishes only when they sit down.
Show Time !
You are going to watch the performance of choral group:
Haunted (by Shel Silverstein)
While you watch, take a mental note of the strengths and
weaknesses of the performance
From analysis to orchestrating
Study the poem and analyse its structure --- focus on the gist and special features of each stanza
Plan how it can be read to best convey the meaning
Design the orchestration
Step 1Step 1 Step 2Step 2 Step 3Step 3
3636
Haunted -- AnalysisHaunted -- Analysis
challenge
make-believe spooky descriptions
showing courage
backing down:back to reality
Haunted – Reading styleHaunted – Reading style
Haunted - orchestrationHaunted - orchestration
Practical WorkPractical Work
Your Turn Now! Suppose you are to prepare your
class for performing a poem at a school function and you have the following poems for consideration:
• Cat Began • Hong Kong is Full of People
Listen to the poems and Listen to the poems and comment on their suitability comment on their suitability for solo or choral work.for solo or choral work.
Please refer to the yellowPlease refer to the yellow
‘‘poem analysis sheets’ for the textpoem analysis sheets’ for the text
Before making your decision
Study the poem and analyse – its structure (gist and
purpose of each stanza)– how it can be read– how to orchestrate it for
choral work
Experiment how to read it out according to your interpretation
Working Together
Get into pairs or Get into pairs or groups.groups.
Work on one of the Work on one of the poems.poems.
Make notes on theMake notes on thepoem analysis sheetpoem analysis sheet
Practical TipsPractical Tips
On choice of poems Poems that are relevant to students’ interest and
experience Poems that match students’ gender, age, voice quality
and personality. Different occasions and purposes call for
different poems
For choral work Poems with variety, contrasts and repetition
(refrain) Narrative poems are good as a start Avoid ‘static’ and abstract poems Not poems with ‘I’ as the subject (but
modification could be done sometimes).
On solo verse-speaking Do not give explanation and Do not give explanation and instruction onlyinstruction only --- Students must --- Students must visualise and appreciate the poem visualise and appreciate the poem before they can speak it meaningfully.before they can speak it meaningfully.
Don’t teach verse by verseDon’t teach verse by verse ---This ---This causes a lack of continuity. Students causes a lack of continuity. Students can’t get a feeling of the poem as a can’t get a feeling of the poem as a whole.whole.
Rehearse section by sectionRehearse section by section --- Focus --- Focus on one thing at a time. Allow students on one thing at a time. Allow students time to internalize, experiment and time to internalize, experiment and improve on their own.improve on their own.
Never allow premature memorizationNever allow premature memorization --- Memorizing the words without --- Memorizing the words without proper interpretation and feeling is proper interpretation and feeling is disastrous and it’s difficult to undo disastrous and it’s difficult to undo any mistakes.any mistakes.
On choral speaking Orchestration must be the product of
analysis and interpretation. Introduce orchestration only at the
final stage of rehearsal --- Every speaker must know the whole poem to maintain harmony in the speech.
Work on a harmonious blend of voices and synchronized movements to show good co-ordination.
The speakers should look involved, confident and relaxed.
Maintain good discipline at all times.
Key to SuccessKey to Success
SUCCESS !SUCCESS !
ClearClear speech and speech and accurateaccurate pronunciation are of paramount pronunciation are of paramount importance. importance.
A touch of A touch of dramadrama is essential. is essential. Never Never overdooverdo any extra effects --- they any extra effects --- they should add to and not distract from should add to and not distract from the poem. the poem.
It is important that studentsIt is important that students enjoy enjoy the choral work --- Know when to the choral work --- Know when to stop.stop.
Aim not at perfection, but Aim not at perfection, but spontaneity and flexibility --- Adapt spontaneity and flexibility --- Adapt your expectation and treatment to your expectation and treatment to bring out the bestbring out the best in the students. in the students.
But for school functions, extra effects help to deliver the meaning clearly and may be more appealing!
Selected Anthologies of Poems1.1. Mike Murphy (1979) Mike Murphy (1979) Rhythm and RhymeRhythm and Rhyme. Hong Kong . Hong Kong
Institute of Education, HK.Institute of Education, HK.2.2. Paul Cookson (ed.)(2005) Paul Cookson (ed.)(2005) The Poetry Store.The Poetry Store.
London, Hodder Children’s BooksLondon, Hodder Children’s Books 3.3. Michael Rosen (ed.) (2003)Michael Rosen (ed.) (2003) A World of A World of
Poetry.Poetry. London, Kingfisher London, Kingfisher4.4. Brian Pattern (ed.) (1998) Brian Pattern (ed.) (1998) The Puffin Book The Puffin Book
of Utterly Brilliant Poetryof Utterly Brilliant Poetry. London, Puffin . London, Puffin BooksBooks
5.5. Michael Harrison & Christopher Stuart-Michael Harrison & Christopher Stuart-Clark (eds.)(1999) Clark (eds.)(1999) The New Oxford Treasury The New Oxford Treasury of Children’s Poemsof Children’s Poems. Oxford, Oxford . Oxford, Oxford University PressUniversity Press
6.6. Sadler, Hayllar, Powell (1981) Sadler, Hayllar, Powell (1981) Enjoying Enjoying PoetryPoetry. South Yarra, Macmillan Education . South Yarra, Macmillan Education Australia Pty LtdAustralia Pty Ltd
7.7. Michael Rosen (ed.) (1985) Michael Rosen (ed.) (1985) The Kingfisher The Kingfisher Book of Children’s PoetryBook of Children’s Poetry. London, . London, Kingfisher Publications PlcKingfisher Publications Plc
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