Working with literature in your class: poetry According to Ezra Pound, Great literature is simply language charged with

meaning to the utmost possible degree. For us teachers, Literature is, among other things, also a vehicle to help students achieve higher levels o command o the language. !t is a tool to promote critical thin"ing and a medium to oster imagination. !n short, Literature is something we cannot leave out o our teaching. #he $uestion is then, how can ! include a literary piece in my curriculum% #he answer varies. &ou may already have a poem or short story included in your te'tboo". (r you may have some graded readers in the library and can use them at once. &ou might also want to teach a poem or short story you particularly li"e or di erent reasons) it its the program grammatically, the theme is appropriate or the class level you have, the words in the rhyme *i it+s a rhyming poem, carry the sounds you want to teach. (r simply, you want to e'pand your students+ critical thin"ing s"ills and get out o the te'tboo" or a while, in other words, you want to add variety to your lessons. -hatever the reason, the techni$ues in this short article will help you wor" with a poem in general terms. -e are going to use .topping by woods on snowy evening/ by 0obert Frost *see poem here) http)11www.poetry oundation.org1poem1232452 ,. #his poem is very popular because it is simple but power ul. !t will promote a lot o conversation and e'change o opinions. !t may even inspire you and your students to write your own poems6 Step 1) !ntroduce the poet by giving some in ormation about his li e and wor". 0ead about him be ore class at http)11www.poets.org1poet.php1prmP!71285 . Step 2) #ell the class that they are about to read one o his most amous poems. 7istribute the poem ma"ing sure they have di erent versions mar"ed A and 9 *see wor"sheets below, to orm pairs. #he two versions have some di erences between them which the students are as"ed to identi y by reading their poems aloud to each other. #hey should not show their poems at this stage. #he tas" includes not only identi ying the di erences but deciding together which version A or 9 has the correct phrase or word. (ne o them is correct. #hey wor" on the poem until they are satis ied with their inal version. Step 3) #he ne't stage is to as" pairs to read their inal versions to the class so everybody can compare. #his will bring about a new whole class discussion on what is correct and why. Step 4) Give the correct version and let students study it and, in their pairs, comment on what the process o discovering was, what they thought, etc. #hen, as" students to ma"e comments to the class and share e'periences. #he previous stage may be altered by, instead o giving the correct version straight away you read it aloud or them to chec". !n my class, ! used a video ile where Frost himsel reads the poem aloud. #his video is very power ul since seeing the author reading the

poem brings an e'tra touch to the http)11www.poetry oundation.org1 eatures1video12:

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Step 5) #he last stage is to as" students to choose which part o the poem they li"ed the best and share their opinion with another pupil. #hen, a whole class discussion may ollow. -hen doing the pair wor", a good way to e'tend and promote more discussion, e'change o opinions, etc. !s to use the techni$ue ! have labelled as variable pairs/ *! am not sure ! have invented it but the truth is ! have never seem it in practice,. As" them to pair up and tal" about the poem or two or three minutes, the timing depends on your class level and enthusiasm, then at your command *use a bell, or a whistle, or clapping your hands, or your own voice, they must pair up with another student and e'change opinions again. 7o this three times at least. ;ore than < times may become boring and repetitive. #hree times is great) the irst time they practice e'plaining their views, the second they rein orce and on the third time they have grasped the mechanics o what they want to say. A variation be ore showing the video is to as" pairs to decide together how they would read the poem. As" them to insert pauses, emphasis, speed, etc. #hen as" pairs to read or the class and compare. Finally show Frost reading the poem. -ith more advanced and1 or enthusiastic classes, you may prepare a set o $uestions based on the poem or them to interpret and discuss. Also, you may want to wor" on the pronunciation patterns in the poem) "now, though, snow, etc. And1 or on the literary devices used by the poet) personi ication *my little horse must thin" it $ueer, and metaphor *and miles be ore ! sleep, as a metaphor o death,. As a ollow up, you may as" your students to write a composition telling why they li"ed or disli"ed the poem. Alternatively, you might want them to write a poem themselves or draw a poster. #he techni$ue shown here may be used or other poems as well. !t is rather easy to ind videos o poets reading their own wor" on the internet nowadays, especially i they are recent. =owever, or more traditional poems, you will always ind a reading by a amous actor or actress or a personality. !n any case, using a poem li"e Frost+s is a sure bet) your students will li"e it and will want to read another one soon. -(0>.=EE#.

Worksheet 3A Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

0(9E0# F0(.# -hose ields these are ! thin" ! "now. =is house is in the village though? =e will not see me stopping now

#o watch his woods ill up with snow.

;y little riend must thin" it $ueer #o stop without a armhouse near 9etween the trees and rozen la"e #he dar"est evening o the year.

=e pulls his harness bells a sha"e #o as" i there is some mista"e. #he only other sound@s the deep ( easy wind and snowy la"e.

#he woods are lovely, strange and deep, 9ut ! have tas"s to "eep, And miles to go be ore ! sleep, And miles to go be ore ! sleep.

Worksheet 3 Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

0(9E0# F0(.# -hose woods these are ! thin" ! "now. =is house is in the village row? =e will not see me stopping here #o watch his woods ill up with sorrow.

;y little horse must thin" it $ueer #o stop without a armhouse here 9etween the woods and rozen la"e #he dar"est evening o the month.

=e gives his harness bells a sha"e #o "now i there is some mista"e. #he only other sound@s the sweep ( easy wind and cold la"e.

#he woods are lovely, dar" and steep, 9ut ! have promises to "eep, And miles to go until ! sleep, And miles to go until ! sleep.