I.

Objective
A. Identify the message of the poem
B. Understanding the poem through answering higher order thinking
questions
C. extract significant human experiences covered in the poem

II. Subject Matter:
Skill: Listening
Topic: Man of Earth
Reference: English time,
http://www.biliranisland.com/forum/showthread.php?967-The-Filipino-
compared-to-the-bamboo
Materials: Crossword puzzle, power point presentation

III. Procedure
A. Pre-Listening:
1. Motivation:
The teacher will give a crossword puzzle containing the words that
the students will encounter/find in the poem, and on the screen is
its definition to help them guess the word in the puzzle.
1. Pliant 4. Grief
2. Whisper 5. Passes
3. Bamboo













HORIZONTAL
1. Able to bend without breaking
2. Speak very softly using one's breath without one's vocal cords
3. A giant woody grass that grows chiefly in the tropics
4. Deep sorrow
VERTICAL
1. Go past or across

2. The teacher will ask to the students the ff questions:
2.1 Have you seen a bamboo? What are the characteristics of a bamboo?
2.2 What do you think are the similarities of a man from a bamboo?
2.3 Are you familiar with the Philippine folk story Malakas at si Maganda?

3. Providing Background
Amador T. Dagiou was a poet, novelist and teacher during the pre-war. He was
best known for his fictions and poems.

B. Listening Proper:
The teacher will give the in-complete version of the poem and the students must
listen carefully so that they would be able to fill in the missing words in the poem
MAN OF EARTH
Pliant is the ______;
I am _____ of earth;
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first ____.

Am I of the ____,
Or of the _____ leaf?
Do I have to ____
My every sin and ______?

If the _____ passes by,
Must I _____ and try
To ______ fully
My flexibility?




I might have been the ______,
But I will be a ____.
Bend ____ then, O ____,
_____ me if you can.


MAN OF EARTH

Pliant is the bamboo;
I am man of earth;
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.

Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?

If the wind passes by,
Must I stoop and try
To measure fully
My flexibility?

I might have been the bamboo,
But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can

After reading the poem, the students will answer learning task 3A and then they
will discuss and answer it with the guidance of the teacher.


C. Post-Listening
1. Describe the man as presented in the poem.
2. What does the poem say about the origin of man?
3. Why is man compared to a bamboo?
4. What figure of speech is used in the last stanza?
5. When do you say that God bends you?

6. What do you do if strong winds, which represent problems in life try to bend you?
Will you stoop down? Why? Why not?
7. Why did the author use bamboo to represent mans traits?

D. Assignment

1. In a short bond paper draw or illustrate the poems message. Make it colorful as
possible.