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Poetry NetworkPoetry Network for English Teachersfor English Teachers

Language Learning Support Section, EMB

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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

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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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