learning by poem
Reading and Writing Poetry
The SoWs suggests working on a variety of poems including acrostics, shape poems, poems following grammatical patterns, limericks, haiku, and ballads/narrative poems. As some students might find limericks and ballads fairly difficult, teachers may wish to skip these two types of poems and choose other types from the handouts on “Appreciating Different Types of Poetry” in the Supplementary Materials Section (pages T76 to T99) to suit their students’ interests, abilities and needs.
The worksheets in this unit are intended to describe various forms of poetry, encourage students to think about them, supply simple examples (suitable for non-literature as well as literature students) and help them to produce their own versions. It is further suggested that the work students produce be presented orally in class or decoratively on paper for display. (In the case of the haiku, details of a photographic display are given.)
If teachers follow this plan, they will need to tell students how many pieces of work of each type they should produce. The lessons can then be in the form of poetry workshops. A few poems are recited/presented by students to start the class; and then a worksheet is handed out and read, leading to the students creating more poems. It is hoped the students will enjoy this and find sharing a positive experience. A fairly casual atmosphere may help the more nervous students to find participation pleasant. If possible, the habit of giving thoughtful and constructive comments on each other’s poems should be encouraged in the class.