Written Report in

Teaching and
Testing
Literature

Members:
Borromeo, Leanette
Canono, Carl James
Concepcion, Jerico
Mayugba, Aaron Carl
Ramos, Ma. Christina
TEACHING POETRY (STRATEGIES AND LESSON PLANNING)

WHAT IS POETRY?

Poetry is a literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and
ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.

Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, or to evoke
emotive responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are
sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism,
irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leave a poem open to multiple
interpretations. Similarly figures of speech such as metaphor, simile and metonymy create a
resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections
previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in
their patterns of rhyme or rhythm.

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

Elements of Poetry can be defined as a set of instruments used to create a poem. The following
are some examples of elements of poetry:

Stanza - A stanza consists of two or more lines having a fixed length, meter or rhyming scheme.

Imagery - is the representation of the five senses. It creates mental images about a poem’s
subject.

Rhyme - The repetition of sounds within different words, either end sound, middle or beginning.

Simile - A comparison using the words like or as.

Metaphor - A comparison which does not use the words like or as

Repetitions - The repetition of the same word throughout the poem to emphasize significance.

Alliteration - Two or more words which have the same initial sound. The alliteration may be
separated by prepositions

Assonance - A partial rhyme which has the same internal vowel sounds amongst different
words. Assonance example: The tundra left the man hungry for buns

TYPES OF POETRY

Lyric Poetry- Expresses emotions, appeals to your senses, and often could be set to music. It
does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. The poet addresses the reader
directly, portraying his or her feelings, state of mind and perception.
Elegy - is a formal lament for the death of a particular person.Generally, elegies serve to mourn
the loss of a loved one; but, they can sometimes be about different types of feelings of sadness
or loss of productivity as opposed to solely focusing on death.

 Example: Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

Sonnet - a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English
typically has ten syllables per line.

 Example: How Do I Love Thee? By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Narrative Poetry - is poetry with a plot. The content and rhythmic natures of these poems
reflect the oral practice that first started the narrative tradition. Every narrative poem tells a story
with a beginning, middle, and end. The story either has an internal or external conflict, along
with one or more characters caught up in that conflict. Some narrative poems directly describe
the setting, but others do not.

Epic - a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and
adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.

 Example: Beowulf

Haiku - is a very important form of traditional Japanese poetry. These poems are designed to
convey the essence of an experience in a short format. Traditional ones frequently mention
natural themes or images and are often yearning or wistful in tone. The format consists of three
sentences, each containing five, seven, and five syllables.

 Example:
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
by Basho (1644-1694)

Dramatic Poetry - also known as dramatic verse or verse drama is a written work that both tells
a story and connects the reader to an audience through emotions or behavior. A form of
narrative closely related to acting, it usually is performed physically and can be either spoken or
sung. Normally, it uses a set rhyming or meter pattern, setting it apart from prose.

TRADITIONAL VS. CONTEMPORARY POETRY

A traditional poem is any poetic work that adheres to a definite verse structure or set of
characteristics. On the contrary, what some might call contemporary poetry demonstrates a
departure from these characteristics that define a traditional poem. For instance, traditional
poems are known for typically following particular rhyme schemes and metrical patterns.
However, contemporary poems favor free verse, which employs no rhyme or poetic meter.

Within free verse, contemporary poets tend to use language that is easily accessible to general
readers, whereas traditional poems often feature language reserved for a more educated
audience. Contemporary poems are also rather brief compared to more traditional works of
poetry, which can sometimes extend for many hundreds of lines.

The structures and characteristics of some traditional poems like haikus (three-line poem
containing 17 syllables) are relatively simple. However, many types of traditional poems follow
strict formulas of rhyme, meter, and other features that take a considerable amount of effort to
master.

Most modern poets, then, have abandoned these traditional patterns to permit themselves more
freedom in the expression of their ideas through verse, as well as in some cases to demonstrate
social and literary progress.

STRATEGIES IN TEACHING POETRY

Key Strategies

1. Pay attention to form. The form of a poem is the physical arrangement of the words
on a page. This includes the way lines are placed, their grouping, and their length.
 Look at the poem before you read it.
 Examine whether the lines and stanzas form a regular pattern. If not, determine
why.
 Listen for rhythm as you read the poem aloud.
 Pause where punctuation marks appear, not where the line ends. Stopping at
appropriate spots helps clarify meaning.
2. Pay attention to sound devices. Skilled poets use sound devices for a reason,
usually to draw attention to major points.
 Read the poem aloud several times.
 Identify the sound devices and determine why the poet chose them.
 Determine the rhyme scheme.
 Look for near rhyme. Poets often use near rhyme to make the reader focus on
an important word.
 Determine the purpose of the sound.
3. Look for figurative language. Because poets have fewer words with which to work,
they must use them sparingly. Figurative language allows them to cover much with
little.
 Visualize figurative language.
 Analyze the meaning of each metaphor or simile.
4. Look at the title. Determine if the title contributes any special meaning to the poem.
5. Make connections. Personalizing poetry makes it meaningful.
6. Summarize the poem's meaning.
 Lesson Plan in Teaching and Testing Literature

I – Objectives

At the end of 1 hour session, the students must be able to:

 Identify the strategies in teaching poetry

 Appreciate the importance of poetry
 Make their own poetry

II - Subject Matter

A. Topic: Poetry

B. Materials: Projector, white board marker

III – Procedure

Step 1: The teacher will tell the students that they will be learning strategies to help them
appreciate poetry and read poetry more effectively.

Step 2: The teacher will discuss the following strategies and their importance with the students.
The teacher will make a class set of Poetry Reading Strategies printable material and pass
them out to students to refer to while the teacher is discussing. The teacher will preview the
poem and read it aloud a few times and will tell the students that reading a poem aloud a few
times can help the students get an overall feel for the language, lines and rhythm of the poem.
The teacher will visualize the images, clarify the words and phrases. As the teacher discusses
visualizing, the teacher will ask the students what does the quotation "there are pictures in
poems and poems in pictures" means. Visualizing is when the author paints a picture in your
head. The teacher will evaluate the poem's theme to the class, and explain to the students that
when they make an inference, they are "reading between the lines." In order to make an
inference, they have to pay close attention to the details in the poem to make logical
assumption. An inference is a logical judgment based on a writer's words as well as their own
knowledge and experience. The teacher will remind the students to think about what the poet is
trying to help them understand, and will ask if does it connect to anything in their lives.

Step 3: The teacher will read aloud the poem "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" by Emily Dickinson.
Step 4: The teacher will discuss the unfamiliar words in the poem and will ask the students to
look them up in the dictionary if necessary.

Step 5: The teacher will apply the strategies in reading and discussing the poem and will
discuss the number of lines and stanzas, listen for rhyme and rhythm.

Step 6: The teacher will give each students an Inference Graphic Organizer printable, and will
tell the students to choose three descriptive statements from the poem and write an inference
for each statement.
Step 7: The teacher will ask the students to draw illustrations to accompany their inferences.
Step 8: The teacher will ask the students to discuss their inferences as a class.

I’m Nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! They’d advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog –

To tell one’s name – the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!

IV – Evaluation

The teacher will ask the students to make their own interpretation about the poem "I'm Nobody!
Who Are You?" by Emily Dickinson.

V – Assignment

The teacher will give an assignment to the students to make their own poetry or poem and
recite it in the next meeting.