~Teaching Literature~

Literature is an enjoyable subject but it also can be boring for some people. So, as a future teacher, i should know how to make the learning session becomes more interesting and enjoyable especially for teaching poetry. Poetry needs more understanding and thinking. We should not only see it on the surface but also the implied meaning behind every single words in that poem itself. Thus, i suggest some useful ways to teach poetry effectively and more interesting especially for lower form students of secondary school because they are so playful and can be easily distracted.

The River

  The River’s a wanderer,
A nomad, a tramp,
He doesn’t choose one place
To set up his camp.

The River’s a winder,
Through valley and hill
He twists and he turns,
He just cannot be still.

The River’s a hoarder,
And he buries down deep
Those little treasures
That he wants to keep.

The River’s a baby,
He gurgles and hums,
And sounds like he’s happily
Sucking his thumb.

 The River’s a singer,
As he dances along,
The countryside echoes
The notes of his song.

The river’s a monster
Hungry and vexed,
He’s gobbled up trees
And he’ll swallow you next. 

<I use this poem, The River by Valerie Bloom as an example :) >

First of all, we can play some background musics which are suitable for the particular poems. The music is very useful to set up the moods and feeling of the poem itself. For an example, the poem of The River by Valerie Bloom is all about the changing faces of the river which has been described on each stanza. So, we as teacher can play the music of water flowing to let the students imagine the environment of the river itself and enjoy the sound provided. Then, ask them to recite the poem together with the background music. Let them to recite with their intonation to see their understanding even though it might be wrong intonation.

After that, the teacher can play an audio on the poem recitation by the poet itself  and let the students hear and compare their recitation whether it is right or wrong intonation. There are certain words have been stressed out by the poet to emphasize their importance and meaning in the poem.Then, you can ask them recite the poem again using the right intonation. Besides that, you can show some related pictures to describe more about the poem. For example, you can show the picture of water flowing to represent river as a wanderer which keep moving or flowing.

The River's a wanderer to show that it keeps moving and flowing

 You can show the picture of river where the water is flowing according to its landscape.The River's a winder

The River's a hoarder which collects everything such as rubbish

The River's a baby which symbolizes innocence, safety and calmness

 The River's a singer.

 River is described as an entertainer and melodious

.

The River's a monster which expresses the idea of the river can be dangerous especially when the current is so strong.

Lastly, instead of the teacher demonstrates every characters in the poem to make the student understand more,  the teacher is encouraged to provide some physical activities to their students. Teacher can assign them to several small groups and ask them to do a simple role play to see their understanding on the characters and what the poem is all about based on their given stanzas. Student's interpretations are differed from each other, so teacher can see their different understanding and guide them to the right path if they misunderstood. As the result, students find that learning literature is fun and enjoyable where they can think out of the box and test their understanding. Thus, musics and pictures help them to understand more and avoid being easily distracted.