My Family
Did you see us on the telly, Mum?
When we sailed away
Laughing, waving, cheering
Like in films of yesterday.
Did you read it in The Sun, Pop?
How we pasted them first time.
You told me all about your war.
What do you think of mine?
Did you get the letters home, dear?
How I missed you and was sad.
Did you give my love to Tracy?
Does she miss her funny Dad?
Did you see us on the hillside?
Could you spot which one was me?
Were the flowers very heavy
For a grown up girl of three?
This would be for a Secondary 2 Express class. I feel that it says a lot about the sacrifices one has to make in war, and the anonymity of it all -- how one is just another pawn to be used, and eventually killed and buried with others. This poem tells the story from one soldier's perspective, and depicts his individuality. The tone is also very interesting in that it is told in an eager, excited manner that doesn't quite go with the sombre subject matter. My take is that the contrast causes the poem to have more of an impact on the reader, and also serves as a reminder of how the glorification of war is really a facade. It would be interesting to hear what the students think of it.
These are the scaffolding questions:
1. Look at only the title. What do you think the poem is about?
2. Now read the rest of the poem. How has your impression of the poem changed? What do you think it's about now?
3. What happens to the persona and what makes you think so?
4. What is the tone of the poem? Does it change, and how?
5. How does the tone affect your understanding of the poem?
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Vinson
Strange Fruit
By Billie Holiday
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
Blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather
for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot
for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
----------------------------------------
Although this is not strictly a poem, its poetic nature possesses great potential for teaching students about imagery, mood and tone. This lesson would be a revision for Sec3 Express students who have previously received instruction in imagery, mood and tone.
I would first play a recording of this haunting song from Billie Holiday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXdnD39GYVU. The recording will be played twice. The first will be for familiarization, while the second will allow students to identify the mood and tone. I chose this original version instead of more contemporary ones because I feel that Billie Holiday had captured very aptly the sombre mood and tone of the poem. Furtehrmore, metaphors are used to address the sensitive issue of racial prejudice and violence.
1) What do you think the song is about?
2) What does the metaphor of 'fruit' refer to?
3) What is the tone and mood evoked by the song?
-How is this achieved?
-Identify the specific words/ phrases that indicate this.
-Does the mood and tone remain constant throughout the song? If no, what is the difference?
4) How does the imagery, mood and tone come together to create meaning for the song?
Following this, I will provide students with the cultural context for the song before revisiting the questions again to see if their answers may have evolved with some underatnding of the background behind the song.
By Billie Holiday
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
Blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather
for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot
for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
----------------------------------------
Although this is not strictly a poem, its poetic nature possesses great potential for teaching students about imagery, mood and tone. This lesson would be a revision for Sec3 Express students who have previously received instruction in imagery, mood and tone.
I would first play a recording of this haunting song from Billie Holiday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXdnD39GYVU. The recording will be played twice. The first will be for familiarization, while the second will allow students to identify the mood and tone. I chose this original version instead of more contemporary ones because I feel that Billie Holiday had captured very aptly the sombre mood and tone of the poem. Furtehrmore, metaphors are used to address the sensitive issue of racial prejudice and violence.
1) What do you think the song is about?
2) What does the metaphor of 'fruit' refer to?
3) What is the tone and mood evoked by the song?
-How is this achieved?
-Identify the specific words/ phrases that indicate this.
-Does the mood and tone remain constant throughout the song? If no, what is the difference?
4) How does the imagery, mood and tone come together to create meaning for the song?
Following this, I will provide students with the cultural context for the song before revisiting the questions again to see if their answers may have evolved with some underatnding of the background behind the song.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Mildred's Post
Long Distance II
By Tony Harrison
Though my mother was already two years dead
Dad kept her slippers warming by the gas,
put hot water bottles her side of the bed
and still went to renew her transport pass.
You couldn't just drop in. You had to phone.
He'd put you off an hour to give him time
to clear away her things and look alone
as though his still raw love were such a crime.
He couldn't risk my blight of disbelief
though sure that very soon he'd hear her key
scrape in the rusted lock and end his grief.
He knew she'd just popped out to get the tea.
I believe life ends with death, and that is all.
You haven't both gone shopping; just the same,
in my new black leather phone book there's your name
and the disconnected number I still call.
Short Analysis, Rationale for Choice and Target Group
This poem is about the persona grappling with the death of his mother. In short, it he describes as though his father is not taking the death well, and choosing to live in a world of his own past when the mother is around, when the ironic thing is that he is just the same or maybe more deluded as he calls his mother’s already non-existent phone number once in a while. This poem involves missing a loved one and being a child of someone, which is something most children should be able to relate to and the main thing I am teaching them is voice, tone and emotion, which is why I chose this poem.
My target audience is Secondary 1 Normal Academic.
Questions:
Who is do you think is the speaker/persona/voice in this poem?
This basic question would help student be aware that there is a voice in every poem telling a story. Getting an idea of the voice (a voice of a son) is the key to understanding this poem and helps them to realise that this poem revolves around a son (or child for that matter) of somebody, which is something most can relate to.
What has happening in the poem and what is the tone and atmosphere?
For the students to realise the tone and atmosphere in this poem, they need to know that this poem is about the grappling of death of a loved one and slowly work from there making connections to the choice of words and the helping them to imagine what this poem is trying to convey to the readers.
What do you think the Long Distance refers to?
Understanding the title would help them in understanding the concept of love and death, and hence enhance their global understanding of what love and death means and that despite the Distance of life and death, there really still is a bond with the parted and it will never part. This will in turn help them to analyse the following question and bring it to a deeper understanding.
Does the author misses his mother a lot? What are the words/phrases point that out?
If it was an upper sec class, I would phrase the question as “How does the author convey his emotions?” But since, I am dealing with secondary one students, I decided to break the question down further and lead them to the technique of using diction to induce a scene in their head and invoke there emotions. Also, since they are only secondary ones, they might not understand the big concept of emotions and so by narrowing it down to “missing”, I aim to help them focus their energy in analysing that.
Adeline's post
Classroom Jealousy
At the far corner of the class,
a quiet creature sits. Shhh!
Always, a book on his desk.
And with quiet, confident eyes,
He translates all into his mind.
The factory in his mind is working
day and night,
taking in knowledge and knowledge.
He mugs and mugs,
He makes me sick.
He mugs too much;
He’ll do better than me,
Leaving me at the bottom.
“P”-ones, “A”-ones and the “keep it up’s”.
How could he do this –
This unmerciful genius,
not caring for me
As long as he lives,
creatures like him…
My life is at the bottom.
This poem creates the tension between the top-scorer of the class and himself by setting a tone as he portrays the “quiet creature”. In this case, tone would have been taught to students in Secondary two express and they should be able to identify words or phrases as well as punctuations and other devices found in the poem that contributes to their knowledge of it. These questions aim to explore students’ understanding of the poem, give evidences and to give their own personal responses. With this, they are able to get in touch with the tone of the poem, derive their own responses, and come out with personal opinions of the poem after recognizing the tone in the poem. Hence, developing their understanding of this literary device.
1. Do you sympathize with the speaker? Why?
2. What do you think is the speaker’s attitude towards the “quiet creature”? What makes you think so?
3. How do you think the title relates to the poem? Do you think it is an apt title?
4. What do you think the poet is trying to do by composing this poem?
Yin Wei's Post
Sister Cat
Frances Mayes
Cat stands at the fridge,
Cries loudly for milk.
But I've filled her bowl.
Wild cat, I say, Sister,
Look, you have milk.
I clink my fingernail
Against the rim. Milk.
With down and liver,
A word I know she hears.
Her sad miaow. She runs
To me. She dips
In her whiskers but
Doesn't drink. As sometimes
I want the light on
When it is on. Or when
I saw the woman walking
toward my house and
I thought there's Frances.
Then looked in the car mirror To be sure. She stalks
The room. She wants. Milk
Beyond milk. World beyond
This one, she cries.
This poem touches on the theme of unfulfilled desires that often leave one empty inside, through interaction between the persona and a wild cat. The lack of communication but somewhat mutual understanding between the persona and the cat are seen through mere assumptions of material fulfillment, where the persona draws parallels between her wants and needs and that of the cat. The pensive mood of the poem, along with the shift in tone from irritation to melancholia greatly contribute to the overall feel, as well as heightening the relationship between the two characters and the symbolism of the cat in relation to the poem.
This poem can be taught to Secondary 2 or 3 students, where they would have already learnt skills like identifying figurative language, mood and tone. This lesson would be designed for students to apply these skills that they have learnt into poetry analysis, in order to identify the thematic issue that underlies the text. However, emotional maturity and good inference skills are also required to understand the poem.
My main objective for teaching this poem would be for my students to understand the existential theme of unfulfilled, intangible needs, which are often poorly substituted with material items. I would want my students, through studying the overall mood and tone of the poem, analysing the relationship between the persona and the cat which would eventually lead to an understanding of the cat as a poetic symbol and the overarching message that the poem brings. I would ask my students to read the poem out loud in order to get a better understanding and feel of it.
1.What do you think the poem is about? Describe the overall mood of the poem that contributes to your understanding.
2.a) Describe the relationship between the persona and the cat. What do you think is the persona’s attitude towards the cat, and how does it shift throughout the poem?
b) Why do you think that the persona is unable to provide the cat what it wants?
3. What do you think the cat represents?
4.What is the significance of the title, Sister Cat?
Frances Mayes
Cat stands at the fridge,
Cries loudly for milk.
But I've filled her bowl.
Wild cat, I say, Sister,
Look, you have milk.
I clink my fingernail
Against the rim. Milk.
With down and liver,
A word I know she hears.
Her sad miaow. She runs
To me. She dips
In her whiskers but
Doesn't drink. As sometimes
I want the light on
When it is on. Or when
I saw the woman walking
toward my house and
I thought there's Frances.
Then looked in the car mirror To be sure. She stalks
The room. She wants. Milk
Beyond milk. World beyond
This one, she cries.
This poem touches on the theme of unfulfilled desires that often leave one empty inside, through interaction between the persona and a wild cat. The lack of communication but somewhat mutual understanding between the persona and the cat are seen through mere assumptions of material fulfillment, where the persona draws parallels between her wants and needs and that of the cat. The pensive mood of the poem, along with the shift in tone from irritation to melancholia greatly contribute to the overall feel, as well as heightening the relationship between the two characters and the symbolism of the cat in relation to the poem.
This poem can be taught to Secondary 2 or 3 students, where they would have already learnt skills like identifying figurative language, mood and tone. This lesson would be designed for students to apply these skills that they have learnt into poetry analysis, in order to identify the thematic issue that underlies the text. However, emotional maturity and good inference skills are also required to understand the poem.
My main objective for teaching this poem would be for my students to understand the existential theme of unfulfilled, intangible needs, which are often poorly substituted with material items. I would want my students, through studying the overall mood and tone of the poem, analysing the relationship between the persona and the cat which would eventually lead to an understanding of the cat as a poetic symbol and the overarching message that the poem brings. I would ask my students to read the poem out loud in order to get a better understanding and feel of it.
1.What do you think the poem is about? Describe the overall mood of the poem that contributes to your understanding.
2.a) Describe the relationship between the persona and the cat. What do you think is the persona’s attitude towards the cat, and how does it shift throughout the poem?
b) Why do you think that the persona is unable to provide the cat what it wants?
3. What do you think the cat represents?
4.What is the significance of the title, Sister Cat?
Monday, 14 March 2011
The Harlot's House, lesson by Esther
THE HARLOT'S HOUSE
by Oscar Wilde
WE caught the tread of dancing feet,
We loitered down the moonlit street,
And stopped beneath the harlot's house.
Inside, above the din and fray,
We heard the loud musicians play
The "Treues Liebes Herz" of Strauss.
Like strange mechanical grotesques,
Making fantastic arabesques,
The shadows raced across the blind.
We watched the ghostly dancers spin
To sound of horn and violin,
Like black leaves wheeling in the wind.
Like wire-pulled automatons,
Slim silhouetted skeletons
Went sidling through the slow quadrille.
The took each other by the hand,
And danced a stately saraband;
Their laughter echoed thin and shrill.
Sometimes a clockwork puppet pressed
A phantom lover to her breast,
Sometimes they seemed to try to sing.
Sometimes a horrible marionette
Came out, and smoked its cigarette
Upon the steps like a live thing.
Then, turning to my love, I said,
"The dead are dancing with the dead,
The dust is whirling with the dust."
But she--she heard the violin,
And left my side, and entered in:
Love passed into the house of lust.
Then suddenly the tune went false,
The dancers wearied of the waltz,
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl.
And down the long and silent street,
The dawn, with silver-sandalled feet,
Crept like a frightened girl.
LEVEL: Sec 3/4 Express
OBJECTIVE: To teach students setting and mood/atmosphere (reinforcement lesson)
1. Having read Oscar Wilde's 'The Harlot's House', can you identify where the poem is set? How is the setting described?
This question aims to help students to locate the poem in time and place, i.e. setting. By asking them to describe how the setting is established, they will have to make close references to the poem, focusing on the use of adjectives especially to determine how specific details are being portrayed.
2. Which of the five senses does the poem appeal to? How is this done? What does this achieve?
This question helps students identify the mood/atmosphere or 'feel' of the poem. In observing how the poem appeals to the reader's sense of sight and sound, students should be able to draw conclusions about the dark, eerie and macabre mood/atmosphere created by constant references to the 'dance of the dead' in the harlot's house. This then leads students to the next question, which focuses on symbolism and significance.
3. Are there any objects/events which are symbolic or significant?
Here, the purpose is to help students delve deeper into the mood/atmosphere of the poem by drawing their attention to the symbolism and significance of specific objects/events in the poem.
Hence, I will ask them about the symbolism/significance of:
-the types of dances mentioned (quadrille, saraband, waltz)
-the role of music in the poem (horn, violin, "Treues Liebes Herz" (German for 'true loving heart') of Strauss, laughter, singing)
-the theme of dancing and singing
-the harlot's house, and the people inside the house ("strange mechanical grotesques", "ghostly dancers", "wire-pilled automatons", "skeletons", "marionette", "clockwork puppet")
-the role of sound and silence
4. How does the setting, mood/atmosphere relate to the main issues/themes in the poem?
To wrap up the poem, I will pull everything together by getting students to think about the poem in its entirety. Hence, I will ask them to comment on how the setting, mood/atmosphere relates to the main themes in the poem. Students should therefore be able to first identify the main issues discussed in the poem ie. moral and spiritual decay/degeneration/death associated with decadence/luxury/wealth, and then discuss how setting, mood/atmosphere helps to achieve this. In doing so, they are making use of prior knowledge acquired from the previous discussions, and bringing everything together for a holistic understanding of how setting, mood/atmosphere functions in the poem.
To facilitate the lesson, I will play the oral reading of 'The Harlot's House' at the beginning before discussion as this helps to invoke more explicitly, the setting, mood/atmosphere of the poem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOGVwch3n54
by Oscar Wilde
WE caught the tread of dancing feet,
We loitered down the moonlit street,
And stopped beneath the harlot's house.
Inside, above the din and fray,
We heard the loud musicians play
The "Treues Liebes Herz" of Strauss.
Like strange mechanical grotesques,
Making fantastic arabesques,
The shadows raced across the blind.
We watched the ghostly dancers spin
To sound of horn and violin,
Like black leaves wheeling in the wind.
Like wire-pulled automatons,
Slim silhouetted skeletons
Went sidling through the slow quadrille.
The took each other by the hand,
And danced a stately saraband;
Their laughter echoed thin and shrill.
Sometimes a clockwork puppet pressed
A phantom lover to her breast,
Sometimes they seemed to try to sing.
Sometimes a horrible marionette
Came out, and smoked its cigarette
Upon the steps like a live thing.
Then, turning to my love, I said,
"The dead are dancing with the dead,
The dust is whirling with the dust."
But she--she heard the violin,
And left my side, and entered in:
Love passed into the house of lust.
Then suddenly the tune went false,
The dancers wearied of the waltz,
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl.
And down the long and silent street,
The dawn, with silver-sandalled feet,
Crept like a frightened girl.
LEVEL: Sec 3/4 Express
OBJECTIVE: To teach students setting and mood/atmosphere (reinforcement lesson)
1. Having read Oscar Wilde's 'The Harlot's House', can you identify where the poem is set? How is the setting described?
This question aims to help students to locate the poem in time and place, i.e. setting. By asking them to describe how the setting is established, they will have to make close references to the poem, focusing on the use of adjectives especially to determine how specific details are being portrayed.
2. Which of the five senses does the poem appeal to? How is this done? What does this achieve?
This question helps students identify the mood/atmosphere or 'feel' of the poem. In observing how the poem appeals to the reader's sense of sight and sound, students should be able to draw conclusions about the dark, eerie and macabre mood/atmosphere created by constant references to the 'dance of the dead' in the harlot's house. This then leads students to the next question, which focuses on symbolism and significance.
3. Are there any objects/events which are symbolic or significant?
Here, the purpose is to help students delve deeper into the mood/atmosphere of the poem by drawing their attention to the symbolism and significance of specific objects/events in the poem.
Hence, I will ask them about the symbolism/significance of:
-the types of dances mentioned (quadrille, saraband, waltz)
-the role of music in the poem (horn, violin, "Treues Liebes Herz" (German for 'true loving heart') of Strauss, laughter, singing)
-the theme of dancing and singing
-the harlot's house, and the people inside the house ("strange mechanical grotesques", "ghostly dancers", "wire-pilled automatons", "skeletons", "marionette", "clockwork puppet")
-the role of sound and silence
4. How does the setting, mood/atmosphere relate to the main issues/themes in the poem?
To wrap up the poem, I will pull everything together by getting students to think about the poem in its entirety. Hence, I will ask them to comment on how the setting, mood/atmosphere relates to the main themes in the poem. Students should therefore be able to first identify the main issues discussed in the poem ie. moral and spiritual decay/degeneration/death associated with decadence/luxury/wealth, and then discuss how setting, mood/atmosphere helps to achieve this. In doing so, they are making use of prior knowledge acquired from the previous discussions, and bringing everything together for a holistic understanding of how setting, mood/atmosphere functions in the poem.
To facilitate the lesson, I will play the oral reading of 'The Harlot's House' at the beginning before discussion as this helps to invoke more explicitly, the setting, mood/atmosphere of the poem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOGVwch3n54
post from diana
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
1.What do you think the tone of the poem is?
The tone of a poem often contributes a lot to its overall effect. Here, I want my students to understand that the essence of a poem sometimes lies not in the words but in something deeper ie. its tone.
2.What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? Do you think it contributes to the flow of the poem and its overall effect?
Here, I’d like my students to see the link between rhyme and tone, where a particular rhyme might contribute to the tone of the poem.
3.Frost describes Nature in his poem. What season do you think he’s describing? Do you think his imagery is representative of anything more abstract?
This question should lead to students linking the imagery that Frost uses to more abstract universal concepts. This will be expand their “text world” and help them to envision a scenario that is outside of the immediate text.
4.What do you think this poem is really about?
All the above questions should lead to this one. By understanding the tone, rhyme scheme and the imagery used in Frost’s poem, I want my students to figure out that the poem is about change and loss of innocence, and to be able to relate to it on a more personal level, as they might be going through the same changes / loss of innocence / gain of experience in their own lives as they navigate through their adolescence years.
Siti Nurdiana
Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
1.What do you think the tone of the poem is?
The tone of a poem often contributes a lot to its overall effect. Here, I want my students to understand that the essence of a poem sometimes lies not in the words but in something deeper ie. its tone.
2.What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? Do you think it contributes to the flow of the poem and its overall effect?
Here, I’d like my students to see the link between rhyme and tone, where a particular rhyme might contribute to the tone of the poem.
3.Frost describes Nature in his poem. What season do you think he’s describing? Do you think his imagery is representative of anything more abstract?
This question should lead to students linking the imagery that Frost uses to more abstract universal concepts. This will be expand their “text world” and help them to envision a scenario that is outside of the immediate text.
4.What do you think this poem is really about?
All the above questions should lead to this one. By understanding the tone, rhyme scheme and the imagery used in Frost’s poem, I want my students to figure out that the poem is about change and loss of innocence, and to be able to relate to it on a more personal level, as they might be going through the same changes / loss of innocence / gain of experience in their own lives as they navigate through their adolescence years.
Siti Nurdiana
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