Learning English through Poems and Songs (Secondary 4-6) A Resource Package

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ReUploaded by arcadius 25.05.2015

This resource package is designed and developed in support of the English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4 – 6) (2007) and the Suggested Schemes of Work for the Elective Part of the Three-year Senior Secondary English Language Curriculum (Secondary 4 – 6) (2007). It provides learning resources and teaching ideas for the
development and implementation of the elective module “Learning English through Poems and Songs”.

Aims
The rationale behind the package is that students will have ample opportunities to enrich their English learning experience and extend a range of language abilities through exploring poems and songs. Carefully designed and sequenced, the materials and activities in this package aim to: strengthen students’ skills of understanding and appreciating the themes, structures, features and language in a range of poems and songs; help students to respond to and give expression to the imaginative ideas, moods and feelings expressed in poems and songs through written, oral and performance means;and enable students to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in their own creative production and critical appreciation of poems and songs.

How to use this resource package:
This resource package comprises student’s handouts, teacher’s notes, supplementary materials and a CD-ROM. It covers the key focuses suggested in the SoWs for the module organised under five parts, i.e. “Module Introduction”, “Introduction to Poems and Songs”, “Reading and Writing Poetry”, “Appreciating Songs and Writing Song Lyrics” and “Presentation on Poem or Song”.
The first part gives students an overview of the aims and requirements of the module as well as the purposes of the Poem and Song Journal that students are encouraged to keep. In the second part, students learn to identify, understand and appreciate the features, structures, language and themes of English poems and songs.
The third part exposes students to different types of poems including acrostics, shape poems, poems making use of different grammatical patterns, limericks, haiku, narrative poems and ballads.
Apart from allowing them insights into their characteristics, purposes and effects, it encourages free expression and personal responses through engaging students in writing and performing poems. In the fourth part, students explore the meanings, language and features of the lyrics of some pop songs, commercial jingles and musical numbers. They will also develop the skills to write their own lyrics and perform a song.
Towards the end of the module, students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their critical understanding of one or more poems or songs as well as their knowledge and experience gained from the module through presentations and display of their Poem and Song Journals. Given the range of learning activities in this package, teachers are encouraged to exercise careful planning, be selective about the materials and freely adapt them to suit their school contexts and students’ needs, interests and abilities.

Student’s Handouts
The student’s handouts (indicated by the page number prefix “S”) provide learning materials which enable students to understand and appreciate the themes, language and features of a range of poems and songs which will develop their integrated language skills,
cultural awareness, critical thinking and creativity.

Teacher’s Notes
The teacher’s notes (indicated by the page number prefix “T”) provide explanations of teaching steps and alternative teaching suggestions as to how to carry out the activities.
Where appropriate, teachers may feel free to select and flexibly adapt the activities into assessment tasks to promote learning and teaching.
To help teachers to support “less advanced students” and stretch “more advanced students”, additional suggestions are contained in “Catering for Learner Diversity” boxes. Suggested time allocations have been provided for each activity for teachers’ reference during lesson planning. However, the suggested time is for indicative purposes only and will vary according to learners’ needs and abilities. Teachers should use their professional judgement to gauge appropriate timings with a particular group of learners in mind.
References to websites that contain materials helpful to the learning and teaching of particular activities are also included in the teacher’s notes. The web links or addresses which were accurate at the time this package was published are yet subject to change. Teachers might like to make use of a search engine to regain access to any resources that have been relocated, or may look for similar resources on the web.

Supplementary Materials
The supplementary materials section provides additional teaching materials and resources for teachers’ use and reference.
The following items are included in this section:
Supplementary vocabulary and grammar activities related to individual activities in the package are included. Teachers are encouraged to select those that are suitable for their students for consolidation and extension purposes.

Learning English through Poems and Songs

Supplementary activities on appreciating different types of poetry provide a broad range of linguistically rich learning resources to develop students’ language skills. The selection of poems in this section, presented in alphabetical order, includes additional materials to Part 3 “Reading and Writing Poetry” as well as poem types not covered elsewhere in the package. Teachers could select the types of poetry and activities to cater for students’ diverse interests, abilities and needs.
Supplementary activities on appreciating Oliver! cover songs in the musical not included in Part 4. A variety of tasks and an inventory of questions are provided to deepen students’ knowledge and skills in appreciating various aspects of the musical. They also serve as a reference for teachers to develop materials for other songs and musicals deemed suitable for their students.

CD-ROM

The CD-ROM consists of an electronic version of the learning and teaching materials in this resource package, as well as recordings that support some of the learning activities in the package. The text files are available in both PDF and MS WORD formats for teachers’ ease of use and adaptation. The audio recordings in the CD-ROM include examples of poetry reading and advertising jingles that illustrate the use of stress, rhythm, rhyme and a range of basic
literary techniques used in English poetry and songs. There are also three audio recordings and one PowerPoint file on individual presentations to demonstrate effective delivery techniques. Track numbers of the recordings as well as information on the PowerPoint file are provided in the explanations for relevant activities as well as on the cover page of each unit in the teacher’s notes.

Contents Page
PREFACE i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
STUDENT’S HANDOUTS
Part 1: Module Introduction S1
Part 2: Introduction to Poems and Songs S7
Introduction to Poetry S8
Characteristics of English Poetry S10
Appreciating Poems and Songs S17
Part 3: Reading and Writing Poetry S29
Acrostics S30
Shape Poems S33
Poems Making Use of Different Grammatical Patterns S36
Limericks S42
Haiku S45
Narrative Poems S50
Ballads S56
Part 4: Appreciating Songs and Writing Song Lyrics S59
Song Lyrics Reading and Writing S60
Song Presentation for Commercials S63
Musical Appreciation and Performing a Song S67
Part 5: Presentation on Poem or Song S72
Planning and Organising Your Presentation S73
Sample Presentations S74
TEACHER’S NOTES
Part 1: Module Introduction T1
Part 2: Introduction to Poems and Songs T6
Part 3: Reading and Writing Poetry T22
Part 4: Appreciating Songs and Writing Song Lyrics T49
Part 5: Presentation on Poem or Song T65
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Vocabulary Challenge: “Rain”
Grammar Challenge: Grammar Terms
Quick Quiz: “As X as Y” Expressions
Appreciating Different Types of Poetry
Appreciating the Musical Oliver! (I)
Appreciating the Musical Oliver! (II)
Appreciating the Musical Oliver! (III)

File Type: PDF File Size: 2.70MB

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