On teaching poetry

Reflective Journal on

Teaching Poetry

Episode 41 is on Teaching of Poetry and of all the points imparted two things captured my interest. First is the reading of the poems by the host and the teacher. They were fascinating and I was made to think back of how I do it whenever I have poem in my lesson.  Unfortunately, I don’t read poems the way they do so I usually use the recorded reading of the poem found in the internet, that I present before the class. This strategy draws students’ interest especially when the material found is really good. However, not every poem has a recorded reading version and when this happens I end up reading the poem live in front of my students, an act which I think they do not take positively as I observe them looking at me blankly after my reading. Thus, I sometimes think they take our lessons in poetry out of compulsion rather than by motivation.

Another point is the way the teacher in the demonstration unravelled the sense of the poem by tackling the important words in it. The art of questioning was skilfully applied as she started from denotation to connotation. She successfully made the students understand the message that the poet, EmilyDickinson delivers through the words used in the poem. Her prompt questions – What do you think is common to these words? What do these words do that a book also does? The effect to the meaning if the words frigate, coursers and chariots be substituted with steamboat, horses and automobile; What do you think the word frigate, coursers and chariots make you imagine? were properly ordered that through them making out the sense of the poem became easy for the students. The answers of the students sounded scripted though as their manner of giving those seemed unnatural. Nevertheless, the teacher’s strategy, Socratic Method and her teaching style spelled the difference. 

Through the video I was made to understand that letting students make out sense of a poem requires good reading and a skill in ordering questions on the part of the teacher. Good reading of a poem by a teacher motivates students to learn and it sets their focus to what is presented as based on observation students tend to focus on the activity when they are amazed or fascinated by the teacher. Skill in ordering questions matters a lot for it makes the learners see the connections of ideas, thus leading them to understanding the entirety of the subject discussed.

 Hence, I consider adopting the strategy and all others presented in the video.

Reference:

Teaching of Poetry. (1998). Retrieved March 8, 2015 from www.youtube.com.

On teaching fiction

Reflective Journal on

Teaching Fiction

Journal writing strategy is effective in teaching novels as it does not just make the students comply with the teacher’s requirement but also sustain their interest in the task given. I said so because in the video it was shown that the technique:

1. motivates students to express their thoughts about the text read;

2. engages them to a fascinating reading experience as they do not just read but react to what the text gives:

3. boosts their confidence where communication is concerned as they are given the chance to share what they have written with the class and to react with what has been shared to them, thus encouraging student interaction;

4. encourages the demonstration of multiple intelligences as learners are allowed to accomplish the task in any way they want and depending upon their abilities. For example, in the video, instead of writing, one student did a collage of what he has read and presented it before the class;  and

5. provides the teacher the opportunity to monitor the students’ progress of the novel they are reading and to point out their learning strengths and difficulties, thus remediation may be done depending on the students’ needs.

When I first learned journal writing as a strategy, I understood it as a writing activity only through which students can express their thoughts or insights on a selection read or on any material presented to them for that matter. Hence, I employ the strategy whenever I seek their personal thoughts or insights on something discussed in class.  Also, I usually pose a question for them to answer as I thought they need it to direct them to the ideas that I expect them to present. After watching the video, however, these notions were erased. Through it I learned very significant points such as journal writing activity lets students give their personal observation of the text read; ask questions on or related to the text; express their feelings towards any element of the selection; draw their own interpretation of the characters, setting or anything in the text; write a song or a poem related to the text.

Reference:

Reading and teaching fiction. (1998). Retrieved March 1, 2015 from

www.youtube.com.

On teaching essay

Reflective Journal on

Teaching Essay

Teaching essay seems easy especially when contemporary ones are dealt with. However, teaching an essay written by an author from centuries ago certainly poses a great challenge to any teacher.  I said so because teaching Francis Bacon’s “Of Studies” had not been easy for me. After watching the video, however, I was made to realize why and was able to identify the aspects to which I attributed such difficulties I encountered. First was in the Unlocking Difficulties part wherein I just let my students give the meaning of the words without really emphasizing the differences between how the words were used in 1625 and how they are used in our time. In the video, the teacher had a chart with two columns, the first column being labelled 1625 and the other, 21^st century. Words in 1625 were written and their counterpart for 21^st century use was given. This strategy comprehensibly gave the students ideas on the differences of the meaning and the use of the words presented, thus leading them to understand the sense of the sentences in the essay. Another was the outlining of the essay. Through it the teacher was able to make the learners see the main topics and the supporting details in Bacon’s one paragraph essay. Hence, understanding of the topic and the structure of the essay came naturally to the students. These I never thought of doing. I only asked questions which I thought would lead them to knowing what the author wants to impart. I let them identify the benefits of studies to people and my students gave me the same answers as what the students in the video provided. The only difference is that I just acknowledged the answers without letting them see the structure through an outline. Thus, for those who were not paying attention learning did not occur easily.

The video imparted varied techniques that when applied in teaching essay would facilitate the process and would yield better results among learners.

   

Reference:

Teaching Essay. (1998). Retrieved March 22, 2015 from www.youtube.com.

On teaching drama

Reflective Journal on

Teaching Drama

Teaching drama always involves play review as a final requirement in my case, something which I thought could help me assess my students’ literary competence. For example, when I taught “Hamlet” to Grade 9 students, I let them watch the stage play “William” by PETA. Then, when I taught “Oedipus the King” to the Fourth Year students, I required them to watch “Scrooge” by Repertory Philippines. Reviews basically deal with the elements of the play and structural in concerns. There were times that live plays were not available so I just had my students watch the movie versions of the selections instead and instructed them to compare and contrast the text and the movie versions. Now, after watching the video, one task that caught my attention was the “screen adaptation” which I think would be an effective strategy in assessing students’ understanding of the text discussed besides the fact that it offers interaction among students. In the video the teacher let the students describe scenes in the story without the dialogues, an activity which entailed students’ application of their verbal, linguistic and interpersonal intelligences.  Coming up with the descriptions of the scenes require the use of language and for them to do it communication to their group members must be observed, thus giving them the opportunity to not just demonstrate their understanding of the text but also develop rapport among them as they work cooperatively to realizing the task. Further, from the video I learned that students must be made to understand the connection between drama and theater, something which I think I missed to explain comprehensibly. Thus, when I come back to school, I would see to it that those which I did not observe will be applied so that whatever I’ve missed will be compensated. A different batch of students will be dealt with, this I understand and giving them what I was not able to provide to those who came before them may not in any way make up for my shortcomings; however, the mere fact that I acknowledged my imperfection and am prepared to apply the strategies which would make my students better learn and understand lessons in literature, I think that would be enough.

Reference:

Teaching Drama. (1998). Retrieved March 15, 2015 from www.youtube.com.