Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Teaching through Poetry

                                                           Teaching through Poetry

                                                 http://www.houstonlibrary.org/poemas

The purpose of this lesson is to use poetry, to build grade 4 students’ awareness and appreciation of Spanish culture, namely the practice of el dia de los muertos. By exposing students to a poem about the festivity, they will be able to use communicative language to engage in interpretive, interpersonal and presentational communication. They will also be able to make up a poem of their own.



      The Teacher reads the poem. She uses illustrations, gestures, and TPR activities to enhance students’ understanding of unfamiliar words and phrases. The teacher reads the poem again and allows students to mimic the action. The teacher breaks students into pairs. She narrates the poem and let students do the actions. She does this until each pair of student has had a chance at dramatizing the poem.

The teacher asks students if they have ever gone to a grave and decorated it and made food offerings. The Teacher asks students to think about their own style of celebrating memorials. She asks how their celebration is different from El Dia de los Muertos. She asks how are they the same.

The teacher asks the students to draw a visual representation of the poem. They are required to talk about their drawings. They are also asked to write a diamante poem (in a diamond shape) about El Dia de los Muertos.

POEM

Ahi viene el agua
Here comes the water
por la ladera,
down the slope
y se me moja
and my skull
mi calavera.
is getting wet.
La muerte calaca,
Death, a skeleton
ni gorda ni flaca.
neither fat nor skinny.
La muerte casera,
A homemade skeleton
pegada con cera.
stuck together with wax


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