English Grade 7 Lesson Plan 4

Identifying Features of Poems

Key Idea

Identifying Features of Poems

Most Essential Learning Competencies

The learner will:

 Use appropriate reading strategies to meet one’s purpose (e.g., scanning, skimming, close reading, etc.) EN7RC-IV-b-10

 Discover literature as a tool to assert one’s unique identity and to better understand other people (EN7LT-III-b-5)

 Determine the worth of ideas mentioned in the text listened to (EN7LC-IV-g-8.2)

 React to what is asserted or expressed in a text (EN7RC-IIIe-2.1.7)

Component 1: Short review

Time: 7 minutes

 Teacher: In our last three lessons, we read a variety of literary texts. There were two short stories - a fable and a folktale, and two short literary descriptions from a longer narrative (novel).

 Teacher displays and reads questions. Teacher elicits answers from the students orally to Question 1 before giving class 3 minutes to write their answers to Question 2 on the worksheet.

Questions:

Q1. What do these texts have in common? (How are they similar?)

Q2. What is the author’s purpose in telling these kinds of stories?

 Teacher samples answers to the questions, providing feedback and scaffolding student answers where needed to activate student’s prior knowledge. Be prepared for a variety of responses.

Suggested Answers:

Q1. They tell fictional or imaginary stories; they are not factual or real; they have animal and human characters; they are literary texts.

Q2. To entertain; to teach lessons about life in an entertaining way. Folk tales are also told to share a common history, to reinforce cultural values, or highlight important traditions.

Component 2: Purpose of the lesson

Time: 3 minutes

 Teacher: In this lesson, we are going to look at another type of literary text that tells a story, except this time it’s in the form of a poem. A poem which tells a story is called a narrative poem.

Narrative poems are similar to narrative stories - they shave characters, a setting, and a plot. But they can be organized in different ways. Short stories are written in sentences and paragraph. On the other hand, poems are written in verses and stanzas.

Component 3: Language Practice

Time: 5 minutes

Teacher provides explicit instruction on the words and phrases that are important for students to recognize and understand in the lesson.

 Teacher displays the list of words on the board and reads each word aloud.

Here are some words that are important for understanding the poem that we are going to read. We are going to say them together and then talk about their meanings so, you will be able to understand the text when I read it. These words are written on your Worksheet (see C3). The words are:

 verse (writing that is arranged in short lines with a regular rhythm; poetry)

 stanza (a group of lines within a poem)

 balmy (warm and pleasant weather)

 bonds (close connections joining people together)

 woes (big problems or troubles; great sadness)

 fiesta (a festival where people celebrate with a feast and music and dancing)

 cherished (lovingly cared for and protected; adored)

 Let us practice these words. Say them and their meanings after me. Look at their spelling. Let us put them in a sentence. I will do the first one….

“The last word in every verse of the poem rhymes.”

 Now with your partner, write a sentence for each of the other words in the list.

 Teacher samples sentences to make sure the words are used according to their meanings.

[Teacher Notes: Try to get students to write sentences that reveal the meaning of the words. If running short of time, either omit sentence writing or do it orally as a class.

Sound devices like rhyme, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia, etc. are introduced in the earlier grades. Draw attention to examples from the poem to remind students of how these devices are used.]

Component 4: Lesson Activity

Time: 25 minutes in total

Component 4A Reading the text [~ 5 minutes]

Teacher: This poem is a narrative poem. It is called a narrative poem because it tells a story. Sound devices like rhyme and alliteration are used throughout the poem to create special effects. Underline examples when you hear them as I read.

Untitled poem

In balmy fields where rice stalks sway,

We laughed and played the Filipino way.

Underneath the mango tree's shade,

In childhood dreams, our bonds were made.

From childhood games to teenage woes,

We journeyed together as friendship grows.

Through fiestas, storms, and starlit nights,

We shared our joys, we faced our frights.

Though miles may part us, memories stay,

Forever cherished, come what may.

In the Philippines, our bonds are strong,

With friends like family, we belong.

(Adapted from ChatGPT https://chat.openai.com/c/3db16469-81dc-427c-91be-5514bd7333c1)

Component 4B Questions [~10 minutes]

 Teacher reads each question and asks students to write answers on their Worksheets.

Questions:

Q1. Describe the structure of the poem. (How many stanzas? How many verses?)

Q2. What sound devices are used in the poem? List some examples from the poem.

Q3. This is a narrative poem. Can you identify the character/s, the setting, and the plot?

Suggested answers:

Q1. The poem has three stanzas, each with four lines (or verses) in each stanza. The poem is about friends growing up together in the Philippines from childhood through the teenage years.

Q2. Rhyme - the first two lines and last two lines in each stanza rhyme e.g. sway-way, shade-made, woes-grows etc. The rhyming couplets (two lines) help to make the poem sound musical and enjoyable to recite.

Consonance – consonant sounds are repeated e.g. rice stalks sway, storms and starlit nights; Alliteration – first letter of words close together are repeated e.g. faced our frights, friends like family.

Q3. The poem is about friends (characters) growing up together in the Philippines (setting); sharing experiences from childhood e.g. laughing and playing games in the fields and under mango trees, through to the good and bad times of the teenage years e.g. journeying together…shared our joys etc. (plot).

 Teacher asks the students to volunteer their answers, giving feedback and scaffolding their answers.

Component 4C Questions [~10 minutes]

 Teacher displays Questions 4-6 and asks students to write answers on their Worksheets.

Questions:

Q4. What title would you give this poem?

Q5. What is the problem or complication stated in the last stanza?

Q6. How is the problem or complication in the last stanza resolved? (What is the resolution?)

Suggested answers:

Q4. Be prepared for a variety of answers e.g. ‘With friends like family’, ‘Bonds of friendship’, ‘Friends for life’

Q5. The first line in the last stanza states the problem “Though miles part us.” This means that the friends are no longer living close to each other sharing all their experiences.

Q6. The resolution is also in the first line (verse) of the last stanza –the problem (distance that separates the friends) is solved by cherishing the memories they share.

 Teacher asks the students to volunteer their answers, acknowledging student responses and scaffolding their answers where needed.

[Teacher Notes: Question 4 could be done as a class, with the teacher writing answers on the board and students voting on their favorite title. Question 5 could be done in pairs on the Worksheet. This would allow more time for the students to write and for the teacher to sample their answers by getting students to read their writing aloud.]

Component 5: Lesson Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes

Teacher displays the questions:

Q1. The focus of the lesson was on learning about some features of narrative poetry. How has the lesson helped you to identify these features?

Q2. Which questions were easy to answer? Why?

Q3. Which questions were harder to answer? What strategies did you use to answer the harder questions?

[Teacher Notes: It would be worthwhile to do this by getting students to write on the Worksheet, so you have some feedback on the effectiveness of the lesson and how they feel about their learning experience.

However, if pressed for time, you may want to do this section as a class discussion].