3 Using poems and stories in the classroom

In the next activity, you will look at the language of a poem.

Activity 4: Appreciating poetry

Read this short poem aloud to yourself, or read it aloud with a colleague.

‘When Day Is Done’ byRabindranath Tagore

If the day is done
if birds sing no more
if the wind has flagged tired
then draw the veil of darkness thick upon me
even as thou hast wrapt the earth with the coverlet of sleep
and tenderly closed the petals of the drooping lotus at dusk.

Now answer these questions:

  • Does this poem make you feel happy or sad? Why is this?
  • What does it make you think about?
  • Do you think very young children can appreciate it? Why,or why not?
  • How would you interpret the phrases ‘a thick veil of darkness’, ‘a coverlet of sleep that wraps the earth’ and ‘drooping petals’? How would you explain them to your students?

Share your explanations of these phrases with your colleague. Could you or your student draw or physically enact these poetic images?

Pause for thought

Even the youngest children can appreciate poetry when it is recited to them. They may not understand every word, but they can learn to love the sounds and rhythms of language.They will also begin to understand words and phrases that they are not yet able to read on their own.

  • Which poems have you used in the classroom?
  • Which could you use?

Hearing high-quality literature prepares students to read these written words for themselves. The final activities in this unit guide you in introducing literature to your students.

There are many moments throughout the school day where you can read a short story or recite a poem without this impacting on the overall timetable.

To start with, do not attach any language work or writing tasks to these listening activities. Let them be enjoyable opportunities interact with your students.

Activity 5: Reciting a poem to your class

  1. Choose a short poem that you know well. Memorise it and practise reciting it at home or with colleagues.
  2. Choose a suitable time to tell it to students. This might be at the start of the school day, before or after lunch, or at the end of the day. Write the title of the poem on the blackboard.
  3. Make eye contact with your students when you tell it. You may need to explain some of the vocabulary, or draw it on the blackboard.
  4. Repeat the poem later in the week, or in the following week, so that students can get to know it.
  5. Invite your students to recite it along with you, perhaps adding gestures or actions.
  6. Invite them to recite it without you on other days, perhaps in pairs or groups. Use these occasions to observe their understanding and their language confidence.

Activity 6: Reading aloud to your class

Choose a high-quality children’s story from a book. Get to know the story well, reading it aloud at home or to colleagues.

Introduce the book to your students. Have them sit in a semi-circle around you in the classroom or outside under a tree.

Show your students the cover of the book. Ask them what they think it might be about. If the cover shows a forest, ask if anyone in the class has ever been in a forest and what this was like. If it is about rain, ask your students if they like the rain or not, and why. Read out the title and invite further guesses as to what the book might be about.

Display the book so that everyone can see the words and pictures. With younger students you may want to follow the words with your finger as you read them.

Read the story slowly and with expression, drawing attention to the pictures when they occur.

When you have finished, ask your students these questions:

  • What did you like about this story?
  • Was there anything you didn’t like?
  • Was there anything that puzzled you? What was this?

Reread the story later the same week, or in the following week, so that your students can get to know it.

Invite your students to retell the story, perhaps in pairs or groups. Observe which students can recall the story, and which students can extend or change it. Observe which students show interest and understanding, and which students appear disinterested or confused.

Let your students’ responses guide your choice of what to read to them next.

Resource 4 includes more suggestions on using storytelling in your classroom.

Video: Storytelling, songs, role play and drama

Pause for thought

  • What was your experience of the poetry recital and story reading activities outlined above?
  • What were your students’ reactions to each of them?

If you have never recited poetry to your students or read a story to them, you may have been nervous the first time. But both you and your students will get used to these activities when you regularly include them in your teaching, and your students will come to look forward to them and enjoy them – perhaps even eventually reciting poems or reading stories themselves.

2 Choosing literature to use in the classroom

4 Summary