5 Methods of Teaching English Poetry – Learn how to teach Poetry
Teaching poetry is an art and requires great skills and patience in both – the teachers and the taught. The teaching of poetry is different from that of prose. The poetry is lyrical and carries sweetness of emotions. It comes out from heart and goes to the heart.
The poet pours all his emotions and experience in to it. So there is the need to go near that emotion that the poet has felt while composing it. The students are to make that experience feel. So great efforts are required while doing the work of poetry recitation. Learn some tips from below using which you can make this work quite interesting and effective.
5 Tips to Teach Poetry in the Class Room
Sample Poem for Practice :
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky :
The dew shall weep thy fall tonight ;
For thou must die.
The rhyme scheme of the poem is aa,aa.
1. Let the students enjoy themselves :
The first thing you have to do is to make the students read and enjoy the poem themselves loudly. Let them enjoy the music of the poem themselves.
2. Let them comprehend the poem :
Don’t tell them what the poet wishes to say through those magical lines. Let them understand themselves in first place.
3. Then Read it to the class :
After the students have done the reading and comprehension work, your work will start.
Read it loudly in the class. Follow the Rhyme scheme and also tell the same to the class. After reading it, explain its meaning to them.
Also read – How to inculcate reading habits among the youngsters ?
4. Discuss the content of the poem with the students –
Ask them how many of them have their meaning close to that of yours. Put some questions to check the comprehension of the students. Then discuss some of the questions related with the poem.
The questions may about its central idea/ theme/ poet’s writing style etc. Allow them to speak their minds. Language technicalities must not come as a hindrance in this discussion.
5. Writing Work –
In the end, ask them to write the summary of the poem. You can also put some questions related with the poem.
This may be the nice way of teaching poetry.