The Secrets of Poetry

This month I’ve chosen to highlight a poetry collection on my YouTube channel. I’ve taken quiet moments here and there for my own pleasure and listened to poetry readings by Tom O’Bedlam of Ireland. The one that I enjoyed most recently is The Secret of the Machines by Rudyard Kipling. The poem in plain text can be found at the Poetry Foundation.

Kipling’s poem lends itself to a number of uses for teaching advanced ELLs. The most obvious choices are the traditional practices of reading and interpreting. But what else can be done with these verses? As a teacher, I love to get the most I can out of materials. I think it’s a good exercise for us to consider all the possibilities, and then we can select the forms of practice that best suit the needs of the students we’re currently teaching.

Would you like to join me in exploring The Secrets of the Machines? Here are my ideas. Feel free to add more.

• Speaking or Writing about the Theme. Identify how the poet views the relationship between people and machines. Do you agree or disagree with this viewpoint?
• Speaking or Writing about the Message. Do you think Kipling’s verses offer some kind of teaching to us today in the digital age?
• Matching Machines to Their Uses. Carefully read the verses and identify as many machines as you can by their purpose. For example, Kipling is referring to the telephone when he writes, “Would you call a friend from half across the world?/ If you’ll let us have his name and town and state.” You can ask students to use specific structures for this exercise, such as infinitives of purpose or relative clauses. (We use phones in order to place calls. / The telephone, which can be used to call someone halfway across the world, is mentioned in these verses.)
• Interpreting the Attitude of the Machines. Read the first stanza. Underline all the passive verbs and circle all the active verbs. What relationship between the machines and people do these lines express?
• Creating More Voices of the Machines. Use patterns from the poem and machines that didn’t exist in Kipling’s time and create additional statements of purpose or questions. Model: We can text and search and Skype and use Wi-Fi,/ We can wash and rinse and steam and then blow dry.
• Doing a Blend of Solo and Choral Reading. Once the verses are familiar and understood, you can assign lines to students. The poem is long enough for each student to be charged with learning a small part of it. Ask them to practice their lines well. In the correct order, students will stand up and deliver their lines. The class will then repeat those lines as a group.
• Creating a Dialog. In pairs, students can use selected verses and add their own lines to form an imaginary conversation between a machine and a user, a news reporter (or biographer) and a machine, or two machines.  Example: Where did you come from?  - “We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,/ We were melted in the furnace and the pit—” You can focus on rising and falling intonation in this exercise.
• Having More Fun with Personification. Create a speech  as a representative of the machines. Your purpose can be to gain appreciation from your human users or to rebel against their mistreatment. Note: students can work alone or in pairs and deliver their speeches to the class.

Seeing is Believing: An oral reading activity in the present tense

In my private lessons with Natasha, I’ve finally begun to place more emphasis on reading. We are working with a textbook, and while I appreciate the convenience of ready-made materials, I still feel the need to design some original materials to practice specific skills that match her needs exactly at this moment. Natasha is mostly limited to the simple present and present progressive. She also has had limited exposure to English beyond the sentence level.

I decided to create an activity that goes beyond reading a text. I want her to feel a connection to the material, and I believe that can come from a sense of ownership. In my Seeing is Believing_handout the student must select sentences and sequence them in a logical order. She will construct her own description for a photo and then practice reading the text aloud, with proper pausing and intonation. I hope this activity works for your lower level students, too.

Reflecting on How We Ask Students to Read

Recent consultations on lesson planning have encouraged me to reflect on all the ways we can use texts in the classroom. I’ve written in the past on ways to read with students, from silent reading to choral reading. I’ve also suggested activities to help teach text organization and suprasegmentals.

I’d like to offer some additional ideas to maximize the teaching potential of texts brought into the classroom.

• To teach vocabulary. Underline 5-6 target words in the text. Write synonyms or antonyms on the board and have students match the underlined words to the ones listed on the board. Recycle these words in your discussion of the text and in a related communicative activity.
• To focus on meaning and sentence structure. Similar to the previous idea. Underline 3-4 sentences in the text. Write paraphrases on the board and have students match them to the underlined sentences. Discuss the alternative words and grammatical structures. This task could lead into a grammar presentation. For example, you can show how full adjective or adverb clauses become reduced or how an infinitive of purpose can have the equivalent meaning of a conditional.
• To focus on purpose. Place the students in pairs. Number each paragraph. Write the numbers on slips of paper, shuffle the slips, and give a random number to each pair. Students will work with their partners to craft one question that targets the purpose of their paragraph. These questions will be read aloud, and the class will identify the corresponding paragraphs. Offer prompts for question formation: Which paragraph discusses ___? Which paragraph explains ___? In which paragraph does the author ___? Which paragraph presents ___?

Related posts include:

• Mix and Match – An activity that practices skimming and helps students focus on the writer’s purpose.
• Many Magazine, Many Benefits - An activity that exposes students to popular magazines and teaches a set of skills: reading (scanning, skimming); academic skills/ critical-thinking skills (making predictions, making inferences).

Inquiring Minds: using headlines to practice embedded questions

Click here to listen to my introduction to the activity Inquiring Minds.

A while ago I suggested a writing activity to practice embedded questions. Questionable Qualities focuses on identifying sentence structure (embedded questions as subjects, objects, and complements) and limits self-expression to sentence generations based on fictitious characters. The activity allows for communicative practice, but remains somewhat controlled.

If students demonstrate comfort with “Questionable Questions”, I’d like to suggest a speaking activity using authentic headlines. See my Inquiring Minds_handout. Tabliods would suit this activity well, but you may choose the sources based on your knowledge of the students’ interests. Include current issues that they would likely be hearing about outside the classroom.

Happy teaching!

Puzzling Paraphrases: A whole language activity for upper level students

Much classroom activity can be based on a lengthy quote that has depth. We come across such thought-provoking quotes in various places –  in a magazine, during a political speech, on the radio, etc. The next time you encounter one, make note of it. Later find a copy to share with a group of upper level students, and consider using a combination of the ideas listed below to create a whole language activity.

• Many attritbute the following quote to Socrates. (See Wikiquote article.) Apparently there is some debate over the source. Regardless, the statement is provocative and discussion-worthy.

“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.” (Retrieved from goodreads.)

1. Discussion: Who do you think said this? What kind of person? Young, old, man, woman, parent, grandparent, politician…?
2. Discussion: Summarize the thought in one sentence. Decide if you agree or disagree with the statement.
3. Reading/ speaking: Create a puzzle of words. Break up the quote into phrases. Before students see the quote as a whole, ask them to assemble the pieces in the most logical order. Have them work in pairs and then compare their sequencing. Here’s how I’d break up the above quote before I mixed up the pieces: our youth now love// luxury //they have bad manners, contempt for// authority// they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of // exercise// they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their// parents// chatter before// company// gobble up their // food //and tyrannize their //teachers//
4. Reading/ writing: Make the quote a gapped text. Have them work solo or with a partner to fill in the blanks. Let them compare their work before revealing the actual quote. Model with above quote: Our ________ now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for _________; they show disrespect for their _______ and love chatter in place of ________; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they _______ their parents, chatter before company; _______ up their food and ______ their teachers.
5. Speaking or writing topics: Allow for students to make a personal connection to such a quote. For example, with the model quote above, I asked a group of students these questions: (1) How would you describe the differences between your generation and your parents’? And you grandparents’? (2) How do you think the generation after you will differ? (3) To what degree should parents influence their children? To what degree do you take after your parents?

Top 5 Uses of Top 10 Lists

I discovered a site that publishes top ten lists. That’s all they do. Well, there is some variation.  They have top 20 and top 25 lists as well. The List Universe. The site offers materials that are appropriate for upper level students. Lists contain brief explanations for each item. As an added bonus, the site has begun to make podcasts of existing lists. What does that mean for classroom use? It means you can find some lists presented as an audio file and the original publication serves as the transcript. If you really enjoy the content, you can subscribe to Listverse podcasts on iTunes. The podcasts use fast but very clear speech. (Click here for a sample.)

The archives on this site organize the lists into a dozen categories, giving you a broad selection of topics. You’ll probably want to bypass the categories of Bizarre and Controversial and browse more classroom appropriate ones, such as Art & Literature, Fact & Fiction, and Leisure & Travel. One example of a tame but still interesting topic is Top 20 Facts About Sleep.

What can you do with the lists? I think back to my early experiments with top ten lists to offer these suggestions. You may choose to focus on one or more skills within a single lesson.

1. Detailed listening practice. Use a podcast. First listening: identify the items on the list. Second: use a gapped text to listen for details. Recommended list: 10 Most Annoying Time Wasters.
2. Understanding a theme. Hide the list title and present the items of the list one by one on the board.  As you post each new item, it should be easier for the class to guess the theme. What would they title the list? You can either have students volunteer their guesses as the activity progresses, or you can ask them to wait until the last item is shown and then write down their ideas. After they submit their guesses, show the actual title. Recommended list: Top 10 Ways to Save Money on Food.
3. Understanding a theme. Show the title and hide the items. This is the opposite of the previous activity. Have students work in pairs or small groups to generate their own items for a given list title. Then they can compare their lists to the original one. Recommended list: 10 Greatest Food Combinations.
4. Self-expression through writing. Students can respond to a list in writing. Revised and approved texts can be posted on the site’s forum.
5. Debates and presentations. Lists loaded with personal opinion make for interesting discussion. Discussion can center around the ranking. Assign each pair or small group an item on the list and ask them to prepare an argument for ranking their item number one. Recommended list: Top 10 Everyday Inventions.

Getting the Most Out of Authentic Texts

If you’ve decided to bring in an authentic text to share with your students, what do you plan to do with it? You can use a text to meet a number of objectives, which include but are not limited to:

• Teaching text organization and comprehension of main ideas.

1. Scramble the paragraphs of a short article and have students work in pairs or small groups to reassemble the text.
2. Remove the title as well as any section headings. Challenge students to create a main title as well as suggestions for section headings. Compare their ideas to the original ones written by the author.
3. Present a gapped text. On the board write the 3-4 missing sentences from the article. Be sure that the sentences are removed from different paragraphs so that the main ideas/ subtopics are clearly different. Have students work with a partner to insert the sentences in the most appropriate places.

These kinds of exercises facilitate thinking in English and not simply about English.

 

• Teaching suprasegmentals.

1. Practice intonation patterns. Select an excerpt from a dialogue (play, film script, novel, etc.) that contains a good mix of sentence types (yes-no questions, wh- questions, sentences with a series of items, etc.) which are ideally said by different characters. First reading: The teacher reads and the students identify the pattern (e.g., rising intonation). Second reading: Place students in small groups of three or four and assign each member a pattern (e.g., Student A – rising, Student B – falling, Student C – rise fall). The sentences will be read in the order they are written, but all the sentences of a given pattern must be read by the same student. Third reading: The students will assume character roles, including a narrator if necessary.
2. Practice rhythm through thought groups. Select a short article or brief excerpt. As a class, mark appropriate places to pause. Read the text orally as a class and a second time in pairs, observing the noted thought groups.

These reading activities allow you to choose a highly appealing source, such as a popular film, a TV show, or a speech made by a celebrity. If the resources are available, you could compare a student reading to the original recording.

Related ideas can be found in my posts on paraphrasing and editing.

The Art of Creating Activities: Using Museum Websites for Language Teaching

As we all know, the Internet has opened up a wealth of learning opportunities. The trick is to find a resource and then figure out how to use it. While reading my favorite magazine, The Week, I discovered that the world’s museums have been busy making much of its contents available to people who cannot physically visit them. The Louvre, the Hermitage Museum, and the Smithsonian are three such institutions. 

Not every trip to Paris allows time for a day at the Louvre (at least, that’s been my experience). Now anyone can go online and take a virtual tour. If your students do so, remind them to select English on the home page before they begin the tour! Here another possibility.

• Choose Kaleidoscope and select a visual theme, such as “Daily Life”. Click to enlarge or zoom in on the images in the order you wish the class to view them. Have students state a brief description of what they see using targeted grammar. Be sure students know the words painting, sculpture, work of art, and any other vocabulary relevant to the pieces you’ll be showing. Examples: (present progress) “Seated Man Writing” is a sculpture. The man is sitting, and he is writing. / (adjective clauses) “Reading” (by Fragonard) is a drawing in which two women are sitting. One is reading. The other, who is dressed in a beautiful gown, is in the front, and she is listening.

 

The Louvre

Virtual visits to the Hermitage are also possible. Here’s an idea to develop reading skills.

• Attend the Virtual Academy. Challenge upper level students to read for details. For example, if they select the “course” on the history of the Winter Palace, they could be given this list of questions to answer as they move through the slide presentation.

Model: [Slides 1-6]

1. Who lived at the Winter Palace?
2. How did Russia’s relationship with Sweden influence the construction of the Winter Palace?
3. Name at least two positive contributions Peter I made to Russia.
4. How did Elizabeth choose to decorate the palace and why?
5. Who was the first true owner of the palace?

The Hermitage

Of the three, I found the Smithsonian site to be the most attractive. Maybe the appeal had to do with the introductory video hosted by the popular American actor Ben Stiller. The video itself could be used for listening, speaking, and vocabulary practice.

• Comprehension questions based on the video (first 3 minutes)

1. Who founded the Smithsonian?
2. How large is the Smithsonian?
3. (1:40) What does Ben Stiller emphasize “the” when he says, “A lot of people think the castle…is the Smithsonian”?
4. (2:09) Retell the story of the “The Peacock Room” designed by the artist Whistler.

• Vocabulary. Listen to the video (first 3 minutes) and explain the meaning of these phrases:

1. (1:05) hall of fame
2. (1:37) (not) kidding around
3. (2:21) went to town (on it)
4. (2:57) crack a code

 

Got another suggestion for using one of these sites? Please share it.

The Power of Polls

I’ve suggested use of polls and surveys in the past. Those ideas included activities to target:

• Word parts
• Collocations
• Quantifiers
• Question formation

The above activities were designed with intermediate and advanced students in mind. What about beginners? How can polls assist those with a limited amount of language, especially in terms of reading and writing? I began to think about this as I dropped my son off today at kindergarten.  I was struck by the delight he takes in participating in the daily poll. It’s a simple sheet of paper posted on the wall next to the door. The teacher updates it every morning.  As students arrive, they read and take the daily poll. Sometimes they assist one another with the reading, but each child does his or her own writing. Imagine if during one week the questions were all similar in format. Then unfamiliar words would likely be recognizable words (sight words) by the end of the week. The questions could make use of target vocabulary: colors, emotions, numbers, etc.

Model A: You can create two columns YES and NO and have students write their names in the appropriate column. This tests their ability to read target words, in this case the names of colors, and write their first names.

                Monday: Are you wearing RED today?

                Tuesday: Are you wearing BLUE today?

                Wednesday: Are you wearing GREEN today?

                Thursday: Are you wearing BLACK today?

                Friday:  Are you wearing YELLOW today?

Model B: You can create a list of the students’ names. The students must write their answer next to their name. This tests their ability to recognize their names, read target words, and rewrite those words.

                Monday: Are you TIRED or NOT TIRED today?

                Tuesday: Are you HAPPY or SAD today?

                Wednesday: Are you HUNGRY or NOT HUNGRY now?

                Thursday: Are you COLD, HOT, or OKAY now?

                Friday:  Are you THIRSTY or NOT THIRSTY now?

Second-hand Writing: Maximizing the usefulness of a writing activity

I hope the title caught your attention, but perhaps it’s also caused some confusion. Let me explain. I’d like to consider the possibility of using student compositions as the basis for other activities. It’s similar to a craftsman building something from recycled materials. Compositions that have been thoroughly revised and already graded could be used among the same group of students or with other groups at similar levels (assuming you have the authors’ permission) in the context of a new lesson. Here are two possible “second-hand” activities:

1. Solo reading and speaking to the class

Student compositions written by one group can be shared with a second. Students receiving the essays can be assigned questions to answer:

• For essays expressing a point of view (problem-solution, cause-effect, etc.): What is the topic? What is the author’s opinion? Do you agree with the author? Why or why not? Be prepared to share your answers with the class.
• For essays presenting information (narrative, definition, etc.): What is the topic? Can you summarize the essay? Did you learn anything new from the author? Can you provide any additional information on the topic? Be prepared to share your answers with the class.

2. Paired reading and problem-solving discussion

Students at one level should be able to comprehend not only the writings of their classmates but also of those one level head. This means a teacher could share the compositions of a high intermediate class with the students at the intermediate or low intermediate level. The number of unfamiliar words or grammatical structures shouldn’t be high enough to hinder comprehension. That said, try the following activity with a narrative essay or short story.

• Story Scramble: You’re likely familiar with this game. I put a spin on it for a LEA-inspired activity (Language Experience Approach) back in March 2009. Now we’re taking a story or a description of events as related on paper by a student and dividing it up into 10-12 segments. This needs to be done by the teacher in advance. I recommend keeping sets of the story in envelopes. You’ll need about 5-6 sets so that the class can work either in pairs or small groups. Each group will assemble the story to the best of their ability.  One group can volunteer to read the assembled story to the class. Alternative sequences can be discussed.

VARIATION: You can have each group work with a different story. After an assigned amount of time (e.g., 10 minutes), you can present a copy of the original story to the group so they can check their work. Groups can hand back the original “whole” copies to the teacher and exchange sets so the activity is repeated. Finally, after all the materials have been collected, have volunteers recall and orally summarize the 5-6 stories. The class can listen and assist as necessary.