University of the Cordilleras

College of Teacher Education

Teaching and Assessment of Literature Studies

(EnglEd 115)

Topic 1: Strategies in Teaching Poetry

Instructional Materials: Handouts (soft copy) about Strategies in Teaching Literature
Teaching and Learning Activity/ Lesson Proper:
What is poetry?
 Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion
recollected in tranquility. - William Wordsworth
 Poetry is not turning loose of emotions: but an escape from emotion; it is not the
expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those
who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these
things. - T.S. Eliot
 Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. - Carl
Sanburg
 Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. -
Robert Frost
 Poetry isn’t a profession, it’s a way of life. It’s an empty basket; you put your life into
it and make something out of that. - Mary Oliver

Why should I teach poetry?

When students start analyzing poetry beyond comprehension, they begin practicing critical
thinking skills. You are asking them justify their ideas using the text.

The value in teaching poetry comes from:

o empowering your students to tackle challenging texts

o teaching students reading strategies to understand poetry
o thinking about the world and life-issues in new ways
o building reading confidence
o stashing your students’ reading toolboxes with strategies that will help them in the
future

Strategies in Teaching Poetry

1. Read it aloud a few times

 Reading the poems, a lot of times help the students to better understand the meaning of the
poem. The sound and rhythm when you are reading the poem aloud is very pleasing to the
ears that makes the learning fun and enjoyable.

2. Learn about the poet prior to reading their poetry

A lot of poets write poems about their mood, life events, family and relationships, and
nature. First, learn as much as you can about the poet. Where and in what time period did
he or she live? Understanding the time period the poem the poem was written and the
background of the poet is essential to drawing conclusions about the poem’s meaning.
3. Identify and define words the students do not know

Ask the students for words that they are unfamiliar with. Then, have the students write each
word’s definition on their sheet. You can either have a student’s look up the words in a
dictionary, or you can have the definitions prepared ahead of time.
4. Visualize the images, clarify words and phrases.

Visualizing is when the author paints a picture in your head.Visualization brings the
reading to life

5. Teach figurative language to the students

Some poems use simple words and phrases that is easy to understand while other poems
are very challenging to understand because it often use figurative language. Understanding
these poetic devices will help them to unlock the hidden meaning of a poem.
References:

 Dabbs, L. 2013, April. George Lucas Educational Foundation; Eudutopia: Five Poetry
Teaching Tips for New Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/poetry-
teaching-tips-new-teachers-lisa-dabbs.
 Nastasi, A. 2013, September. Flavor Wire: 20 Poets on the Meaning of Poetry. Retrieved
from https://www.flavorwire.com/413949/20-poets-on-the-meaning-of-poetry.
 Williams, K. Scholastic 100: Strategies to Read and Analyze Poetry. Retrieved from
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/strategies-read-and-
analyze-poetry/.
 Just Add Students: Strategies for Teaching Poetry. Retrieved from
https://justaddstudents.com/strategies-for-teaching-poetry/.
 Poets Graves: Poets on Poetry. Retrieved from
https://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/poets_on_poetry.htm#:~:text=Birds%20of
%20Britain-,Poets%20on%20Poetry,from%20emotion%20recollected%20in
%20tranquillity.'&text='Poetry%20is%20not%20a%20turning,but%20an%20escape
%20from%20personality.

Topic 2: Reading Aloud

Read-aloud is an instructional practice where teachers, parents, and caregivers read
texts aloud to children. The reader incorporates variations in pitch, tone, pace, volume,
pauses, eye contact, questions, and comments to produce a fluent and enjoyable delivery.

PROCEDURES
1. Select a Text. Pick a text that would engage the attention of the learners for quite a
while.

Read Aloud
When doing a read-aloud, it is best if all students have a copy of the text so that they
can follow along, usually taking notes as they listen.
Pause for Comments
Pause after each paragraph to check for understanding, clarify misconceptions, and
ask students to make predictions.
Reread Sections
If there are particularly important parts of the material that you want to emphasize,
you can have students reread these sections.

BENEFITS OF READING ALOUD

1. Develops stronger vocabulary
2. Builds connections between the spoken and written word
3. Provides enjoyment
4. Increases attention span
5. Strengthens cognition
6. Provides a safe way of exploring strong emotions
7. Promotes bonding
8. Develops their listening skills
9. Improve their reading comprehension

DISADVANTAGES OF READING ALOUD

1. Students main concern when reading aloud is to struggle with the script to decode it. Little
attention is on meaning.
2. The activity is done by one student. The other students are passively listening (if they are
listening at all)
3. Students don’t understand the purpose of the reading aloud activity. They just read because
you told them so.

REFERENCES:

https://www.myenglishpages.com/blog/reading-aloud/
https://readingeggs.com/articles/2015/03/03/read-aloud-books/
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/read-aloud

Topic 3: Chorale Reading

CHORAL READING (115)

 A form of community reading that involves multiple readers reading the same text
orally.
 Reading aloud in unison with a whole class or group of students.

WHY USE CHORAL READING

 It can provide less skilled readers the opportunity to practice and receive support
before being required to read on their own.

 It provides for speech improvement in pitch, tone, volume, rate, diction and
enunciation.
  It is fun and enjoyable
 It provides a model for fluent reading as students listen.

 It helps improve the vocabulary skills and ability to decode words quickly and
accurately.
 Group reading builds classroom community.

10 TYPES OF CHORAL READING

1. UNISON CHORAL READING

All the students read every line of text in unison. This is a great
option to get started in your classroom. It also helps more
reserved and less confident readers become comfortable with
reading aloud. Students get instant auditory feedback as they hear
their peers reading aloud as they read aloud too.

2. CHIME-IN CHORAL READING

In this arrangement, one student reads specific parts of the text
independently, while the whole group “chimes in” during certain
points, usually key phrases or verses.

3. BUILD UP CHORAL READING

For this model, the number of readers increases (or decreases) as
the text progresses. One student starts reading, and others join in
at designated sections (predetermined lines or phrases) of the text.

4. SOLO CHORAL READING

With this arrangement, one student will read specific lines,
stanzas, or verses alone. Initially, your more confident readers
will volunteer to be the solo reader. However, after practice and
repetition of the same text, less confident or struggling readers
will volunteer, as well.

5. CALL-BACK CHORAL READING

Place readers into two groups. One group reads their lines, and the
other group responds with the lines that follow. This back-and-
forth arrangement allows students to practice a text while
maintaining consistent rhythm and smoothness.
6. CONCURRENT CHORAL READING
For concurrent group reading, divide students into two groups.
One group reads the poem, while the other group rhythmically
chants a line from the poem.  

7. SOLO-TOGETHER CHORAL READING

Assign each student a line, verse, or stanza from the text. Reserve
some lines for all members of the group to read together.

8. RANDOM CHORAL READING

Students can choose the lines they want to read, or the lines of the
poem can be numbered 1-6, and a die can be used to assign lines.
Whatever method is used to assign readers to lines, the groups just
need to make sure that all lines have at least one member reading
 them.

9. ECHO CHORAL READING

The teacher or one student reads a line, and the class or another
group reads the same line back. Students who are “echoing” must
read the line exactly as the reader did, matching pitch, rhythm,
and expression.

10. REVERSE ECHO CHORAL READING

The class or group reads a line, and the teacher or student reads
the same line back, matching pitch, rhythm, and expression.
This is used for students to share poems and other brief texts all together in a
group.
Advantages:

 Provides struggling readers with oral reading practice.

 Teaches students to read more expressively.
 Increases reading fluency.

Disadvantages:

 May leave some students out or left behind.

 Students who do not like to read aloud could develop a dislike for reading and
become anxious.

References:

https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/choral_reading?
fbclid=IwAR0fEKLCOJGE7JQlO5Ed_djlLePhaMmA8SyznNBd9AdDkk7nAr8DVEpgf8w

https://spedellreadingstrategies.weebly.com/choral-reading.html?
fbclid=IwAR3sXrW_EmpLfzwBLP6yV1P0FWr4iNonwtoP-
sGYJkvG2RcWWe94v780h2A#:~:text=Choral%20reading%20is%20a%20literacy,or%20as
%20a%20whole%20class

https://teacherthrive.com/2019/10/choral-reading-and-reading-fluency.html?
fbclid=IwAR26wSVEuxok7t96tGaHcL9sWHZM3JL72uyXb4PmO74nbvhIA1yAOZ73g9M