SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
Lesson 7
Reader-centered Approach VS Language-based
Approach 1.1
Reader-centered Approach
According to Chen (2009), one of the best
methodologies used to teach English literature in ESL
classrooms is the reader-centered approach. This approach
is based on reader-response criticism, and emphasizes the
individual as a reader-responder. It argues that reading a
literary text is part of a complex process that includes
collaboration between the writer, the text, and the reader. It
is undeniable that every student has different taste in
reading. Some may like reading financial books while some
others prefer reading novels or fictions. In my opinion when
it comes to reading literature, it is not all about the quality
of the literature itself but the student’s reading experience.
Some literature texts appear to be too hard for students to
grab the meaning while some other students may find them
too easy.
Therefore, it is best that an ESL teacher knows the
students’ current abilities before deciding to pick which
literature materials to be used. Besides, not all students
prefer to read the same literature of the same title. To solve
the problem, the teacher may offer students some different
literature of different titles as long as it is within the scope
of the curriculum, and allow them to pick one of their
interests. Only then are they able to free themselves from
pressure and integrate their feelings and emotions in the
literature while reading. They will collaborate more
effectively between the writer and the text, thus boosting
their understanding.
Language-based approach is quite different
from the reader-centered approach. A language-based
approach is a broad approach which covers a range of
different goals and procedures. Generally speaking, this
approach focuses on a closer integration of language and
literature in the classroom, since this will help the students
achieve their main aim which is to improve their knowledge
and proficiency in English (Bose, n.d.). In other words,
using a Language-based Approach, ESL students mainly
focus on the comprehension of the literature. They
employ techniques and other necessary procedures to
extract the meaning of the text. When reading literature,
they must interpret and make a critical judgment of the text
in order to understand the whole context. Generally,
Language-based approach helps students broaden their
knowledge and awareness of the English language through
stylistics.
Stylistic analysis can also provide a way of
comparing different types of texts (literary or non-literary)
in order to ascertain how they fulfill different social
functions.
Paraphrastic approach that deals with the
apparent meaning of the text. For students to understand
especially the difficult words in the text, the teacher can use
simple words.
Information-based approach is another one. This
approach involves the teaching of literature concepts.
Students in this approach are expected to make use of
literature knowledge in their reading and writing of
literature.
Moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that
contemplates what is right and wrong. It explores the nature
of morality and examines how people should live their lives
in relation to others.
Moral philosophy has three branches.
One branch, meta-ethics , investigates big picture
questions such as, “What is morality?” “What is justice?”
“Is there truth?” and “How can I justify my beliefs as better
than conflicting beliefs held by others?”
Another branch of moral philosophy is normative
ethics. It answers the question of what we ought to do.
Normative ethics focuses on providing a framework for
deciding what is right and wrong. Three common
frameworks are deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue
ethics.
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
The last branch is applied ethics . It addresses
specific, practical issues of moral importance such as war
and capital punishment. Applied ethics also tackles specific
moral challenges that people face daily, such as whether
they should lie to help a friend or co-worker.
So, whether our moral focus is big picture questions, a
practical framework, or applied to specific dilemmas, moral
philosophy can provide the tools we need to examine and
live an ethical life.
Stylistics is a branch of applied linguistics
concerned with the study of style in texts, especially, but not
exclusively, in literary works. Also called literary
linguistics, stylistics focuses on the figures, tropes, and
other rhetorical devices used to provide variety and a
distinctness to someone's writing. It is linguistic analysis
plus literary criticism.
According to Katie Wales in "A Dictionary of
Stylistics," the goal of "most stylistics is not simply to
describe the formal features of texts for their own sake, but
in order to show their functional significance for the
interpretation of the text; or in order to relate literary effects
to linguistic 'causes' where these are felt to be relevant."
Studying a text closely helps to unearth layers of
meaning that run deeper than just the basic plot, which
happens on the surface level.
Elements of Style in Literature
Elements of style studied in literary works are what
is up for discussion in any literature or writing class, such
as:
Big-Picture Elements
❖ Character development: How a character
changes throughout the story
❖ Dialogue: Lines spoken or internal
thoughts
❖ Foreshadowing: Hints dropped about
what's going to happen later
❖ Form: Whether something is poetry, prose,
drama, a short story, a sonnet, etc.
❖ Imagery: Scenes set or items shown with
descriptive words
❖ Irony: An occurrence that's the opposite of
what's expected
❖ Juxtaposition: Putting two elements
together to compare or contrast them
❖ Mood: The atmosphere of a work, the
attitude of the narrator
❖ Pacing: How quickly the narration unfolds
❖ Point of view: The narrator's perspective;
first person (I) or third person (he or she)
❖ Structure: How a story is told (beginning,
action, climax, denouement) or how a piece
is organized (introduction, main body,
conclusion vs. reverse-pyramid journalistic
style)
❖ Symbolism: Using an element of the story
to represent something else
❖ Theme: A message delivered by or shown
in a work; its central topic or big idea
❖ Tone: The writer's attitude toward the
subject or manner with choosing
vocabulary and presenting information,
such as informal or formal
Line-by-Line Elements
❖ Alliteration: Close repetition of
consonants, used for effect
❖ Assonance: Close repetition of vowels,
used for effect
❖ Colloquialisms: Informal words, such as
slang and regional terms
❖ Diction: The correctness of the overall
grammar (big picture) or how characters
speak, such as with an accent or with poor
grammar
❖ Jargon: Terms specific to a certain field
❖ Metaphor: A means to compare two
elements (Can also be big-picture if an
entire story or scene is laid out to show a
parallel with something else)
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LITERATURE STUDIES
❖ Repetition: Using the same words or
phrases in a short amount of time for
emphasis
❖ Rhyme: When the same sounds appear in
two or more words
❖ Rhythm: having a musicality to the writing
such as by using stressed and unstressed
syllables in a line of poetry or sentence
variety or repetition in a paragraph
❖ Sentence variety: Variation in the
structure and length of consecutive
sentences
❖ Syntax: The arrangement of words in a
sentence
Elements of style are the characteristics of the
language used in the written work, and stylistics is their
study. How an author uses them is what makes one writer's
work distinct from another, from Henry James to Mark
Twain to Virginia Woolf. An author's way of using the
elements creates their distinct writing voice.
Why Studying Literature Is Useful
Just as a baseball pitcher studies how to properly
grip and throw a type of pitch a certain way, to make the
ball go in a certain location, and to create a game plan based
on a lineup of specific hitters, studying writing and literature
helps people to learn how to improve their writing (and thus
communication skills) as well as to learn empathy and the
human condition.
By becoming wrapped up in a character's thoughts
and actions in a book, story, or poem, people experience that
narrator's point of view and can draw on that knowledge and
those feelings when interacting with others in real life who
might have similar thought processes or actions.
Literary stylistics: Studying forms, such as poetry, drama,
and prose
Interpretive stylistics: How the linguistic elements work
to create meaningful art
Evaluative stylistics: How an author's style works—or
doesn't—in the work
Corpus stylistics: Studying the frequency of various
elements in a text, such as to determine the authenticity of a
manuscript
Discourse stylistics: How language in use creates meaning,
such as studying parallelism, assonance, alliteration, and
rhyme
Modern Understanding of Rhetoric
As far back as ancient Greece and philosophers like
Aristotle, the study of rhetoric has been an important part of
human communication and evolution as a result. It's no
wonder, then, that author Peter Barry uses rhetoric to define
stylistics as "the modern version of the ancient discipline
known as rhetoric," in his book "Beginning Theory."
Barry goes on to say that rhetoric teaches "its
students how to structure an argument, how to make
effective use of figures of speech, and generally how to
pattern and vary a speech or a piece of writing so as to
produce maximum impact."
He says that stylistics' analysis of these similar
qualities—or rather how they are utilized—would,
therefore, entail that stylistics is a modern interpretation of
the ancient study.
However, he also notes that stylistics differs from simple
close reading in the following ways:
"1. Close reading emphasizes differences between literary
language and that of the general speech community.
...Stylistics, by contrast, emphasizes connections between
literary language and everyday language.
"2. Stylistics uses specialized technical terms and
concepts which derive from the science of linguistics,
terms like 'transitivity,' 'under-lexicalisation,' 'collocation,'
and 'cohesion'.
"3. Stylistics makes greater claims to scientific
objectivity than does close reading, stressing that its
methods and procedures can be learned and applied by all.
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
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Hence, its aim is partly the 'demystification' of both
literature and criticism."
Lesson 8
Comprehension questions in prepared texts often
target the factual details of a text (L1 type of questions)
without considering the other levels of comprehension
which are equally important (particularly at the higher
levels).
There are 3 main levels of comprehension in
understanding, listening, or reading
text which are:
➢ Literal: This involves understanding the specific
information in the text.
➢ Interpretive: This involves integrating information and
making inferences.
At the interpretive level, readers/listeners make connections
between ideas found at the literal level. They also make
inferences.
➢ Applied: This involves using information from the text
to construct knowledge.
LITERAL - Write questions that have correct answers,
which may be found in the text. Write down all the facts,
characters, locations and sequential events.
Example: Whom did Little Red Riding Hood’s mother send
her to meet?
For Essay: Find quote/s that proves your response.
INFERENTIAL - Write questions and answers, which
require the reader to make an “educated guess” or
prediction/s about what is going to happen in the story or
why something is so.
Example: Do you think Little Red Riding Hood will make
it to her grandmother’s house safely? Why, or why not?
For Essay: Find quote/s that supports why you
guessed/predicted what you did and why you concluded
what you did.
APPRECIATIVE - Write questions and answers that
require the reader to make a personal response to a character
or situation in the story or to the author’s purpose.
Example: How would you feel if you were sent off into the
woods alone?
EXPLAIN your answer.
For Essay: Find quote/s that supports or led you to why you
thought what you did.
CRITIQUE - Write questions and answers that require the
reader to make a judgment about the author’s use of
language, style of writing, execution of the text, or the
author’s ideas in the
text.
Example: Did the author write the story so that it is
relatable for kids/adults? What style or form did the author
write in, was the language authentic, and was the
description rich? EXPLAIN your answer.
For Essay: Find quote/s that demonstrates and supports
what you describe (good or bad) about the authors writing,
style, use of language, or authenticity.
EVALUATIVE - Write questions and answers that require
the reader to make a judgment about an aspect of the story
such as a character’s actions.
Example: Do you think it was right for Little Red Riding
Hood’s mother to send her off into the woods alone? Why
or why not?
For Essay: Find quote/s that demonstrates or supports the
judgment, what a
character/s said or did that made you judge them however
you did.
ESSENTIAL - Write questions and answers that requires
the reader to consider an issue that is addressed in the story
“outside” of the story.
Example: How old should a child be before he or she is
allowed to go out alone? What parameters would you set for
the child? Explain your answer.
For Essay: Find quote/s from text or possibly outside
sources that demonstrate and support your statements – link
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
the concepts of the story to the world today and situations
happening today (or that could happen).
VOCABULARY BUILDING - Find definitions and
synonyms for ALL uncertain, unclear, or unknown words.
Use the word in a sentence that allows the sentence to
explain the words meaning.
Example: Today I felt such a catharsis after watching that
movie, my tension was
released and I had a good cry as I went from watching the
couple on screen to remembering my own situation. It was
liberating.
DEFINITION - means “cleansing” or “purging”.
Synonyms:
purification, elimination, renewal. (Also rewrite in original
context and create graphics).
Literal - Which involves understanding the specific
information in the text
Applied - Which involves using information from the text
to construct knowledge
Cultural Value Cultures are built on stories— histories,
myths and legends, fables, religions, and so on.
Building Vocabulary Having a large and wide-ranging
vocabulary is essential for a number of reasons
ASSESSMENT Act of gathering information daily to
understand individual student’s learning and needs
MEASUREMENT More broadly includes testing and
other types of measurement, as well as other types of
information
Lesson 9
Alliteration comes from the Latin phrase littera,
meaning “letter of the alphabet”. It‘s the repeated sound at
the beginning of a string of words. Think of Dunkin’ Donuts
and Krispy Kreme. You’re more likely to remember them,
which only recalls your fantasised image of those delicious
jam doughnuts.
A Caesura is the Latin word, literally meaning “a
cutting”. This is as if someone were to say, “Stop!” in the
middle of their sentence. By disrupting the rhythm of the
poem, you pay the line more attention due to the dramatic,
staccato effect.
Enjambment is of French origin and means “to
stride over”. It means to continue sentences beyond the end
of one line. Think of the way we text. If the sender breaks
up their complete sentences, the receiver might sit there,
eyes glued to the phone, and wait in anticipation for the
coming texts.
Juxtaposition comes from the Latin “iuxta” which
means to be beside or very near. Like its namesake, it’s
when two contrasting ideas are placed closely together, such
as light and darkness, life and death, or savoury ketchup and
sweet vanilla ice cream. It creates tension and contrast, and
can also be a powerful way to express an idea as you can
compare it to something else.
Personification is what it sounds like: a figurative
language tool that gives ideas, objects or animals human
characteristics.
Kigo Traditional haiku contains a kigo, a word or
phrase that places it in a particular season. Signaling a
season with only one word lends haiku its economy of
expression. Some of the most classic kigo are sakura (cherry
blossoms) for spring, fuji (wisteria) for summer, tsuki
(moon) for fall, and samushi (cold) for winter.
WEEK 7:
Language-based approach
According to its name, this approach primarily
focuses on how language is used and thought. It also
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
emphasizes the significance of language awareness and how
it helps students engage with language and respond to
literature. A language-based approach offers a wide range
of activities that students can utilize to further develop their
higher-order thinking skills. For instance, brainstorming is
one such activity that can be used in this approach. This
activity helps the student to activate their prior knowledge
to support their newly acquired knowledge. It also helps
create predictions, rewrite the endings of stories or
summarize plots, incorporating jigsaw reading to allow
students to collaborate with others, form opinions, and
engage in intense debate.
In conclusion, the language-based approach caters
to the needs of students in terms of studying literature and
how the students can effectively use the language in their
daily and academic life.
PARAPHRASTIC APPROACH
The paraphrastic approach is primarily
paraphrasing and rewording the text to simpler language or
use other languages to translate it. Teachers use simple
words or less complex sentence structures to make the
original text easy to understand (Divsar, 2014).
This approach deals with the surface meaning of
the text (Diana Hwang & Amin Embi, 2007).
Rosli (1995) asserts that it allows teachers to use
simple words and sentence structures compared to the more
complicated ones in the texts and sometimes the teachers
can translate them into another language. The paraphrastic
approach is suited to beginners of the target language.
This approach uses the literary text as a stepping
stone in learning the target language.
MORAL-PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH
(Hwang & Embi 2007) This is an approach that
incorporates moral values across the curriculum. The focus
of this approach is to discover moral values while reading a
particular literary text.
This is defined as an approach that suggests that the
larger purpose of literature is to teach morality and to probe
philosophical questions.
The moral-philosophical approach is concerned
with principles and ideas. The concern is not only to
discover meaning but also to determine whether works of
literature are both factual and significant.
Moral/Moralism - The way someone determines their
ideas of what is acceptable and unacceptable, simply
knowing what is right and what is wrong.
Philosophy - The word philosophy is much more
complicated, this is how we think throughout our whole
lives. In other words, having a philosophy in literature, we
want to know the meaning of life or the deepest
understanding of it. This is where questions are asked with
other questions.
STYLISTIC APPROACH
Stylistic functions as a tool to study various
perspectives of the author and analyzes the features of
literary language to develop students’ sensitivity to
literature. Stylistics is concerned with the choices that are
available to a writer, and the reasons why particular forms
and expressions are used rather than others (Tungesh,
2011).
Stylistic is a language-based approach. Stylistics is
part of a language-based approach to using literature to
make meaningful interpretations. Roshan stated that
Stylistics, having to do largely with style, is a discipline
concerned with the study of the language of literature. It is
the study of language as art. As the study of style, it seeks
to examine the expressive and suggestive devices which
have been invented in order to enforce the power and
penetration of speech.
In the words of Shibu Simon, Stylistics by defining
literary studies as a linguistic subject provides a way of
integrating the two subjects, the English Language and
English Literature which are commonly taught in isolation
from each other. It studies literary works as kinds of
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
discourse and inquires into the communicative potential of
the language concerned.
Pedagogical Aspects of Stylistics
A Stylistics approach teaches students how to look
for and interpret the stylistic dimensions of a text. Students
are made to learn how what is said is said and how meanings
are made. They are taught to know what makes the language
of literature different from everyday language if it really is.
Advantages of Stylistic approach
● It will help the students understand the role of
language in literature. Stylistics offers some critical
and creative ways of looking at a work under study
where the students will develop a sense of
appreciation as well as acumen.
● The stylistic approach will make the learning of
language an interesting task as students work upon
their own intuition, background knowledge, and
experience of the language. They will learn to
appreciate the artistic use of language and enhance
T.S. Eliot advocated that the ‘form’ of the literary
text should itself interpret its ‘content’. Following this
view, one could interpret the content without any reference
or context. This can only be achieved if the students are
taught how to study the ‘form’ of the literary text. A study
of the ‘form’ of the literary text would intimate the student
about the diction of the author. The knowledge of the
selection of words, punctuation, parenthesis, or metrical
patterns would enable students to study the work in depth
and give an individual interpretation. In addition, as the
learners are exposed to the language used in particular
literature it may serve as their own experience and may
bring them the knowledge of a particular language to be
their own which was the aim of teaching literature.
Stylistics as Applied Linguistics
As learners are experiencing the language of
literature themselves it opens a path for new understanding
or interpretation such as hypotheses that are based on
certain facts or features of literature. Here the language
compliments literature as it was interpreted and analyzed
through its stylistic feature and how well the language
made the message to be conveyed by literature. The literary
work becomes the only object to experiment with and find
out more than one meaning using their own intuition. The
benefit of this approach is that the teacher becomes a
facilitator whereas the text and the students become the
prominent elements of research/analysis which provides
new results.
Week 8
Levels of Comprehension Questions: Assessment
Strategies in Teaching Literature
Levels of Comprehension Questions
What are the levels of comprehension questions?
➢The levels of comprehension are a device that aids
in literature analysis. One way to conduct this
literature analysis is using a system called the Levels
of Comprehension.
Activating Prior Knowledge (is important) - actively read
but you need toconsider what you already know about a
subject or a novel or film.
Levels of Questioning
1. LITERAL - Write questions that have correct answers,
which may be found in the text. Write down all the facts,
characters, locations and sequential events.
Example: Whom did Little Red Riding Hood’s mother
send her to meet?
For Essay: Find quote/s that proves your response.
2. INFERENTIAL - Write questions and answers, which
require the reader to make an “educated guess” or
prediction/s about what is going to happen in the story or
why something is so
Example: Do you think Little Red Riding Hood will make
it to her grandmother’s house safely? Why, or why not?
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
For Essay: Find quote/s that supports why you
guessed/predicted what you did and why you concluded
what you did.
3. APPRECIATIVE - Write questions and answers that
require the reader to make a personal response to a
character or situation in the story or to the author’s
purpose.
Example: How would you feel if you were sent off into
the woods alone? EXPLAIN your answer.
For Essay: Find quote/s that supports or led you to why
you thought what you did.
4. CRITIQUE - Write questions and answers that require
the reader to make a judgment about the author’s use of
language, style of writing, execution of the text, or the
author’s ideas in the text.
Example: Did the author write the story so that it is
relatable for kids/adults? What style or form did the author
write in, was the language authentic, and was the
description rich? EXPLAIN your answer.
For Essay: Find quote/s that demonstrates and supports
what you describe (good or bad) about the authors writing,
style, use of language, or authenticity.
5. EVALUATIVE - Write questions and answers that
require the reader to make a judgment about an aspect of
the story such as a character’s actions.
Example: Do you think it was right for Little Red Riding
Hood’s mother to send her off into the woods alone? Why
or why not?
For Essay: Find quote/s that demonstrates or supports the
judgment, what a character/s said or did that made you
judge them however you did.
6. ESSENTIAL - Write questions and answers that
requires the reader to consider an issue that is addressed in
the story “outside” of the story.
Example: How old should a child be before he or she is
allowed to go out alone? What parameters would you set
for the child? Explain your answer.
For Essay: Find quote/s from text or possibly outside
sources that demonstrates and support your statements –
link the concepts of the story to the world today and
situations happening today (or that could happen).
7. VOCABULARY BUILDING - Find definitions and
synonyms for ALL uncertain, unclear, or unknown words.
Use the word in a sentence that allows the sentence to
explain the words meaning.
Example: Today I felt such a catharsis after watching that
movie, my tension was released and I had a good cry as I
went from watching the couple on screen to remembering
my own situation it was liberating.
8. DEFINITION - means “cleansing” or “purging”.
Synonyms: purification, elimination, renewal. (Also
rewrite in original context and create graphic).
Standard Outer Line
1. Intro Paragraph
2. Inferential Paragraph
3. Appreciative Paragraph
4. Critique Paragraph
5. Evaluative Paragraph
6. Essential Paragraph
7. Conclusion Paragraph
How to build a paper from the levels
Each level, with the exception of literal, becomes a
paragraph. You open your paper with an intro
paragraph that introduces the title, author and
summary of the story as well as introduces your
readers to an overview of the levels that you will be
discussing.
LEVEL OF COMPREHENSION AND QUESTION
TYPES
1. LITERAL - Which involves understanding the
specific information in the text.
2. INTERPRETIVE - Which involves integrating
information and making inferences.
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
Readers/listeners make connections between ideas
found at the literal level.
3. APPLIED - Which involves using information from
the text to construct knowledge.
4. REMEMBER - It is important to make sure that there
is a match between the indicators of ability/criteria
and the actual question asked.
Assessment Strategies in Teaching Literature
This topic explores how principles of language
assessment can and should be applied to formal test,
butwith the ultimate recognition that these principles
also apply to assessments of all kinds. Principles will be
used to evaluate an existing, previously published, or
created test.
The Importance and Aims of Literature among
students
Cultural Value - Cultures are built on stories—
histories, myths and legends, fables, religions, and so on.
Expanding Horizon - It’s a goal of education to expose
them to ideas from other cultures, to teach them about
the histories and peoples of other times and places.
Building Vocabulary - Having a large and Wide-
ranging vocabulary is essential for a number of reasons
Improve Writing Skills. - Students who are encouraged
to read have a more intimate knowledge of the ways in
which language works, and so have an advantage when
it comes time for them to write.
Teaching Critical Thinking.- Literature serves this
goal in a couple of ways. Many novels encourage critical
thinking on their own, due to the issues and themes they
explore.
Evaluation and Assessment
1.ASSESSMENT - Act of gathering information daily
to understand an individual student’s learning and needs.
2. LANGUAGE TESTING - “The practical and study
of evaluating the proficiency of an individual in using a
particular language effectively.” (Priscilla Allen)
3. MEASUREMENT - More broadly includes testing
and other types of measurement, as well as other types
of information.
4. EVALUATION - The culminating act of interpreting
the information gathered for the purpose of making
decisions or judgments about students’ learning and
needs.
Assessment Strategies
Authentic assessment strategies or, more neutrally,
as “alternative assessment.”, such as portfolios,
performances, and exhibitions, allow students to
showcase their talents and what they have learned in a
course in a creative manner.
The following two best practices should guide all
instructors’ assessment strategies.
• First, instructors must create unambiguous
expectations.
• Second, instructors should be open to employing a wide
range of assessment strategies.
WEEK 9
Literary Devices - Literary devices are elements that
add to the beauty of poetry. Literary devices do not add
anything to the overall meaning of the poem, but they
enhance it. These devices allow the poet to present it in
a new way and a delightful surprise to the readers.
FIVE TYPES OF COMMON POETIC DEVICES
AND THEIR USES
1.Alliteration - Alliteration comes from the Latin phrase
littera, meaning “letter of the alphabet”. It‘s the repeated
sound at the beginning of a string of words. Think of
Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme. You’re more likely
to remember them, which only recalls your fantasized
image of those delicious jam doughnuts.
2. Caesura and enjambment - A Caesura is the Latin
word, literally meaning “a cutting”. This is as if someone
were to say, “Stop!” in the middle of their sentence. By
disrupting the rhythm of the poem, you pay the line more
attention due to the dramatic, staccato effect.
 SEM119 - TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF
LITERATURE STUDIES
3. ENJAMBMENT - Enjambment is of French origin
and means “to stride over”. It means to continue
sentences beyond the end of one line. Think of the way
we text. If the sender breaks up their complete sentences,
the receiver might sit there, eyes glued to the phone, and
wait in anticipation for the coming texts.
4. Imagery - Imagery literally means language that
produces images. I could tell you that it’s raining outside,
or instead, describe heavy rain hitting the metal rooftop
and the smell of damp earth. Not only does this create a
more striking image of the scene, but it also evokes
certain emotions attached to what your senses imagine.
5. Juxtaposition - Juxtaposition comes from the Latin
“iuxta” which means to be beside or very near. Like its
namesake, it’s when two contrasting ideas are placed
closely together, such as light and darkness, life and
death, or savoury ketchup and sweet vanilla ice cream. It
creates tension and contrast, and can also be a powerful
way to express an idea as you can compare it to
something else.
6. Oxymoron - Oxymoron is a type of juxtaposition, and
it’s really more of a direct, paradoxical
comparison. This makes sense when you consider its
Greek origin, “oxumōron” which means “pointedly
foolish”. Some oxymorons include the living dead and
deafening silence. It’s provocative and engaging in that
we seek to understand what the oxymoron could possibly
mean
7. Personification - Personification is what it sounds
like: a figurative language tool that gives ideas, objects
or animals human characteristics. Death is often
personified as a malevolent and destructive force,
especially with the Grim Reaper. It adds a human
element, communicates ideas more vividly, and connects
us to things we can’t normally relate to.
8. Pathetic fallacy - Pathetic fallacy was coined to
originally mean “emotional falseness”. In fact, it is a type
of personification where nature is given human
attributes, such as leaves “dancing” in the wind. It’s
usually done to evoke emotions from the audience or
project the emotions of the speaker. Imagine stormy
clouds on a bad day —you might describe them as
“sullen” to reflect your mood.
Fun/ Funny Poetry
“Funny poetry can exist in any form or measure of
poetry, granted that the topic or tone of the poem is
humorous. Funny messages employ a variety of devices
to produce humor.”
Types of funny poetry
1.Riddles - A riddle is a question which requires the
person being asked the riddle to use their intelligence and
thinking skills to answer it. Riddles have been shown to
improve children's comprehension and creativity. It can
be thought-provoking or funny brain busters. It is like a
puzzle that you are trying to solve. Usually in order to
answer a riddle, the person must think "outside of the
box" to get the answer.
2. Haikus - Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry made of
short, unrhymed lines that evoke natural imagery. Haiku
can come in various formats of short verses, though the
most common is a three-line poem with a five-seven-five
syllable pattern.
3 rules of Haiku Poetry
There is a typical structure that most English-language
haiku poems follow. It is the five-seven-five structure,
where:
1. The entire poem consists of just three lines, with
seventeen syllables in total.
2. The first line and third line are five syllables.
3. The second line is seven syllables.
4 characteristics of Haiku
Nature themes and imagery evoking a specific season are
the traditional focus of haiku poetry. Haiku poems often
feature the juxtaposition of two images. Here’s what else
to look for in haiku writing:
1. Kigo
Traditional haiku contains a kigo, a word or phrase that
places it in a particular season. Signaling a season with
only one word lends haiku its economy of expression.
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Some of the most classic kigo are sakura (cherry
blossoms) for spring, fuji (wisteria) for summer, tsuki
(moon) for fall, and samushi (cold) for winter.
2. Kireji
Known in English as the “cutting word, ” kireji creates a
pause or a break in the poem’s rhythm. The kireji often
works to juxtapose two images. Contemporary haiku
may not always use a kireji, but juxtaposition remains a
common feature of haiku.
3. Nature and the seasons:
Describing the season was the original purpose of haiku,
and to this day, poets often focus on the natural world
and how it changes throughout the year.
4. On
A Japanese haiku contains seventeen on, or sounds. On
are counted differently than syllables in English, which
leads to translators’ lack of consensus on whether
seventeen English syllables truly capture the spirit of
haiku.
Limericks
The limerick is the most well-recognized type of
funny poetry, due to both the sheer number of poems
produced in the form and its unique structure. Limericks
are a fun and timeless way to tell short, silly stories. They
can be about anything, as long as they follow their single
stanza structure that dates back to the early 14th century.
While relatively short little poems, they provide an
enormous amount of entertainment and fun for the entire
family.
A limerick consists of five lines with an A-A-B-B-
A rhyme pattern. It is a humorous poem consisting of
five lines. These silly rhymes were made famous by a
man named Edward Leer, an Englishman who wrote The
Book of Nonsense in the 1800s. The book is filled with
over 200 nonsensical limericks written and illustrated by
the author himself. While Edward brought these short
poems into the spotlight, it is believed that they
originated in the 1400s in the town of Limerick, Ireland.
Shape Poems
A shape poem, or concrete poem, is an arrangement of
words on a page into shapes or patterns that reveal an
image, such as in a calligram. These visual poems are an
artistic blend of the literary and the visual arts. Readers
experience a shape poem via its words, typography, and
the visual representation of the poem’s subject. In this
type of visual poetry, the meaning of the
poem is enhanced by the shape of the poem itself, rather
than the actual words used.
The Origins of Shape Poems
● Ancient letter arrangements:
Shape poems were already a popular literary form in
Ancient Greece as early as 2 BC.
● Early pattern poetry in the early
twentieth century:
The American poet E. E. Cummings and the French poet
Guillaume Apollinaire wrote pattern poems in the first
half of the twentieth century, spacing out and styling
words on the page for poetic expression.
● Mid-twentieth century:
Poetry as a form was evolving; Dada artists explored
sound poetry, introducing new, aural ways to experience
poems, primarily via performances that blended music
and text.
● Development as a visual art form:
In 1950s Brazil, writers affiliated with the São Paulo
magazine Noigandres experimented with visualizing
words on a page. Members of the Noigandres group—
including Brazilian writers Augusto de Campos, Décio
Pignatari, and Haroldo de Campos—showed their work
at an art exhibit. These avant-garde artists carved a new
path, blazing a trail for an art movement that was also a
literary movement.
● Anthology:
This artistic medium flourished throughout the twentieth
century. In 1968, Mary Ellen Solt published
Concrete Poetry: A World View, a definitive collection
of the concrete poetry movement.
WEEK 10
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The poem that is chosen is a big factor in teaching
poetry. Any simple poem appropriate for the student's
age should be chosen by the instructor. The teacher ought
to pick a well-known poem by a well- known poet with
a well-known background. The children should be
interested in the subject matter. The language and
rhythm should be appropriate for the child. The teacher
should use nursery rhymes and story-type poems
because young children enjoy rhythm and rhyme. The
poems should be narrative in higher classes, but they can
also be descriptive and reflective.
STRATEGIES IN TEACHING POETRY
“Teaching poetry goes beyond being a valuable
English language arts experience.” ~Christopher
Wisniewski~
We could say that knowing the meaning of poetry
increases reading comprehension and enables students to
develop critical thinking skills, and that they should
listen to me because I will share some strategies for
teaching poetry really well.
1. Pay attention to form. The form of a poem is the
physical arrangement of the words on a page. This
includes the way lines are placed, their grouping, and
their length.
● Look at the poem before you read it.
● Examine whether the lines and stanzas
form a regular pattern. If not, determine
why.
● Listen for rhythm as you read the poem
aloud.
● Pause where punctuation marks appear, not
where the line ends. Stopping at
appropriate spots helps clarify meaning.
2. Pay attention to sound devices. Skilled poets use
sound devices for a reason, usually to draw attention to
major points.
● Read the poem aloud several times.
● Identify the sound devices and determine
why the poet chose them.
● Determine the rhyme scheme.
● Look for near rhyme. Poets often use near
rhyme to make the reader focus on an
important word.
● Determine the purpose of the sound.
3. Look for figurative language. Because poets have
fewer words with which to work, they must use them
sparingly. Figurative language allows them to cover
much with little.
● Visualize figurative language.
● Analyze the meaning of each metaphor or
simile.
4. Look at the title. Determine if the title contributes any
special meaning to the poem.
5. Make connections. Personalizing poetry makes it
meaningful.
6. Summarize the poem’s meaning.
Here, discover another five strategies for teaching poetry
to your students.
Reset Expectations of What Poetry Is
“I love to teach poetry, because students often have
misconceptions about what it is, ” says Kelsey Zeilinger,
a fourth-grade teacher in Virginia. “They often think that
it is just rhyming words, so I love to introduce them to
the many styles.
To help demystify poetry for students, Wisniewski
recommends showing students how integrated poetry is
in everyday life. “Students are surrounded by poetry
every day—most prominently in the music they listen to
and also in spoken word performances,” he says,
referring to hip hop music, comedy routines, and
monologues. “It's truly magical when young people
realize that poetry is already a part of their culture.” One
class activity Wisniewski suggests: Have students create
poems from larger texts. By erasing words or
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highlighting those that are meaningful to them, a class of
30 students can create 30 unique poems working from
the same source material.
Explore the Wide Breadth of Poetry Styles
Jenna Papotto, a second-grade teacher from
Massachusetts, likes to explore a new poem every day
with her young learners.
“Start out by introducing basic poetry and identify
different grammar elements, such as nouns, verbs, and
adjectives, after reading our daily poem, ” she says. “It
is a great introduction to writing and helps with
grammar.
Meanwhile, to help students understand the great breadth
of poetry styles, Zeilinger sets up “pattern hunts” for her
class to find rhyming schemes.
Once students have background on multiple types of
poems, give them a ‘translator’ that has examples of
many types of poems: couplets, free verse, bio poem,
acrostics, and so forth. “They then ‘travel’ around the
classroom identifying like poems in order to earn their
poetry ‘passport.’ It is a class favorite!”
Bring Poetry to Life in Interactive Ways
Adding an element of performance can help students get
excited about poetry. One of the best way for us to assess
our students is by asking them to break down a poem to
act out physically.
“The act of translating a poet's words into physical
actions often serves as a fresh way to analyze the
language and to think about its meaning and impact.”
Delve Into the Rich Diversity of Voices
“Poetry is a great way to open students’ eyes and minds
to various cultures and viewpoints from people around
the world.”
There are many bold and diverse voices that reflect the
vibrancy of contemporary poetry. Two titles with diverse
perspectives that poets recommends are Looking Like
Me, a splashy, rhythmic celebration of the wonders of
life, and The Dreamer, a biographical and literary fiction
story that weaves poems and thought-provoking
questions together exquisitely.
Encourage Students to Find Their Own Voice
Helping students find their own poetic voice is not only
beneficial for their literacy skills, but for their social-
emotional skills, too. I believe that poetry has endless
possibilities for students of all ages.
“Poetry is a way for people to express their feelings and
emotions. Students who may not be able to speak their
feelings may feel more comfortable putting it on paper
in a poem.”
Therefore, let us keep in our minds that “Poetry creates
a space for emotional expression and human connection.
There's a freedom to the writing—even to the point that
students who have trouble writing can be encouraged to
express themselves poetically.
LESSON DESIGN IN TEACHING POETRY
Poetry is the best way to encourage children's love of
language and has a lot of appeal to them. It lays the
groundwork for an appreciation of language's beauty. It
improves their ability to imagine and educates their
emotions. Poetry's rhythm helps students develop natural
speech rhythm. "Poetry leads an all-round development
of the whole personality of the pupils, particularly the
emotional, imaginative, intellectual aesthetic, and
intuitive sides," says Prof. S. Subrahamanyam.
AIMS OF TEACHING OF POETRY
Poetry is taught for sheer pleasure and enjoyment. It
further lays the foundation for an adequate appreciation
of English poetry. Therefore, theaims of teaching of
poetry should be different for different levels. The
general aims of teaching English poetry are as follows:
1.General Aims At Primary Level
(i) To enable the students to recite the poem with proper
rhythm and intonation.
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(ii) To enable the students to enjoy the recitation of the
poem.
(iii) To develop the students' power of imagination.
(iv) To train the emotions of the students
(v) To develop love for poetry reading and writing.
At Secondary /Higher Secondary Level
(i) To enable the students to appreciate the poem.
(ii) To enable them to understand the thought and
imagination contained in the poem.
(iii) To appreciate the rhyme & rhythm and style of the
poem.
(iv) To train the emotions, feelings, and imagination of
the students.
(v) To develop their aesthetic sense.
(vi) To create love for English poetry.
2. Specific Aims
The specific aims of teaching poetry differ from poem to
poem. They depend largely on situation, scene, feeling
and thought depicted in the poem. The specific aims of
teaching English poetry are as follows:
(i) To enable the students to recite the poem namely '----
-------------' with proper rhyme and rhythm.
(ii) To enable the students to enjoy the recitation of the
poem '-------------'
(iii) To understand the central idea of the poem.
(iv) To communicate the exclusive message of the poem
to the students.
(v) To enable them to appreciate the beauty and images
depicted in the poem.
3. Procedure of Poetry Teaching
Procedure of poetry teaching involves the following
steps:
(a) Preparation
(b) Presentation
c) Comprehension/Appreciation
(d) Home Assignment
4. Preparation
Under preparation following points are to be considered:
I. General Aims (already discussed)
II. Specific Aims (already discussed)
III. Material Aids
A suitable material aid can be used depending on the
theme and content of the poem.
INTRODUCTION
When teaching anything it always starts with the
introduction, same goes with teaching poetry. The
introduction must be done in a way that can catch the
interest of the learners and can create an environment
suitable for teaching.
Introduction of the poem can be done in different
ways:
(i)Parallel poem that describes the similar theme or
similar emotion may be read.
(ii) By giving a brief summary of the poem pertaining to
the back ground and general theme of the poem and then
asking few questions on it.
(iii) By giving a life - sketch, poetic style and
characteristics of the poet.
(iv)If the poem is descriptive, a picture can be shown.
Two or three questions on the picture can be asked
Statement aim
After the introduction o f the poem and its author, the
instructor shall announce the aim of teaching the said
lesson.
Presentation
According to Ryburn," A good poem is a complete
whole." Therefore poetry should be taught in one unit,
but in condition that the poem is too long, it must be
divided in units in such a way, so that it may not lose its
rhythm, music and emotional effect. The presentation
stage consists of the following points:
(i) 1st Model Recitation by the teacher
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Recitation is the soul of poetry. Reading a poem with
proper rhythm, stress and intonation is of vital
significance. The model recitation by the teacher helps
the students to experience or feel the poem in its totality
without going into other detail. Therefore the teacher
should recite the poem with proper rhythm, stress and
intonation.
(ii) 2nd Model Recitation by the Teacher
According to Ryburn, "One reading, of course, is not
enough. It must be read twice or thrice. " To have greater
effect, the teacher recites the poem once again with
proper rhyme and rhythm. This time the students are
asked to open their books and follow in it.
(iii) Imitation Reading by the Students
The teacher asks two or three students one by one to
recite the poem in the same manner, he has recited
(iv) Meaning of Difficult Words
The expositions of words are not done in detail while
teaching poetry. Only those difficult words or phrases
which create hindrance in the comprehension of the
poem should be explained.
(v)Silent Reading of the poem by the students
During this step, the students may be asked to read the
poem silently and grasp the theme of the poem. At the
primary stage silent reading can be avoided
(vi)Chorus Recitation
At the primary stage, the students enjoy the recitation of
the poem in chorus. It helps them in overcoming their
shyness. At this stage the teacher can read the poem line
by line which shall be followed by the students
collectively.
Comprehension / Appreciation
After several readings of the poem, the teacher puts some
questions to test their comprehension of the theme of the
poem. These questions should be simple and short.
Appreciation questions are asked on the appreciation of
beauty of language, thought, emotions and images of the
poem. The students may be asked to:
● Pick out the rhyming words,
● To complete the lines.
● To explain the central idea of the poem.
WEEK 11
Materials and Resources in Teaching Poetry and
AssessmenT in Teaching Poetry
Introduction
Creative expression offers many academic benefits for
students. In addition to art and music, writing provides
the perfect opportunity for student creativity, and poetry
is one particularly important outlet.
Whether teaching about famous poets or encouraging
kids to try their hand at generating original works, the
Web offers an abundance of resources for teachers to use
when teaching poetry in the classroom.
5 different Websites can that enhance our knowledge
about poetry:
1. Poetry Foundation - This site, the source of Poetry
magazine, is dedicated to discovering, sharing, and
celebrating the best poetry has to offer. The site also
features up-and-coming poets as well as current news
and events.
2. Poetry Out loud - Access plenty of teaching resources
such as lesson plans, tips, class
schedules, and guides. Watch videos of poets reading
their poetry, find advice on reciting poems, and more.
3. Poetry Teachers - Find tips on teaching students how
to write and perform poetry and get excited about the art
form. The site offers books on poetry teachers can
purchase at a low price, and educators also can get help
bringing authors to their classrooms.
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4. The Poetry Archive - This site aims to make a wide
assortment of poetry accessible to a large audience.
Users can find funny, sad, inspirational, and other types
of poems here. Teachers can play audio of poems, study
poetry, and get teaching guides on all types of poetry
5. Shmoop - Explore resources on a number of subjects,
including poetry. The site helps teachers effectively
define poetry and offers hundreds of poems that come
fully equipped with an introduction as well as a “Why
Should I Care?” section.
3 top tier apps that could also hone our skills in
writing poetry:
Shakespeare - William Shakespeare is considered one
of the best poets of all time. With this app, users can
explore all of his works while learning the definitions of
unknown words and getting help with unfamiliar
passages.
Quill - It lets you explore new poems from thousands of
world-class poets from all around the world. Simply
launch the app and get reading! You can read your Poem
of the Day, as well as an unlimited number of free poems.
Poesie - It's just one poem a day if you'd like. If you want
to delve into more there is a vast library of poems and
programs to explore
After forming a general impression of the poem, it is
necessary to progress from comprehension to
appreciation level. For a more in-depth analysis of a
poem, you should examine the following seven aspects
in greater detail. Some guiding questions are provided
below to guide you to notice and identify the features
under each aspect.
1. Content/subject and themes:
● Does the title give you an idea of what the
poem may be about?
● What is the poem about? What concepts
and ideas are the poems exploring?
● What is the writer’s view on this subject?
Can you summarize the main idea of the
poem or paraphrase it in a few sentences?
2. Speaker, tone, and voice:
● Who is the speaker of the poem?
● To whom is the speaker speaking?
● Can any of the adjectives of feelings and
emotions listed below describe the tone and
3. Setting and Atmosphere:
● Where and when is the poem set? Does the
setting create any prevailing feeling in the
poem?
● Does the setting affect the mood of the
speaker?
● Can any of the adjectives listed below
describe the mood and atmosphere of the
Poem?
4. Form and Structure:
● Does the poem follow a regular poetic form
(e.g., sonnets, ballads, haiku) or stanza
Form (e.g., quatrains)?
● Is there regularity in the form and structure
broken in any part of the poem? How and
why?
5. Poetic Devices:
● Does the poet use imagery in the poem?
What senses (i.e., sight, hearing, smell,
taste, touch) are appealed to?
● Does the poet use poetic techniques such as
similes, metaphors, personification,
Metonymy, or another figurative language
such as symbolism in the poem?
● What effects do the devices create and how
do they help to present the themes of the
poem?
Assessment in Teaching Poetry
Due to the subjective nature of poetry, many teachers
find assessing their students’ personal work challenging.
A variety of assessment methods exists, each offering a
different purpose and meeting differing objectives
Different Ways to Assess Poetry
1. Poetry Portfolios
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·Portfolios are a good way to assess poetry in the middle
school classroom if the process is as important as the
final product. Portfolios allow room for creativity,
process, and mechanics while representing the student’ s
whole body of work.
2. Teacher and Peer Conferences
Conferencing is another method used to evaluate student
poetry. Whether peer-to-peer or teacher-to-student,
conferencing provides a window of insight into the
intention of the student poet.
3. Journaling
Journaling serves several purposes: reflection, critical
thinking, and connection. When completed as a
reflection of progress, journaling allows students to
review where they started and track their improvements.
4. Rubrics and Assessment Lists
Rubrics, a type of rating scale, are a structured approach
to assessing students poetry and focus on assessing a
predetermined set of criteria.
MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS: WEEK 12
1. This approach caters to the need of students in terms
of studying literature and how the students can
effectively use the language in their daily and academic
life. - Language based approach
2. The way someone determine their ideas of what is
acceptable and unacceptable, simply knowing what is
right and what is wrong? - Moralism
3. It is primarily paraphrasing and rewording the text to
simpler language or use other languages to translate it. -
Paraphrastic approach
4. According to her, paraphrastic approach • This
approach deals with the surface meaning of the Text. -
Diana Hwang
5. Thi approach will make learning of language an
interesting task as students work upon their own
intuition, background knowledge and experience of the
language. - Stylistic
6. The word _____________ is much more complicated,
this is how we think through our whole lives. -
Philosophy
7. It will help the students understand the role of
language in literature. - Advantage of Stylistic
approach
8. It seeks to examine the expressive and suggestive
devices which have been invented in order to enforce the
power and penetration of speech. - Stylistic Approach
9. It is used to create a connection between the reader or
viewer in television news and the person of interest in an
article. - Personality Profiles
10. It gives the reader someone to relate to and taps into
our natural curiosity about the lives of Others. - Human
Interest Stories
11. This help to catch up with viewers and readers who
are just finding out about a news story. - Backgrounders
12. One of the newspaper sections through which mass
media functions are performed. In general, the content of
print media can be divided into four categories. - feature
13. It comes from the Latin phrase littera, meaning
“letter of the alphabet - Alliteration
14. It creates tension and contrast, and can also be a
powerful way to express an idea as you can compare it
to something else. - Juxtaposition
15. It is a word or phrase that places it in a particular
season. - Kigo
16. It is the most well-recognized type of funny poetry,
due to both the sheer number of poems produced in the
form and its unique structure. - limerick
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17. “Funny poetry can exist in any form or measure of

poetry, granted that the topic or tone of the poem is
humorous. Funny messages employ a variety of devices
to produce? - Humor

18. This is to consider your own thoughts and feelings

on the subject. - Examine your attitudes toward
poetry.

19. Finding the right poems for a lesson is a bit of a

treasure hunt. - Select the poems

20. Have fun with the rhythm of the words, look for
intriguing images, and find poems with inspiring
messages and? - Themes

21. The emphasis is on identifying literary techniques

like simile and metaphor and evaluating their
Effectiveness. Literary Analysis

22. A type of rating scale, are a structured approach to

assessing students’ poetry and focus on assessing a pre-
determined set of criteria - Rubric
23. Focuses on the work as a whole, provided that
mistakes in part may exist without compromising the
overall integrity of the piece - Holistic Rubrics

24. It include the elements that will be assessed or the

steps necessary to complete a task. - checklist

25. It is generally more specific and contain several

criteria that are being rated simultaneously. - Analytical
rubrics