A creative lesson In CGS

Due to the host of datelines and presentations, my interaction and teaching of literature has therefore been limited and confined to just 3 lessons. With that, implementation of lessons has to therefore fit the dire needs of the literature department such as error analysis to better prepare the girls for the mid-year exams. However, one very simple lesson which can be considered rather creative when compared to error analysis would be the lesson on introduction to poetry. Since the girls have not be introduced to poetry analysis in detail (apart from exposure in the communicative arts programme in the lower secondary level where the girls were generally just having fun and enjoying literature), this lesson serves to introduce basic poetry analysis skills such, focusing on literal and symbolic representation and the purpose of usage in poem (context specific).

 I started the lesson by giving each girl a slip of paper and instruct them to write down one thing they hate about poetry before asking the class to share their thoughts and collecting the slip of paper. The girls generally convey hatred that lies along the line of poetry being too “sophisticated”, “chim” and “deep” which complicates understanding. Using these general causes of hatred, I instruct the girl to imagine themselves as poets and using the title on the board, the girls are to think of 3 things or ideas to write their poem, basing on any level of difficulty that they are comfortable with either for themselves or their target audience. The girls are then to share their ideas with their peers before sharing it with the class and writing of the common ideas on the board.

With that done, the girls are then given the poem for them to read. The girls generally complain about not understanding the poem and that it was too difficult etc. I then channel their attention to the ideas that have generated on the board and instruct them to identify the different ideas into 2 categories, namely literal and symbolic representation and meaning. With that level of understanding, I proceed with reading the poem with the class, checking for understanding of the poem stanza by stanza. Once the girls have displayed a general understanding, I set the girls off on a task to identify the meaning behind the poem or rather what they understood from the poem apart from identifying literal and symbolic representations used in the poems. This is done in pairs to allow the girls to tap on the ideas and thoughts of their friends, facilitating understanding of the poem hence boosting their confidence.

Although this might appear to be rather mundane, I felt that the general attitude of the class differs from other lessons. The girls are generally more open to discussion and open in voicing out their views etc which I thought was rather interesting and beneficial for the girls who would normally just sit and “absorb” what the teacher has to deliver. Also, since I was pretty much restricted to this 50 minutes lesson whereby the girls will go back to error analysis and presentation the following lesson, focusing on literal and symbolic meaning and representation through analysing a poem provides the girls with a sense of confidence and ability to read, understand, analyse and to some extend appreciate the poem.