Listening for detail: “Kilkelly, Ireland”
American songwriter Peter Jones discovered a collection of letters in his parents’ attic written by his great-great-great grandfather, Byran Hunt, to his son, John Hunt, who had emigrated from Kilkelly in Ireland to the United States in 1855. The Great Famine in Ireland had forced large numbers of people to emigrate in search of a better life. The five-stanza ballad he wrote based on these letters cover the time period from 1860 to 1892. “Kilkelly, Ireland” is a breathtaking, thought-provoking song in which family news, including births and deaths, are shared for a period of thirty-two years. In the activity, the students listen for specific information by writing an explanation for each of the words, names or pictures in the timeline.
7 Poetry Activities Students Love
I enjoy shape and collage poetry, but sometimes I want to challenge my high school students more. Since concrete poetry is something that interests them, I incorporate a twist off of concrete and found poetry, which is called the crot. (It’s named as such because it’s reminiscent of a short, purposefully fragmented sentence, which students can use when composing it!) You can read all about how to teach students to write the poem here. I ask my students to write this creative poem based off of nonfiction source inspiration. In that way, students are creatively writing informative research texts.
The Giant Storymaker – Ideas for a Hundred Million Stories
Storytelling is one of the most important acts of communication. Every day, in our contacts with friends, relatives, colleagues and acquaintances we share stories, anecdotes – things that happened to use, stories we read about in the news, on social media, stories we heard through others. _______________________________ In class, story building and storytelling can get somewhat neglected. Most modern coursebooks have little by way of getting learners to narrate. Photo Credit: Gisela Giardino via Compfight And yet storytelling for fun, storymaking and sharing can be serious or playful, and learners can be given the opportunity to practise producing sustained talk/long turns or write imaginative fiction producing their own stories or story episodes.
National Poetry Month: A WHOLE MONTH of Poetry Activities for Secondary ELA — Bespoke ELA: Essay Writing Tips + Lesson Plans
For this poetry revision activity, students are to observe poems written by the Imagists such as Ezra Pound and then revise one of their poems in the style of the Imagists. The Imagists were known for using specific, distinct images that painted a vivid and clear image in the reader's mind. This revision practice challenges students to use specific imagery in their writing and helps students replace vague, ambiguous, generic language with more visual details.
Worksheet-free Vocab Revision Activities – Clare's ELT Compendium
What do you do in those last 5 minutes of class when you’ve finished everything that was planned? Or when energy levels hit a low during a lesson? Or in that lull while the next student gets ready to present, or whatever? We all know about the need to revise and recycle new vocabulary in language lessons, and in this post I want to share a few vocabulary revision activities that teachers can slot into any downtime that might occur in a lesson!
5 Poetry Activities for Students in Grades 3 to 12
Each year, when I tell my students that we are going to write poetry, a few are excited, but the majority let out an audible sigh. They often have the misconception that poetry is about following a lot of rules and using words that they don’t understand. They’re more open and excited when the focus shifts toward sharing their ideas and feelings with others in a creative format. With each new type of poetry I teach, I work through writing a poem with them and talk through my thinking. Showing students that their teacher’s writing is far from perfect and sometimes comes out a lot different than envisioned empowers them to create their own work. I also model the risk-taking of starting a poem and the beauty of improvement through revision.
The Fish Bowl: A Cooperative Learning Strategy {Post 5 of 5}
Share on Facebook0 shares on Facebook Well this wraps up my 5-part series on some of my favorite cooperative learning activities I have used over the years. If you missed the first 4, you can find them here: “Expert Groups,” “Q and A Match-Up,” “Four Corners,”and “Circle Chats.”
Poetry - Fun and Engaging Lesson Ideas for Secondary Students - The Secondary English Coffee Shop
When I tell my students we’re going to read a poem, start a poetry unit or write poetry there is usually a collective groan from the crowd. My heart sinks a little and I try to put on a bright face and tell them it is going to be “fun”. The groan gets a little louder… Anyone else experience the same thing? Fear not my teacher friends… I promise I can make teaching poetry fun! First Things First…
How to Get Your Mind to Read
In one experiment, third graders — some identified by a reading test as good readers, some as poor — were asked to read a passage about soccer. The poor readers who knew a lot about soccer were three times as likely to make accurate inferences about the passage as the good readers who didn’t know much about the game. That implies that students who score well on reading tests are those with broad knowledge; they usually know at least a little about the topics of the passages on the test. One experiment tested 11th graders’ general knowledge with questions from science (“pneumonia affects which part of the body?”)
9 totally unique poetry activities for high school students
Studying poetry with high schoolers can be really fun. There are so many different forms of poetry — yes, including pop songs! — and writing poems is an incredible creative outlet for teenagers.
Telling the Time
You can set this page as a homework task for a group of students; doing so will give you a record of who has completed the task. Visit the teacher's section for more information. You can share this page by using the link below.
Amanda Gorman: Youth poet laureate to recite poem before Super Bowl LV
Gorman's poem will highlight three individuals the NFL will honor as honorary captains at the Super Bowl "who served as leaders in their respective communities during the global pandemic." The recitation will air nationally and be featured at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The three honorary captains -- educator Trimaine Davis, nurse manager Suzie Dorner and veteran James Martin -- will then participate in the coin toss ceremony. "We are honored to recognize these three individuals who represent the best in all of us," Goodell said in a statement. "During this incredibly challenging time in our lives, Trimaine, Suzie, and James have exemplified the essence of leadership, each in their own way.
The Ultimate Guide - Googoo English
It’s hot and sticky. The kids are tired. It’s nearly the end of the year. So what better than a summer class outside, in the cool shade, playing fun games and learning English. If you’ve got some outside space and you’re allowed to use it, taking your EFL ESL class outside is a fantastic idea. The kids will be more comfortable and relaxed and there are lots of ideas you can use to make this a slightly different but still very effective learning experience.
