Session 2 Literary Genres

Plan 2.1. Literary periods (VIDEO) 2.2. Literary genres (VIDEO) 2.3. Didactic application of literary periods (CLASE PRÁCTICA) 2.4. Didactic application of literary genres (CLASE PRÁCTICA) 2.5. Didactic application on authors (CLASE PRÁCTICA)

Class structure CREATING POETRY READING POETRY Preliminary exercises Creative exercises Performance exercise READING POETRY Pre-reading While-reading Post-reading

Problems (Now in English) Poetry classes may be too theoretical Simply writing may seem undisciplined Poetry employs deviating and imaginative language Very often it breaks grammatical rules Rules? YES and NO

Volunteer to read???

Sonnet 12 When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white; When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And summer's green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake And die as fast as they see others grow;    And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence    Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Try to emphasize the stress x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ X _ / x _ / x _ / x _ / x _ When I do count the clock that tells the time /…

Sonnet 12 When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white; When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And summer's green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake And die as fast as they see others grow;    And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence    Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Elements of poetry Stress Rhythm Lines Regularity Absence of regularity The more irregular, the more complex Some forms of poetry have fixed structures (e.g. English sonnet: fourteen lines, iambic pentameter)

Recommendation

FINDING OUR VOICE AS POETS

PRELIMINARY EXERCISES (Writing)

Unlocking poet within Preliminary exercises Objectives: Stirring your imagination Making you see things before writing them

I’m sorry but… We’re sorry for something We add a but

Be Something Else Propose the students to imagine an object (e.g. school bus, a table, etc.) They need to be that object Write what they see

Through the Carnival Door Imagine it’s Carnival Somebody who wasn’t there leaves We follow him We cross the door What happens?

Strike out exercise Students need to say 10 words Teacher writes on the blackboard

Imagine 10 words

Now… Write a poem DON’T use any of the words mentioned How do you feel?

Exercises taken from http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson171.shtml

Have I… Made you see images? Stirred your imagination?

But not everything needs to be creative!

How to read a poem PRE-READING ACTIVITIES WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES POST-READING ACTIVITIES

William Blake, London I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.  And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I hear  How the Chimney-sweepers cry Every blackning Church appalls,  And the hapless Soldiers sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls  But most thro' midnight streets I hear How the youthful Harlots curse Blasts the new-born Infants tear  And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse 

Differences. What is life like for people in these places?

BRAINSTORMING Why people might leave their villages in the country to live in a big city? Take notes Let’s contrast the different ideas

Intertextuality English Industrial Revolution (18th-century) Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

The Kid

Discussion – What fits best your views on city life/country life? Opportunities, poverty, isolation, freedom, wealth, community, violence, excitement, tranquility, sense of belonging, security, boredom, oppression, lack of morality, dirt, anonymity

TEXT about British social changes (Lazar, pp. 123-124) What major social change was there in the English class system between 1750 and 1850? What two forces accelerated the urbanisation of English society? What kinds of jobs do you think industrial employers performed? How did they managed to get ahead? What were living conditions in industrial towns? What did cities look like?

William Blake (1757-1827) Political radical Fight against materialism Mystic visionary who opposes Christian dogma Sees dangers of reducing man to industrial piece Humble origins Uses popular culture What is the poem going to be about?

What have we done? Discussion on pictures/photos Presentation of theme on poster Reading/listening on the historical background Personal reactions to the subject Discussion about the author

WRITING POETRY!!!

Problem? If I ask the students to simply write a poem, it’s not going to happen We need to find the fun in it

POEM WRITING EXERCISE 1 (A FIVE LINE POEM) The first line of the poem involves an emotion: sadness, anger, confusion, hurt.

Second step The second line describes the emotion as a color. For example, a student might describe anger as "red as a stop sign;" happiness might be "as pink as a puppy's tongue.“

Third step The third line starts with "It happens when . . .." For example, "Anger happens. . .when I'm told to get up in the morning." "Confusion happenswhen I have a test but don't do my homework.“

Fourth step The fourth line begins with "It sounds like . . .." For example, "Sadness sounds like. . .a kitten left out in the rain.“

Fifth step The last line of the poem repeats the original emotion.

Previous exercise borrowed from Elizabeth Thomas

Pit Pinegar’s exercise – Verse, Not Prose How do we put the students to write concrete punctuated sentences? Ex 1: Students are asked to remember all the words possible about one place. They have to turn it into a poem. Ex 2: I choose six unrelated words from a list of suggestions. The students need to write a line with the words.

PERFORMANCE EXERCISES

1. Voice Emphasis (My Baby Sister) We need variation Students read it in turns One student emphasizes one Word Another student emphasizes a different Word Read again – Emphasize the Word more dramatically Discuss different effects Encourage students to read the poem making their own emphasis

One student emphasizes one word My Baby Sister My baby sister’s really swell. I love her smile, but not her smell.

Another student emphasizes a different word My Baby Sister My baby sister’s really swell. I love her smile, but not her smell.

Emphasize the Word more dramatically My Baby Sister My baby sister’s really swell. I love her smile, but not her smell.

Reading finding your own emphasis My Baby Sister My baby sister’s really swell. I love her smile, but not her smell.

2. Speed (I’d Rather) I’d Rather I’d rather wash the dishes I’d rather kiss a frog. I’d rather get an F in math or run a ten-mile jog. I’d rather do my homework. I’d rather mow the lawn. I’d rather take the garbage out. I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dine on Brussels sprouts or catch the chicken pox. I’d rather do most anything than clean the litter box. (Bruce Lanski) One student reads it slowly. Very! Another student reads it as quickly as posible. Discuss effectiveness of both Ask another student to read it an intermediate speed Have the student Reading the poem in pairs

Another student reads it as quickly as possible I’d Rather I’d rather wash the dishes I’d rather kiss a frog. I’d rather get an F in math or run a ten-mile jog. I’d rather do my homework. I’d rather mow the lawn. I’d rather take the garbage out. I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dine on Brussels sprouts or catch the chicken pox. I’d rather do most anything than clean the litter box. (Bruce Lanski)

At intermediate speed I’d Rather I’d rather wash the dishes I’d rather kiss a frog. I’d rather get an F in math or run a ten-mile jog. I’d rather do my homework. I’d rather mow the lawn. I’d rather take the garbage out. I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dine on Brussels sprouts or catch the chicken pox. I’d rather do most anything than clean the litter box. (Bruce Lanski)

Read it in pairs I’d Rather I’d rather wash the dishes I’d rather kiss a frog. I’d rather get an F in math or run a ten-mile jog. I’d rather do my homework. I’d rather mow the lawn. I’d rather take the garbage out. I’d rather wake at dawn. I’d rather dine on Brussels sprouts or catch the chicken pox. I’d rather do most anything than clean the litter box. (Bruce Lanski)

Let’s assign letters A B C D E F G H I J

3. Different voices Encourage them to read the poem with different voices: A. Their own mother or father. B. A really mean or strict person. C. With an accent of their choice. D. With a really sassy voice. E. With a rally bored voice. F. With a cheerful voice. G. With a scientist’s voice. H. With an artist’s voice. I. With a police officer’s voice. J With an opera singer’s voice. Where My Clothes Are Dirty clothes should be put in the hamper. Clean clothing belongs in the drawer. But it takes too much time and it takes too much work- so I throw them all over the floor.

More exercises: http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetclass/performpoetry.htm

Remember? London by Blake

Post-Reading Role-play/simulation Discussion/debate on the subject of the poem Reading other Works by the autor Writing/Reading critical reviews Giving personal reactions to the poem

Act the poem out The students dramatise the poem They can change words, add sounds, use modern music, mix up periods, etc. Use projections, do video montages, etc.

Discussion on subject matter If you had to do a film on the poem, what images would be the most important? Let’s DRAW!!! FOUR IMAGES

Re-writing Students read the poem as another form of discourse. They rewrite it as if it was a newspaper article, an episode in a soap opera, etc. Students re-write the poem, using the original as a model.

Reading other Works by the author The Tyger! A Cradle Song Auguries of Innocence

Writing a Review What was the poem about? (Couple of sentences) What is your favourite part? Why? Who are the main characters? Talk about them. What happens to them? If there are images, how do they help tell the story? Did you like the poem? Why/Why not? Did you laugh? Did you feel identified with the characters? What sort of people would like this poem?

Now… They write a draft They pass the draft to other students The students decide if that review is informative Suggestions are made A final copy is made

Read poem Valerie Bloom’s Granny Is http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/granny

Initial stage Listen to the recording What does it remind you of? Play it a second time What is Grannie doing? What does the speaker feel about her? How can you tell? What visual image we get of Grannie?

Second step What does it remind you of?

Step 3 Listen again

Step 4 What is Grannie doing?

Step 5 What does the speaker feel about her? How can you tell?

Step 6 What visual image we get of Grannie?

Development In each stanza Grannie is also the action, apart from doing them Write name of someone in their family. Use name by which they call them. Write list of objects associated.

Three stanzas Each stanza develops a different idea

With this exercise We have combined creation with Reading Structures

H. G. Wells THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

Musical adaptation Jeff Wayne, War of the Worlds

CREATIVE WRITING

Let’s do our narrative Step 1: Have an idea (Time travelling, discoveries, life in Mars, etc.)

Step 2 Think about a situation CHARACTERS SETTING PLOT

Step 3 Research!

Step 4 Inflate your ego

Step 5 Write

Step 6 Correct / Revise

Working with Authors

See webpage (Obligatory!) http://www.readingrockets.org/books/authorstudy/readrespond

Reasons to study authors 1. Help students develop their reading skills 2. Build critical thinking skills 3. Improve writing skills 4. Forge a deeper attachment to books 5. Establish a community of readers 6. Expose kids to different types of literary voices and styles 7. Boost information literacy skills 8. Plug in easily to the curriculum 9. Make connections across the curriculum 10. Add fun to the school day!

How to do an autor’s study Set a purpose and goals Choose an author Read and respond to the books Research the authors Culminating projects Author study resources

Author’s study sources

Choose the author Do you choose? Shall the students choose? What age are the students? Create a study centre in the class

Life of Oscar Wilde

Classroom display

Read and respod to works Individual readings on specific Works Ask students to keep journals Maps: story, plot, carácter Imagery

Researching the author Biographies Films Articles

Culminating projects Create a class book based on the students' responses to the author's work Create a display highlighting an author's life and work Create a magazine cover about the author, featuring his/her photograph and then headlines giving a taste of his/her books and biography Publish a special edition Create a video review of an author's work Create a "webquest" Develop a timeline about the author Dramatize a scene from one of the books Have students present their author studies to the class Host a party based on an author's books Make music Turn some of an author's work into a musical and/or dance performance. Create a literary social network Play a trivia game Publish a newspaper about the author

Culminating projects Try to have students write articles for all the different sections. Schedule an "Author Fair" along the lines of a Science Fair. Write a fan letter to the author Create a comic Write a letter to a character in one of the author's books

Please, keep this wonderful webpage http://www.readingrockets.org/books/authorstudy/culminating

LITERARY PERIODS Classroom displays Interdisciplinary projects

Interdisciplinary period Study of: Science Geography History Literature Music and Arts

Study of Literary periods Other writers General features

End of the class