Poems and Stories of the Region

Day 4

Goals:

1. Students will read and listen to poems and/or stories related to the Caribbean region.

2. Students will choose a poem and write about what it means to them.

3. Titles and internet sites will be given to students that have to do with Caribbean literature for further exploration on their own.

Time:

1 hour

Resources/Materials:

pens, paper, selected books and poems from internet sites:
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http://www.parentsplace.com/readroom/childnew/cultural.html

Procedure:

1. Begin the lesson by reading a selection from the book/poem lists above - Not a Copper Penny in My House: Poems from the Caribbean. Read a poem from this book as each describes one child's life in the Caribbean. Pass a copy out to the class for them to keep. Ask a student to read the poem out loud. Again, ask another student to read the poem out loud. Ask the students to write down on a piece of paper what they think the poem means. 10-15 minutes.

2. Offer the students a selection of poems to choose from that have to do with the Caribbean using the sites offered in resources. Ask the students to choose a poem and take their time in reading once or twice. Then they should write down what they think the poem means, what it is talking about, and/or what it means to them. 15-20 minutes. Optional: The instructor may choose to tell the students in advance that they will not collect them or they may choose to collect the responses of the students.

3. Initiate a discussion about what poems do and what they are intended for. "Why do you think people write and read poems?" "What are some benefits of writing and reading poems?" "What do poems offer that books do not?" "What are the benefits of these differences?" Have a student or students write ideas on the board. 15-20 minutes.

4. For the remainder of the lesson, give students lists or the internet sites of titles of books and poems relating to the Caribbean. These are options for self-exploration if students choose to further read Caribbean poems and texts.

Assessment:

This lesson is intended just to have students relax and listen to what they are read and do read themselves. Assess students if you choose to do so.

Curricular Strands:

English - reading poems and stories

Communication - writing what students interpreted from poems and/or stories

Self-Discovery - option for further investigation of Caribbean poems and stories

 This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program