Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
In Week 1, I started off my lessons to my third formers by teaching "Leisure", a beautiful poem written by William Henry Davies.
A poet and an autobiographer. Born in 1871 in Monmouthshire, Wales. His poems were written based on his experience as a tramp and the many different characters he encountered along the way.
His first poems were published when he was 34 years old. His poems highlight about nature's beauty based on his observations about hardships in life. Wrote two novels and autobiographical works. His best known novel is Autobiography of a Super-Tramp. He died in 1940.
The Poem:
Leisure
What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like stars at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this is if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.
Reminds us to take time to appreciate the beauty of nature. However, if we are too busy with our daily life & worry too much, we forgetto watch and admire natures beauty.
It is a sad life if we cant find time to relax and appreciate the nature around us.
Teachingthepoem: Since this was the first week of school, I asked students about their holidays to get them to talk about their experience. At the same time, this activity also served as an ice-breaking session. I selected students at random while encouraging them to respond voluntarily. I asked questions like: 1. 2. 3. 4. Did you have a good holiday? or Did you enjoy your holidays? What did you do during the last school holidays? What do you like to do if you have free time? Why do you like to do such activity during your free time?
Then, I related students' responses with the poem. Most of my students told the class that they spent most of their holidays at home helping their parents, watching television and using facebook. One of my students replied that he loves camping. This is a good start to relate the discussion to the main topic by asking "Why do you love to camp?", etc.
Most "I'm
of going to
my take
students you on
spent a
the
entire around
at to
home, see
so
told
them, scenery."
journey
some
beautiful
They
were
ecstatic.
deceit. This affects the country's safety. The persona calls on the younger generation to fight for justice and to speak up against deceit. 2. Being courageousAnother theme is being courageous. In the past, people made many sacrifices and fought bravely with the country's enemies for their freedom. Now, the persona urges the younger generation to be brave and fight against other threats in the country. He tells them to stand up and speak with courage. 3. Unity In the past, people were united when they fought for independence. Now, the persona emphasises that the younger generation who has inherited a free country should unite to preserve their freedom. They should stand united by building a wall of people or forming ranks irrespective of racial, religious and other social differences. The "lines" in the poem, A Fighter's Lines refer to the persona's lines and the lines or ranks formed for unity. We have to be united and strong as in the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall". Values1. We must be brave to uphold justice.The persona urges the younger generation to stand up against the widespread lies which are rampant in society today. This 'net of deceit' worries his as it can destroy the solidarity of the people. Therefore, he urges them to stand united and uphold justice to preserve the freedom and safety of the country. 2. We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our independence.In the fight for independence, the persona and other soldiers sacrificed and risked their lives when they fought for independence. Now, he is wheelchair-bound because he was either crippled in the war or is now old and sick. Now, he wants the younger generation to make sacrifices too to preserve their freedom. 3. We must be united to preserve our freedom.The persona wants the younger generation to stand united regardless of their differences to ensure their freedom.