Tag Archives: Poetry

Nature, well-being & poetry

St George is around the corner and this year we will focus on our Erasmus + project about nature and well-being. 

Connecting with nature is known to have lots of positive effects on our mental health and well-being. It could mean growing plants, tending to vegetables, going for a walk, relaxing in a local green space and generally embracing it!

Poets from all centuries have found inspiration in nature to create their poems and express their feelings. Poetry helps express emotions and creates a connection with the reader. 

I. This year, you will have to create a calligram. Do you know what a calligram is? What is the name of a famous poet who created calligrams?

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A calligram is made of two words (calli = beautiful, gram = message). They use the design and shape of the letters, the ink color, the paper quality, and the frame, to deliver a combined effect and communicate something beyond the message of the letters themselves.

II. Observe examples of calligrams:

Source: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net

Source: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net

What do you think this poem is about, just looking at the form? What do you think the poet’s mood and feelings were when he wrote it? This is a poem by Gillaume Apollinaire and the original language is French. Click here to check out an English version. What do you think it is about?

What about this other one? What is it? Read the poem. What feeling do you get?

III. Now it’s your turn to be a poet. Follow the steps to write your calligram. First you write the poem and then you will design the form.

STEP 1. Think about the topic (it must be related to nature and well-being)

STEP 2. Brainstorm ideas. Use the dictionary to find words that you may need. How does the topic you chose make you feel? Think about adjectives, actions that you may use to express your feelings.

Cambridge Dictionary / Wordreference

STEP 3. Write your poem. Remember that every line in a poem is called a VERSE. Is your poem going to rhyme? Check the following document to see some rhetorical devices you can use.

STEP 4. Design the shape and create your calligram!

Students’ worksheet

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Poetry, music, emotions & the brain

A research study has looked into what happens inside your brain while you read and listen to music. 

You know that thrill you get when listening to your favourite music? That exciting feeling down your spine when you hear your favourite melody or rhythm? According to a recent study, it seems the same thing can happen while you are reading, but not with every kind of text. This opens up fascinating questions around how music, reading and emotions are connected in the brain.

I. Read the following text and answer the questions below.

[Source: Learnenglishteens]

II. Read the following texts and decide if they belong to a song or to a poem. Why do you think that? What characteristics do they share? What makes them different?

III. Let’s check your answers! 

  1. Fear – by Raymond Carver
  2. I wanna be yours – by John Cooper Clarke / Arctic Monkeys
  3. Find Me – by Forest Blakk

This is how I discovered this beautiful spoken song. It was published by @culturainquieta on Instagram and I couldn’t tear my eyes away…

IV. Write a short text answering the following questions: How do you think poetry and music are related? What do you prefer? Can you think of any songs or poems that stirred up your emotions? Which ones and why? (Remember to organise your ideas and use paragraphs and connectors. Write 80-100 words) 

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Amanda Gorman’s Poem for Inauguration Day

I. Who is Amanda Gorman, and what has she been asked to do? 

II. Watch the video about Amanda Gorman and answer the following questions with one word.

  1. How old is Amanda Gorman?
  2. What topics does Amanda Gorman explore in her poetry? R_______________, m_______________, A______________ H_______________.
  3. At what age was she named the nation’s first youth laureate poet?
  4. When did she start to write the inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb”?
  5. Where is she from?
  6. What impediment did she have as a child?
  7. Who had this impediment too?
  8. What is the power of poetry for her? Poetry is a w_______________
  9. What university did she recently graduate from?
  10. What are her political aspirations?

Transcript

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Halloween poems

halloween-151162_640

Do you like poetry? Can you remember any poem you learnt when you were little?

On the 31st October it’s Halloween. Do you like it? Do you celebrate it?

1. We are going to read some Halloween poems. First, listen to the teacher as she reads them. What Halloween words do you know? Write them down.

POEM 1 – Five little pumpkins.

POEM 2 – Flutter, flutter little bat.

POEM 3 – Jack-O-Lantern.

POEM 4 – Monsters.

POEM 5 – Pumpkin Time.

POEM 6 – Trick or treat.

POEM 7 – Who’s that knocking?

2. Now, in pairs, choose one poem and practise it. Then, you are going to read it out loud.

3. Now that you know what Halloween words rhyme, can you write a poem in pairs or in groups of three? 

 

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