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The Magic of Poetry for English Language Learners<br />Dr. Barbara Tramonte<br />Dr. Donna Mahar<br />State University of New York<br />Empire State College<br />

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What is poetry?<br />Uses words with precision, charm<br />Makes pictures out of words (snapshot of a larger world)<br />Uses all of the senses<br />Makes comparisons<br />Crystallized, condensed form of language<br />Uses language in a fresh and vigorous way<br />Walt Whitman–about the sound of horses on stone:<br /> “The blab of the pave<br /> The crank of the shod horses on the floor.”<br />

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Poetry and magic<br />The Dancing Hippopotami<br />in opulent array,<br />performed with great agility<br />an intricate ballet.<br />The Dancing Hippopotami<br />Then flew into a rage,<br />For on their final pirouette,<br />They crashed right through the stage .<br /> -Jack Prelutsky<br /><ul><li>Charming incantations

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Invokes supernatural

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Overrides natural laws

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Conjures…</li></li></ul><li>The Eagle<br />

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Poetic Language, “The Eagle”<br />He clasps the crag with crooked hands;<br />Close to the sun in lonely lands.<br />Ringed with the azure world, he stands.<br />The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;<br />He watches from his mountain walls,<br />And like a thunderbolt he falls.<br /> -Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)<br />

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The EagleScientific Description<br />The eagle has legs of medium length, a hooked bill, the hind toe inserted on a level with the three front ones, and the claws roundly curved and sharp; the extent of the wing is seven feet. Sea fishing eagles have feathers halfway to their toes.<br />

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Powerful Language in Poetry<br />W.H. Auden writing about the loss of someone he loved in “Funeral Blues”:<br />He was my North, my South, my East and West<br />My working week and my Sunday rest,<br />My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;<br />I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.<br />Writing about or telling a friend about the loss of a loved one:<br />I miss him so much. I don’t know what to do.<br />

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Oral, Reading and Writing Skills for ELLs<br />Children with well developed oral skills are more likely to have higher achievement in reading and writing (Cazden, C., 1988; Chall, J., 2000: Block, C., 2001)<br />Oral language development through reading, writing, performing poetry acknowledges sound is meaning (Hughes, J., 2007)<br />Vocabulary development one of greatest challenges<br />Reading fluency increased by guided repeated oral reading<br />Writing poetry exposes children to powerful language (Lockward, D., English Journal, 1994)<br />

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Literacy and Academic Literacy <br />Literacy can be informal<br /> - may not use articles or prepositions<br /> - colorful, inventive<br /> - social<br />Academic Literacy <br /> - language of prestige and power<br /> - precise, formal, avoids repetition<br /> - more easily mastered when student has academic <br /> literacy in native language<br />

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What does the classroom look like?Word walls, School halls, Offices<br /><ul><li>What’s on the

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walls?

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Where’s the

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refrigerator?

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Poets and

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poems?

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Narratives and art?

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It’s a whole school </li></ul> initiative!<br />

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Translation (Neruda)<br />Ode to Hope <br />Oceanic dawn<br />At the center of my life.<br />Waves like grapes,<br />The sky’s solitude,<br />You fill me<br />And flood<br />The complete sea…<br />The orange earth,<br />The sun’s fiery waist<br />In agony…<br />Ode a la Esperanza <br />Crepusculomarino,<br />En medio<br />De mi vida,<br />Las olascomouvas,<br />La soledad del cielo,<br />Me llenas<br />Y desbordas,<br />Todo el mar…<br />La tierraanaranjada,<br />La cintura<br />Incendiada<br />Del sol en agonia<br />

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Writing Poetry<br />Ekphrasis: Using Art to Inspire Poetry<br /><ul><li>What do you see?

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Who is this man?

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His art not accepted

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Can you use metaphors in writing about his work?

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Can you use similes?

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Vivid writing?

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Brainstorm a list.</li></li></ul><li>Reading Difficult Poetryfor English Language Learners<br />Stay the course<br />Solve the puzzle<br />Avoid the critics<br />Increase vocabulary<br />Build academic confidence in L2<br />There is no frigate like a book<br />To take us lands away,<br />Nor any coursers like a page<br />Of prancing poetry:<br />This traverse may the poorest take<br />Without oppress of toll:<br />How frugal is the chariot<br />That bears the human soul.<br /> - Emily Dickinson<br />

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Writing Activities“I Saw Myself”<br />When I was a child<br />I played by myself in a<br />corner of the schoolyard<br />all alone.<br />I hated dolls and I <br />hated games, animals were<br />not friendly and birds<br />flew away.<br />If anyone was looking <br />for me I hid behind a<br />tree and cried out, “I am <br />an orphan.”<br />And here I am, the<br />center of all beauty!<br />writing these poems!<br />Imagine!<br /> - Frank O’Hara<br />I was walking down the street when I met me<br />For the first time.<br />A small, little blonde-haired girl.<br />A girl who tries her best but <br />Never thinks it is enough.<br />A girl with green eyes.<br />A slender girl.<br />An active girl.<br />A girl who feels left out at times.<br />A girl who needs a real friend to<br />Share good times and feelings.<br />A girl who needs more meaning<br />To her life.<br /> - Rachel Noll, 5th Grade <br />

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I Saw Myself Again<br />Who was that cocoa-colored girl<br />Smiling at all?<br />She, sometimes happy, sometimes sad<br />Roams alone.<br />Who was that girl?<br />She drifted through me<br />As if I weren’t there.<br /> -Erica Wallace, 8th Grade<br />For the first time I saw myself<br />I saw beneath my outer layer<br />I saw beneath my eyes<br />I saw a swirling turning mass<br />Of feelings.<br />Feelings of anguish<br />Of happiness<br />Of pride<br />Of confusion.<br />I saw me.<br /> - Ian Synott, 7th Grade<br />

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Writing Activities<br />I used to, But now<br />If, Then <br />Wish poems<br />Trade poems<br />First Lines (supply them)<br />Personification<br />Apologies<br />This is Just to Say<br />I have eaten<br />the plums<br />That were in<br />The icebox<br />And which<br />You were probably<br />Saving for breakfast<br />Forgive me<br />They were delicious<br />So sweet<br />And so cold.<br /> -William Carlos Williams<br />

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Apology and Warning Poems<br />Batman- watch out!<br />They’re burgling the city,<br />Using G-trills as<br /> weapons,<br />Holding the locksmith<br /> hostage in the<br /> back of an old<br /> piano<br />Batman-watch out!<br /> - Miriam Lahage, 8th grade<br />

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Poetry Café <br />

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Poetry Café<br />

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Come up to the café <br />

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Increase VocabularyPlay with Language<br />Extend Learning – Post-writing and reading activities<br />In pairs:<br />Circle strong language – explain<br />Peer response<br />Questions about content<br />Notice theme or mood – write about it<br />

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Resources<br />A bilingual site for families and educators of English Language Learners: http://www.colorincolorado.org/webcasts/academiclanguage<br />Teachers and Writers Collaborative: www.twc.org<br />Find all poems: www.poemhunter.com<br />Caedmon Audio Tapes: www.harpercollins.com<br />

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We Leave You With These Words<br />From a poem called “Poetry”<br />by Pablo Neruda…<br />And it was at that age<br />Poetry arrived<br />in search of me…<br />With arrows, fire and flowers,<br />The winding night,<br />The universe…<br />And something started in my soul,<br />Fever or forgotten wings…<br />Deciphering that fire<br />I wrote the first faint line…<br />And I, infinitesimal being…<br />I wheeled with the stars <br />My heart broke loose on the wind.<br />