READ-ALOUD POEMS
Instructions to the teacher:
Read the following POEM about THE EYE with expression/gestures/voice inflections. Tell the students beforehand to listen very carefully.
After the first reading, give them the composition assignment. THEN read the story aloud to them once more. They will write on their own pages.
Do NOT read the title or give the author’s name.
THE EYEby Phyllis Oded
The doorbell rang.
I looked through the eyehole and what did I see?
I saw AN EYE, …………………………looking back at me!
“Who’s there?” I asked. “Go away! Go away!”
.…but the bell rang again. THE EYE was there to stay!
“IWON’Topen the door! I don’t know who you are!”
[Was it one of my neighbors or someone from far?]
For a third time the bell rang, leaving me unnerved,
but I didn’t answer, although the doorbell was heard
ten times more, till I was ready to shout.
“Go away!” I said. “Stop ringing!I won’t open, Get OUT!”
Written Assignment:
Retell the story from the point of view of THE EYE.
The Spider and the Fly
Pre-reading vocabulary:
1. web 2. by and by 3. spin/spun 4. juicy 5. tasty 6. CRUNCH 7. chew 8. huge 9. burp
*[This poem can be read aloud by the teacher and exercises written on the board.]
The spider speaks:
Up the web climbed the spider, as around flew the fly.
“Don’t you worry!” said the spider. “I’ll catch you by and by!”
He spun his web faster, making it very strong.
“I’m going to catch my lunch soon. Is there anything wrong?
A fat, juicy fly for my lunch will be so tasty, you will see.
Why should it fly around, so happy and so free?
I’ll catch it and eat it. I’ll eat it for my lunch.
In a minute you’ll hear me chewing. Listen for the CRUNCH!”
Around flew the fly, unsuspecting of the trap……
Until the spider caught it…………………and that was the end of that! BURP
The fly replies:
While I [fly] ______around, happy and free, I [see] ______a huge spider. He [spin] ______his web, as I [look] ______for something to eat. I [be] ______a little fly, so I [not fly] ______very high, but I [try] ______hard, really I did!The spider [work] ______very fast. I [hear] ______him say that he [catch] ______me in his strong web. I [not want] ______to be his lunch. I [think] ______he [not catch] ______me, but I [be] ______wrong. Help! Help! He [be] ______here now.CRUNCH! CRUNCH! BURP!
Ask the spider two questions:
______?
______?
Ask the fly two questions:
______?
______?
My spider spun its web, from one corner to the other.
The only sound I heard was the scream coming from my mother.
“What is THAT doing, up there on our wall?
It doesn’t belong there; it shouldn’t be there AT ALL.”
“Hey, mom, remember, you promised me a pet
and this was the smallest one that I could really get.”
Down came the spider, as it saw a fly.
“Get me some water! I think I’m going to die!”
“Mom, it’s such a little spider that’s crawling all around.”
By then mom had fainted; she didn’t make a sound
as my cute little spider climbed up on her ear.
My poor mom had passed out, so there was nothing more to fear.
I gently picked the spider up and returned it to its home.
All I heard from mom was a long sigh and a groan.
THE STORY RETOLD FROM THE SPIDER’S POINT OF VIEW [tenses]
I [weave] my web tomorrow. When I [stop] [weave] it, it [be] a strong web. If it [be] strong enough, it [trap] flies for me to eat. Yummy! My spider-friends [visit] me after I [finish] it and we [have] a yummy party.
NEXT DAY It’s all finished.Look at my beautiful spider’s web. While I [weave] it, a terrible thing [happen]. A BIG ANIMAL [come] into the room and [start] [scream]. She [say] that she [faint] and she did! As she [‘sleep’] on the floor, I [crawl] onto her ear. Then the LITTLE ANIMAL gently [pick] me up and [return] me to my web. While the LITTLE ANIMAL [hold] me, I [bite] it. I am a poisonous spider, so I think it’s dead.
What a lovely quiet house now. I like it here.
Crossing the Street
Reviewing some morecomplicated grammatical structures,
using past tenses
The light was red, but my bus was coming
so I crossed the street and started running.
The next thing I knew I was hit by a car
and thrown two meters; [well, it was ALMOST that far!]
I awoke on the pavement in a pool of ‘red’,
wondering if I were alive…………………….or dead.
Of course, I missed the bus that day
[and my teacher had a lot to say!]
Exercise 1:
Based on the information above, write ALL the sentences in the past. You may NOT use the same sentence twice, but you MAY reword the same idea.
- Not only ______
- Although ______
- If ______
- Despite ______
- After ______
- While ______
- As a result, ______
- Despite ______
Exercise 2: On the back write a short [50+ word] newspaper articlebased on the above information. Answer the questions: WHO/WHAT/WHERE/WHEN/ WHY. You may add additional ‘facts’, like person’s name, if you wish.
WHO WILL TAKE THIS KITTEN?
written by Phyllis Oded
Who will take this kitten that is crying in the street?
Who will protect this kitten and maybe give it meat?
A tiny little kitten, a little ball of white,
hungry, afraid and tired, ……………….and so alone at night.
Wait! Here comes a little girl with a piece of cheese.
Watch her as she puts it down, there among the trees
with a dish of milk and some other things to eat.
The kitten purrs happily when it sees the treat.
The girl picks up the kitten that gently licks her face
and brings it home to mommy, who quickly makes a place
for the tiny, white kitten, a place so warm and nice……….
and when the kitten grows up, it catches lots of mice.
“MICE!” screams the mother, as one lands near her feet.
She picks up half-grown kitten and throws it to the street.
The girl [no longer little] cries softly for her cat
But her mom has thrown it out……………………….and that’s the end of that!
LESSON PLAN: [note: 2 pages]
1. Tell the students that you are going to read them a story in the form of a poem twice.
Write the following on the board beforehand and tell them they will have to listen carefully in order to choose ONE of the following written tasks to do immediately afterwards.
**Write mom’s note to her daughter.
OR **Write the girl’s note to her cat
OR **Retell the story from the kitten/cat’s point of view.
About 100 words. Use the past tenses: past simple, past progressive, future past.
WHO WILL TAKE THIS KITTEN? page 2 [basic tenses]
2. Write the following exercise on the board. Tell the students to copy it into their notebooks on every other line.
As Talli [walk] in the park yesterday, the 9-year-old girl [find] an abandoned little kitten. She [pick] it up and [bring] it home. While it [drink] some milk, the kitten [purr]. The girl [say] that she [keep] the kitten in a box in her room. She then [tell] her mother that she [take] care of the kitten…………and she did!
3. Exercises:
1. Fill in the correct tenses. [Bring up the point that ‘purr’ could be both in past simple and past progressive, depending on what happened.]
2. Explain that after ‘WHILE’ with no subject/person immediately following, we use the gerund/Ving form.
Give more examples as:
- Before [leave] the house, she will finish her work.
- He fell while [run] too fast.
- After [study] for an hour, he stopped.
- When [get] on a bus, be careful of the high steps.
4. Stress the difference between ‘the 9-year-old-girl’ and ‘the girl is 9 years old //
She will take a ‘5 day vacation’. Her vacation will be for 5 days.
5. Next: add stars before the nouns and ask them to add an adjective [or two] to make the story more descriptive.
As Talli [walk] in the **park yesterday, the 9-year-old girl [find] an abandoned little kitten. She [pick] it up and [bring] it home. While [drink] some **milk, the kitten [purr] The **girl [say] that she [keep] the kitten in a **box in her room. She then [tell] her mother that she [take] care of the **kitten…………and she did!
6. Lastly, add stars where they should add an adverb.
As Talli [walk]** in the park yesterday, the 9-year-old girl [find] an abandoned little kitten. She [pick] it up** and [bring] it home**. While [drink] some milk, the kitten [purr]**. The girl [say]** that she [keep] the kitten in a box in her room. She then** [tell] her mother that she [take] care of the kitten…………and she did!
7. NOW READ THE NEW STORY AND SHOW THEM THE DIFFERENCE.
ENGLISH IS EASY….YEAH….SURE……
English is easy…………….if you were born in L.A.
We Hebrew speakers have to suffer each day.
Why in ‘only’ does the ‘o’ say its own name
but in the in the word ‘one’, it’s not sounded the same?
If I live in a ‘house’, well the ‘h’ is a good sign,
but the ‘h’ in ‘hour’ is silent and does NOT tell the time.
Why are ‘bought’ and ‘caught’ sounded the same way.
but for ‘laugh’ and ‘dough’ we have something different to say?
Why is there a ‘w’ at the beginning of ‘write’?
What is a ‘gh’ doing in the middle of ‘night’?
Don’t tell me that English comes from Latin and French,
when I’m sitting here suffering, trying to make sense
of pronouncing letters of which I can make neither heads or tails.
No wonder everyone in my English class either gives up or fails!
Signed,
A Student
Lesson Plan:
**Before reading the poem aloud, write the words in bold on the board:
ONLY – ONE
HOUSE – HOUR
BOUGHT/CAUGHT – LAUGH/DOUGH
WRITE
NIGHT
Then ask students to pronounce them. Ask them HOW they know or learned what the correct pronunciation is.
** Written assignment: [descriptive essay] Write about their first experiences in reading and/or writing English.
A [SCARY] STORY
I’ m going to tell you a story that you’ve never heard before.
Don’t be afraid……BUT, be sure you close the door………………..…..
and lock all the windows……… and turn on every light………………….
and sit in the corner, so nothing can come and bite.
It’s a VERY scary story and I’m sure it’ll frighten you.
When you hear this story, I don’t know what you’ll do!
Lesson Plan:
Before reading, ask various students to say what frightens them and put the list on the board. Don’t ask the reason why.
Next, read the poem aloud.
Finally, ask them to retell OR make up a scary story.
They must use only the past tenses and no direct quotes.
about 100+ words.
Petrazillia: Use and underline the following:
In my opinion//As a result//after//Not only//than// In conclusion
Why is it every time……….?
Why is it so many times when I bathe or take a shower
and I’m all alone in the house, we lose electric power?
I stand there dripping wet, afraid that I will fall,
with no one there to help me and no one there to call.
I’m not sure where the towel is or where to find my clothes,
but I need to dry myself, from my hair down to my toes.
The power’s off. I’m in the dark and THEN what’s that I hear?
Is someone at the front door? I now shake with fear.
Lesson plan:
1. pre-reading vocabulary:
Discuss the different between taking a bath [to bathe] and taking a shower
Write on the board: dripping wet// a towel// shake with fear//from my head
down to my toes = [name 5 parts of the head/of the leg
2. Decide who the narrator is: age, etc.
3. Retell the story in your own words up to the point the narrator stopped talking.
Next: YOU are either a member of this narrator’s family OR a burglar. Explain
what brought you to the narrator’s front door at this time. Then go on
with the story/Make your own ending.
Use and underline: In my opinion//stop//Not only//then//than
LEAVING THE CLASSROOM DURING A LESSON
PART ONE:
Dear Teacher:We have something we want to say:
We don’t want to sit here on this bright and sunny day.
May we PLEASE have a lesson out in the sun?
or even in the park? THAT would be fun!
You can tell us a story, or maybe even two.
Won’t that be something different to do?
We can sit in a circle; we’ll be as quiet as mice.
PLEASE take us outside. We promise to be nice.
PART TWO:
To All Of My Students: I’ve just read your letter.
Your idea is great and I’d like nothing better.
Take your lunches and take something to drink.
Hurry! Hurry, before I have time to think.
I know exactly what we’re going to do.
I have an idea, actually quite a few.
We’ll sit in a circle instead of walking
and practice English, practice conversation and talking
and maybe we’ll even sing a song.
If we use only English, how can it be wrong?
Lesson plan:
Read the first part to the class and then ask them what they think the teacher’s reply will be. Ask them which of their teachers would/wouldn’t agree and why.
Then read part two.
Written assignment:
The principal has found out about the unusual lesson.
Write his/her letter either to this teacher and/or to this class.
Use the following: Not only// In my opinion// In addition// than//As a result// In conclusion
[The length of the principal’s letter will be determined by the level of your class.]
REGULAR TESTS VRS. ENGLISH COMPOSITIONS
The history test is tomorrow; math’s the day after that.
I haveto sit and study until I get all the material down pat.
A lot has to do with memory and of course, the way I study.
It’s easier to study alone, but it’s more fun with a buddy.
Some subjects are easier to learn, because there are only facts and years.
Subjects like ‘compositions’ bring out all of my hidden fears.
Take English, for example, where my level of language needs to be high.
I must use “In my opinion” and “Therefore” and also give reasons why.
I need to pay attention to tenses and to punctuation, as well.
If I don’t check my spelling in the dictionary, the teacher will be able to tell.
When I write a formal letter, I have to write it in the correct way,
with my address and date in the upper right side or points will be taken off
that day.
Their address has to be written on the left…….. and under it ‘Dear Sir:’,
[unless specifically writing to a woman, then write “Dear Madam” ‘cause it’s a her.]
My composition needs to be organized, with a beginning, middle, and end
followed by ‘Sincerely yours’ and my signature. Now it’s ready for me to send.
LESSON PLAN:
1. Pre-reading: teach: getting material down pat//a buddy//hidden fears//upper right side, etc.
2. Pre-discussion: Which kinds of exams are the hardest [for you] and why?
Does everyone find the same exams the hardest? Why or why not?
3. Next, read poem aloud once.
4. Write/Put the formal letter format on the board.
5. Read the poem out loud to the class again. Do they agree with the narrator?
6. Discuss the types of formal letters: letter to a newspaper giving your opinion/letter of complaint/job application/application to study at a certain school, etc.
7. Discuss what information should be presented in each paragraph [‘the beginning, the middle and the end’]
8. Give them various compositions to write: both in class and as homework.
[9. Add any other exercises you can think of that are appropriate…..and let me know so I can add them to this list.]
To be read aloud to the class TWICE:
“RING” went my alarm clock as it rang near my head,
but I didn’t want to hear it or to leave my nice, warm bed.
After thinking a minute about the long, long day ahead,
I simply turned over……………. and went back to sleep instead!
Writing Assignment:100+ words
[Write on the board the following:]
Who are you?
What happened next?
What were the consequences of your actions?
Add interesting details.
Use the following when you write:
- Not only
- In my opinion
- As a result,
- If
THE LAKE
The deep blue of the lake was inviting. The water was calm and clear.
As I jumped boldly into the water, I knew I had nothing to fear.
I swam around in circles, first on my back and then on my side.
The deep blue of the lake was inviting. I knew it had nothing to hide.
Then……………………….I felt a pull on my ankle of something that wouldn’t let go.
I was suddenly afraid of SOMETHING. but of exactly WHAT, I didn’t know.
Assignment:Oral pre-reading questions to the class:
- Have you ever been to LakeKinneret?
- Have you ever swum in it?
- Why must we be careful when swimming in open places like a lake or river or sea, more careful than when swimming in a pool?
NOW read the poem aloud to the class without their knowing the assignment.