Prepared by: PISMP TESL 1 SEM 3

Anne Priyanka Chai Xiao Ling S. Hema Ng Pin Ting Ong Pei Shan

1. Select and create activities and materials to suit learning outcomes

Language development through songs and poetry

2. Adapt activities and materials for different levels

3. Teach sound system, vocabulary and grammar

Activities and materials are designed to suit the learning outcomes.

Teacher should know the learning outcomes to enable him/ her to plan suitable activities and materials for the class.

Vocabulary within the level of the students ability Should allow for dramatization, role-play and other enrichment activities

Should contain language compatible with that used in the classroom

Criteria for selection of songs and poetry

Should present some musical challenge

Rhythm should be straightforward and repetitive Topics should be within the experiences of the students

Why use songs and poetry?

Linguistic:
To enlarge the vocabulary background of children
To develop pupils' listening and speaking skills To introduce and familiarize children with the target language culture To improve children's pronunciation To teach various language functions To recall grammatical points To develop auditory discrimination

Affective:
To add fun to learning To motivate children to participate, even shy ones

To help teachers get closer to their children

To stimulate children's interest in the new language

To create a lively atmosphere in the language classroom

Very young learners, as early as two- year olds (at times even younger than that) can recognise and respond to certain rhymes or simple nursery songs through their repeated listening. The simpler the songs/ rhymes and the beats are, the faster they are able to pick up the rhyme. That is why rhymes like one, two, three or a, b,c,d are able to attact the toddlers. We can witness these toddlers humming the tune or even uttering bits and pieces of these rhymes.

Adapt Activities and Materials for Different Levels

How???
1. Let words be encountered in a personally meaningful context, that relates to the childs own personal life. The childs own life. The childs family.

2. Present the words through an aesthetic experience. Poetry intrigues the child, awakens the imagination, invites reflection through images and metaphors, shows a new way to see reality, and in the process, makes words highly meaningful. Rhyme and rhythm help to memorize the poem. Once a poem is memorized all its words become part of the childs own word bank. Songs add music to the enjoyment, and music contributes to facilitate memorization.

Building Familiarity and Text Structure:

Read the text through slowly, taking time to explain unfamiliar words and phrases. Study the pictures carefully and point out details, especially facial expressions on the people and animals in the story. Point out the rhythm of the text, and call attention to some of the rhyming words and phrases. Discussing: Talk about the text as you read it. Question and Answer. Rhyming: After reading together a few times, s/he will be able to fill in a rhyming word when you leave it out. The three little _______, They lost their _______, Following Up: Pupils will begin to incorporate the elements of the text into his play, and encourage him to do so.

Year 1, 2 and 3
The standards in KSSR for Language Arts in Year 1 and 2 will explore the power of story, rhyme, and song to activate pupils imagination and interest, thus encouraging them to use English language widely. Through fun filled and meaningful activities, pupils will gain a rich and invaluable experience in using the English language.

Pupils will also be encouraged to plan, prepare and produce simple creative works.

In addition, the Language Arts also provides pupils an opportunity to integrate, experiment and apply what they have learnt.

Criteria for Poetry Selection 1. Learner Levels :

Learner levels is the most important criteria that must be considered in the selection of a teaching learning material.

A teacher needs to select poems that suit their students level in terms of text difficulty and language complexity. (vocabulary, structure)

The most basic children's poetry can sometimes too difficult for students in the rural areas.

Hence, they might need to be adapted.

2. Students Interest
Young children prefer narrative poems over lyric poems as compared to free verse and haiku. They also like humorous poems, poems about animals, and poems about enjoyable familiar experiences. They also prefer poems that have pronounced sound patterns of all kinds, but especially enjoy poems that rhyme. Children prefer poems with regular, distinctive beats (rhythm). The elements of imagery and figurative language are not well received by young learners because it is not easy to understand poems figurative language.

3. Other Criteria
Poems for young children should emphasize the sounds of language and encourage play with words. Sharply cut visual images and words used allow children to expand their imaginations and see or hear the world in a new way.

They encourage children to extend comparisons, images, and findings.

The most effective poems allow children to interpret, to feel, and to put themselves into the poems.

Poems for young children should tell simple stories and introduce stirring scenes of action.

Poetry: Three Little Kittens

The three little kittens, They lost their mittens, And they began to cry, Oh, mother, dear, We sadly fear, Our mittens we have lost. What! Lost your mittens, You naughty kittens, Then you shall have no pie. Meow, meow, meow, meow, We shall have no pie. The three little kittens, They found their mittens, Lying on the ground, Oh, mother, dear, See here, see here, Our mittens we have found. What, found your mittens, You good little kittens, Now you shall have some pie. Meow, meow, meow, meow, We shall have some pie.

Characters:
Three little kittens Kitten is baby cat. Mother Cat Cat and kitten are animal and produced a meow sound.

Values:
Punishment is given when you belonging are missing. Reward is given when you take good care of your belonging.

Adaptation of Songs
Factors of consideration in adapting songs: Lexical items
Adapt the song by replacing the wordings or lyrics which are difficult with simpler words. Adapt the song by replacing some of the words with words which will allow gestures.

Sentence structure
Simplify the sentence structure of the lyrics of the songs chosen.

Content
Adapt the song by making the melody appropriately paced. Reduce most carefully some of the lyrics of the songs chosen.

Nursery Rhyme: Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Old MacDonald had a farm, eee-eye-eee-eye-o, and on his farm he had a [animal name], eee-eyeeee-eye-o, with a [animal noise twice] here and a [animal noise twice] there. Here a [animal noise], there a [animal noise], everywhere a [animal noise twice], Old MacDonald had a farm, eee-eye-eee-eye-o. For example, a verse using a cow as an animal and moo as the cow's sound: Old MacDonald had a farm, eee-eye-eee-eye-o, and on his farm he had a cow, eee-eye-eee-eye-o, with a moo moo here and a moo moo there. Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo, Old MacDonald had a farm, eee-eye-eee-eye-o.

Year 4, 5 and 6
The English Language syllabus has introduced Childrens Contemporary Literature in Year 4, 5 and 6.

Pupils will develop an understanding of other societies, cultures, values and traditions that will help them in their emotional and spiritual growth.

Children expand their vocabularies and language skills by listening to and participating in nursery rhymes and singing songs.

Through saying Songs and Poems, children practice higher forms of speech and develop vocabulary from very basic words to onomatopoeia.

It places a strong and consistent emphasis on exploring word relationships, nuances, and meanings. Children acquire and demonstrate their understanding of frequently occurring verbs, adjectives, and antonyms through listening, seeing, discussing, and acting them out. Examples: Sing a Song of Popcorn : Every Childs Book of Poems by M. White. Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky

Poetry: I Taught My Cat To Clean My Room

I taught my cat to clean my room, to use a bucket, brush and broom, to dust my clock and picture frames, and pick up all my toys and games.

He puts my pants and shirts away, and makes my bed, and I would say it seems to me it's only fair he puts away my underwear.
In fact, I think he's got it made. I'm not as happy with our trade. He may pick up my shoes and socks, but I clean out his litterbox.

Teach sound system, vocabulary and grammar

Sound system

If you've ever recited a nursery rhyme, played "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" or sung "If You're Happy and You Know It," you've been preparing the student for learning to read. Familiar songs and poems can strengthen a childs ability to hear the sounds of a language - a skill that will serve him well when he learns to connect sounds with letters (phonics) in school.

Learning how to make music and keeping rhythm are important listening skills.
Teachers can : Create a noise routine that can be choreographed into a favourite song. Make it into a rhythmic pattern using claps, knocking, stomping and mouth noises. You can also help children invent their own musical instruments by building objects out of things like boxes, strings, and pebble shakers. Have the child play with all of the made-up instruments to explore the different sounds.

Besides that,
Nursery rhymes are especially powerful, because they are so memorable.

Songs with rhyming lyrics are also terrific devices for teaching your child about the patterns of sounds.

Combine rhyming with rhythmic clapping or movements.

To teach sound system & pronunciation.

A Rum Sum Sum A rum sum sum, A rum sum sum, A rum sum sum. Guli guli guli guli guli rum sum sum. A rafi, a rafi, Guli guli guli guli guli rum sum sum.

1. First sing the song. Give emphasis to the sound-system. 2. Then change the tune to some of your favourite tune. Sing again. 3. The students are of the ages 11-12, communicative speaking activities can be carried out. 4. Give students plenty of pre-reading activities. 5. Play some background music to create the atmosphere.

6. Show some pictures to introduce the topic, and then get students to think about their personal knowledge or experience related to this topic. 7. They then talk about the poem, first with a partner and then in small groups, perhaps coming together as a class at the end to share ideas. 8. Give brief feedback on language used and note any language problems to be dealt with at a later date.

9. Prepare worksheets for pre-reading speaking activities which might involve a quiz, a questionnaire, sentence stems to be completed and discussed. 10. The students might predict endings to verses, the whole poem/song, or events occurring after the end of the poem. 11. Later, the students could talk about their personal response to the poem/song, discuss the characters and theme or debate the moral issues.

Vocabulary
Students will learn new vocabulary through activities such as word maze, crossword puzzle and jumbled up words. The nursery rhyme Baa baa Black Sheep teaches the students new vocabulary and this can be done through the usage of a crossword puzzle.

Baa Baa Black sheep Have you any wool? Yes sir, Yes sir, three bags full One for my master and one for the dame And one for the little boy Who cries down the lane!

For example

Grammar
Grammar can be taught through filling in the blanks or word scrabble activities. For example, based on the rhyme Baa Baa Black sheep, questions such as Baa baa Black sheep, have you any _____________? can be asked. Words like black can be scrambled to lbcka and the students can be asked to unscramble them.

Other types of activities :

- Listen to songs, rhymes - Listening for specific reasons eg. for words, letters, pronunciation - Sing along ( individual) - Choral / Chorus / small groups singing - Guided singing eg. with lyrics / music - Changing or adapting lyrics - Changing tones, pitch etc. - Dramatization / Role play

References
http://www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Common/sow%20 for%20the%20elective%20modules%20-%20211107.pdf http://www.heatherwhaley.ca/Rates_and_Information.asp x http://cd1.edb.hkedcity.net/cd/eng/PoemsAndSongs/PDF/ poems%20and%20songs.pdf http://almaflorada.com/doc/Vocabulary-DevelopmentThrough-Language-And-Song.pdf http://www.abcmusicandme.com/documents/W&G_ABC_T o_HeadStart_Outcomes.pdf http://www.designedinstruction.com/prekorner/child_lit_p oem_rhyme.pdf http://www.designedinstruction.com/prekorner/child_lit_p oem_rhyme.html