AESTHETIC APPROACH

The River by Valerie Bloom

This activity is mainly focus on the ‘Aesthetic-based Approach’ in teaching poem. By using this

approach, it helps the lesson become more entertaining and challenging as it demands the

students to be more creative and critical in analyzing the poem.

Examples Of Literary Elements

• Story/Sequence of

events/Point-of-view

• Setting

• Characterizations

• Literary devices

INTRODUCTION

• Teacher divides the students into 5 groups.• Teacher shows a poster that consists two

different images – Image A and Image B. (Appendix 1)

• From the poster, students are asked to answer several questions.

• For question (4), the teacher will pick the students randomly.

PRE READING ACTIVITY

Pre-reading Activity:

1) Color Poster2) Compare and Contrast Handout

1. List 4 feelings/emotions that your feel after you see the poster.

Anticipated answer: Pleasant feelings – happy, glad, pleased, peaceful etc. Unpleasant feelings – sad, angry, irritated, heartbroken etc.

2. Referring to the poster, construct sentences based on the feelings/emotions that you have listed.

Anticipated answer: I feel happy when I see the river is clean and flow calmly. I feel sad seeing many dead fish floating in the river.

3. Read the sentences aloud in front of the class.4. Compare and contrast the situations in Image A and Image B by

giving short answers. (Appendix 2)

DEVELOPMENT

Activity 1Activity 2

Activity 1

• Teacher tells the class that they are going to learn about ‘The River’ poem by Valerie Bloom.

• Teacher recites the poem clearly (once or twice) in front of the students for them to note the correct pronunciation of each words.

• Teacher gives different tasks to each groups. Within a time limit (teacher can decide), the students need to complete the task and present their answer in front of the classroom. (This activity is called Jigsaw Reading)

WHILE-READING ACTIVITY

Group Tasks

Group 1:a) The students are required to recite the poem with feeling,

expression and with the correct stress and rhythm in front of the classroom.

b) Discuss on the tone, mood and structure of the poem.

Group 2:c) What is the theme of this poem?d) What makes you think that theme you choose is suitable

for this poem? Elaborate your answer in a simple paragraph.

Group Tasks

Group 3:a) Relate the characters and actions in the poem to one’s life.b) Explain your answer clearly.

Group 4:c) Describe the messages that the writer is putting across in

the poem (moral values).d) Write a simple paragraph on it and elaborate.

Group Tasks

Group 5:a) Share with your classmates the literary devices in this

poem based on the given elements:

Personification Metaphor Relating sounds to meanings (onomatopoeia) Patterns of sounds (alliteration/assonance)

Activity 2

• Teacher gives handout to the students. (Appendix 3)• All students need to answer the questions given. They are

allowed to discuss in groups.

*To make it interesting, the teacher can conduct this activity in game form where first three groups finished fastest in answering these questions with the correct answers will receive prizes.

WHILE-READING ACTIVITY

1. Identify one pair of rhyming words in Stanza 1 and Stanza 2.

2. What is the river compared to in the third stanza? How is it described?

3. Find three actions performed by the river in Stanza 4.

4. In Stanza 4, the river is happily ‘sucking his thumbs’ can appeal to our sense of _________________

5. Which line in Stanza 5 tell us that the sound of the river can be heard near and far?

6. What are the two human emotions that the river being personified with in Stanza 6?

CONCLUSION

• Teacher provides the students with a blank A4 paper.• This final activity can be carried out individually or in

groups.

POST-READING ACTIVITY

1. Poem ‘The River’ by Valerie Bloom is from the second point of view. Write a parody to that poem from the first point of view (the river’s perspective).

2. Use the questions below as a guideline in constructing the parody poem.

• Who am I?• What actions do I perform?• Why/How do I perform the actions?• Insert any emotions, feelings or moral values that

relevance as a sequence of the poem.

APPENDICES

Appendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3

Image A Image BPO

STER

(APP

END

IX 1

)

APPE

ND

IX 2

APPE

ND

IX 3