SPECIAL SECTION: In the Classroom
still pose difficulties for even the most advanced learners of
English. I usually start the review by asking the students about
objects around the room such as “light,” “whiteboard,” “document
camera,” or “window.” Then, I ask them to identify the number of
syllables in their names. This is always great fun, and it seems to
help a good deal. The third stage is to have the students count
the number of syllables in phrases such as “moonlight laughter,”
“secret glance,” or “wild music.”
Part III
The last part of the first lesson is to use what I call a sensory
play with words. On the board I write a word, phrase, or idiom
such as “autumn” or “Saturday mornings in autumn” and then
go through senses as a way to discover the poetry of words.
For example, “What smells come to mind when I say ‘Saturday
mornings in autumn’?” or “What sounds do you hear when I say
‘Saturday mornings in autumn’?” I use the diagram below for this
activity.
tastes
sights
sounds
Saturday mornings
in autumn
smells
textures
Figure 1. The sensory play with words.
DAY 2: Painting Images With Breath Poems
Part IV
This lesson focuses on explaining the structure and idea
behind the breath poem and the actual writing of one to two
poems in class. We go over the importance of the title, the
number of lines, and the syllable count. I then give the class the
phrase from the day before (Saturday mornings in autumn) and
review the sensory play with words.
This acti ٥