The Magic of Poetry for English Language Learners

Dr. Barbara TramonteDr. Donna Mahar

State University of New YorkEmpire State College

What is poetry?

Uses words with precision, charmMakes pictures out of words (snapshot of a larger

world)Uses all of the sensesMakes comparisonsCrystallized, condensed form of languageUses language in a fresh and vigorous way Walt Whitman–about the sound of horses on

stone: “The blab of the pave

The crank of the shod horses on the floor.”

Poetry and magic

•Charming incantations •Invokes supernatural •Overrides natural laws•Conjures…

The Dancing Hippopotamiin opulent array,performed with great agilityan intricate ballet.

The Dancing HippopotamiThen flew into a rage,For on their final pirouette,They crashed right through

the stage . -Jack Prelutsky

The Eagle

Poetic Language, “The Eagle”He clasps the crag with crooked hands;Close to the sun in lonely lands.Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;He watches from his mountain walls,And like a thunderbolt he falls.

-Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

The EagleScientific Description

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.

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

Oral, Reading and Writing Skills for ELLsChildren 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)

Oral language development through reading, writing, performing poetry acknowledges sound is meaning (Hughes, J., 2007)

Vocabulary development one of greatest challengesReading fluency increased by guided repeated oral

readingWriting poetry exposes children to powerful language

(Lockward, D., English Journal, 1994)

Literacy and Academic Literacy

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

What does the classroom look like?Word walls, School halls, Offices

•What’s on the• walls? •Where’s the • refrigerator?•Poets and• poems?•Narratives and art?•It’s a whole school initiative!

Click icon to add picture

Translation (Neruda)Ode to Hope Oceanic dawnAt the center of my life.Waves like grapes,The sky’s solitude,You fill meAnd floodThe complete sea…The orange earth,The sun’s fiery waistIn agony…

Ode a la Esperanza Crepusculo marino,En medioDe mi vida,Las olas como uvas,La soledad del cielo,Me llenasY desbordas,Todo el mar…La tierra anaranjada,La cinturaIncendiadaDel sol en agonia

Writing Poetry

Ekphrasis: Using Art to Inspire Poetry

•What do you see?•Who is this man?•His art not accepted •Can you use metaphors in writing about his work?•Can you use similes?•Vivid writing?•Brainstorm a list.

Click icon to add picture

Reading Difficult Poetryfor English Language Learners

Stay the courseSolve the puzzleAvoid the criticsIncrease vocabularyBuild academic

confidence in L2

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,Nor any coursers like a

pageOf prancing poetry:This traverse may the

poorest takeWithout oppress of toll:How frugal is the chariotThat bears the human soul. - Emily Dickinson

Writing Activities“I Saw Myself”

When I was a childI played by myself in acorner of the schoolyardall alone.I hated dolls and I hated games, animals werenot friendly and birdsflew away.If anyone was looking for me I hid behind atree and cried out, “I am an orphan.”And here I am, thecenter of all beauty!writing these poems!Imagine! - Frank O’Hara

I was walking down the street when I met me

For the first time.A small, little blonde-haired girl.A girl who tries her best but Never thinks it is enough.A girl with green eyes.A slender girl.An active girl.A girl who feels left out at times.A girl who needs a real friend toShare good times and feelings.A girl who needs more meaningTo her life. - Rachel Noll, 5th Grade

I Saw Myself AgainWho was that cocoa-

colored girlSmiling at all?She, sometimes happy,

sometimes sadRoams alone.Who was that girl?She drifted through meAs if I weren’t there. -Erica Wallace, 8th

Grade

For the first time I saw myselfI saw beneath my outer layerI saw beneath my eyesI saw a swirling turning massOf feelings.Feelings of anguishOf happinessOf prideOf confusion.I saw me. - Ian Synott, 7th Grade

Writing ActivitiesI used to, But nowIf, Then Wish poemsTrade poemsFirst Lines (supply them)

PersonificationApologies

This is Just to SayI have eatenthe plumsThat were inThe icebox

And whichYou were probablySaving for breakfast

Forgive meThey were deliciousSo sweetAnd so cold. -William Carlos Williams

Apology and Warning PoemsBatman- watch out!They’re burgling the city,Using G-trills as weapons,Holding the locksmith hostage in the back of an old pianoBatman-watch out! - Miriam Lahage, 8th grade

Poetry Café

Poetry Café

Come up to the café

Increase VocabularyPlay with Language

Extend Learning – Post-writing and reading activities

In pairs:Circle strong language – explainPeer responseQuestions about contentNotice theme or mood – write about it

ResourcesA bilingual site for families and

educators of English Language Learners: http://www.colorincolorado.org/webcasts/academiclanguage

Teachers and Writers Collaborative: www.twc.org

Find all poems: www.poemhunter.com

Caedmon Audio Tapes: www.harpercollins.com

We Leave You With These WordsFrom a poem called

“Poetry”by Pablo Neruda…And it was at that agePoetry arrivedin search of me…With arrows, fire and

flowers,The winding night,The universe…

And something started in my soul,

Fever or forgotten wings…

Deciphering that fireI wrote the first faint

line…And I, infinitesimal

being…I wheeled with the stars My heart broke loose on

the wind.