Provides a test that acquaints students with the metrical structure of a poem by selecting a familiar song that will accommodate the words of the poem. (PD)

Suggestions are offered in this paper for adapting C. S. Lewis's poems for oral interpretation. A discussion of Lewis's lifelong correspondence with his friend Arthur Greeves provides insights into Lewis's perceptions of his own writing. Eighty poems selected from Lewis's "Poems" as appropriate for oral interpretation are classified…

Outlines common abuses that occur when students first use dramatic analysis in oral interpretation. Offers guidelines to help make students' efforts more productive; uses William Carlos Williams's poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" as an example. (PD)

Outlines an exercise that gets students to experience the oral composition of poetry. Describes methods for implementing the exercise; discusses results and advantages. (PD)

Shows how teachers can begin with the sound of a poem in performance as a springboard to a critical understanding of the writer's art. Provides suggestions helpful in staging performances. (GT)

Explains how information theory can be applied to the study of oral interpretation in ways that help performers understand and use the channels available to them in sharing literature with listeners. (PD)

Describes a program of oral interpretation of poetry for children as a springboard into the language arts program. Describes the poetic nature of children, acknowledges rhythm as an important component of spoken language and poetry, and suggests possibilities for bringing children and poetry together through rhythmical experiences. (JMF)

In this lesson, grade 6-8 students analyze a variety of poets and their poetry by reading and listening to their work. Students then use information gathered from Internet resources to select a favorite poet and perform one of their poems for the class. During the four 30-minute and five 20-minute sessions, students will: analyze a variety of…

This teaching guide packet is designed to accompany a 3-part television series, "Poetry Heaven," which captures many of the brightest and most memorable moments of the 1996 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. The series presented in the packet features 18 poets whose personalities, voices, and points of view reflect the power and…

Describes how performing Shel Silverstein's poems is an effective method to practice oral expression. Notes that although this activity was used in a fourth grade class, it could be adapted to any grade level. (MM)

This lesson plan contains poetry-related activities that aim to help students read and interpret English poetry, and write their own poems. The activities are introduced in each of the following parts: talking about poetry, understanding poetic devices, interpreting poems, using poetry for language acquisition, writing original poems, performing…

Describes a poetry assignment in which students select a poem to analyze and present before the class. Observes that unlike the traditional postures of detachment and impersonality, this approach of self-selections encourages students to establish an intimacy with poetry. (MM)

Describes a poetry-presentation assignment in which students select poems from examples studied in class and prepare oral presentations incorporating visual, dramatic, technical, or musical arts. Describes several student presentations resulting from this assignment. (MM)

This teaching guide packet is designed to be used with the television documentary "Fooling with Words" hosted by Bill Moyers featuring the 1998 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, during which thousands of people gathered for four days to listen to, read, discuss, and celebrate contemporary poetry. The packet can be used in arts and…

Composing oral poems and storytelling are two exercises that speech teachers can use in oral interpretation courses. Conducting the oral poetry exercise early in an introductory interpretation course allows students to become acquainted with each other and to encourage each other while sharing something of themselves with the entire class. This…