Feeling GOOD about my teaching!

My Dad and I have been teaching the students about poetry and today, I decided to teach class 5 about symbolism in poetry.  Before the lesson, we were teaching class 3 and asked the class if anyone knew what a verb was.  All 40 students shouted out, in unison, a paragraph-long definition of a verb. It was as if they were all reading a textbook passage aloud.  

My dad and I were amazed by this long chant, and couldn't help but laugh at how impressive it was that they had memorized it.  I think this style of teaching by rote memorization, though, is why it is sometimes difficult for them to think for themselves.  I also became worried that it would be too difficult for them to comprehend symbolism and metaphor.  

We started off the lesson by drawing the Nepali flag on the chalk board and asking them what it represents.  After some confusion, we brainstormed what this symbolic piece of cloth represents. Is it actually Nepal? No, but it is a symbol of all these ideas you have shared...  That seemed to make sense to most of them.  

     

We then moved on to talking about examples of metaphors.  They especially enjoyed when I said "During lunch, Sir Paul is a pig", but I then explained how by using the word "pig", one can imply a number of characteristics, and that is why we use a metaphor for comparison.  They were a little confused when I introduced them to the saying, "Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get", but I think most of them vaguely understood the bigger meaning behind it.  

After a few more examples like, "Eliza's brain is a computer"(not true) and, "Life is a roller coaster", we moved on to how you can use symbolism in poetry.  My dad and I had quickly composed a Haiku that morning to use for this lesson, (Life is a River. Striking rocks along the way. We keep flowing on.) because we had previously taught them about Haikus.  I think this really helped, and a few boys in particular really understood and shared how we crash into obstacles like a river runs into rocks but we flow past them. Several of them made the connection about the recent Nepal Earthquake being a "rock" in their path, but we have moved past it and continue living. Even the teacher sitting in on our lesson raised her hand to answer one of our questions!  

With all this prep, we then introduced, "The path not taken" by Robert Frost to them.  It is a difficult poem to understand, especially by children who's first language isn't English, so we read through it slowly, helping them understand what was going on.  The last stanza is the most substantial and quotable, so we wrote that one on the board and analyzed it.  We had to explain that it is not actually about a man walking on a path and going on an adventure, but that the choice he makes symbolizes the way he lives his life.  After lots of explaining, I think they were able to comprehend this idea and see what the poem is actually about.  We discussed examples of people who follow a "different path" in life. My Dad suggested how Gandhi refused to follow the norm and took his own path, and that is why he did great things.  The people who choose their own path in life, the path "less traveled," are often the most memorable.  

I really think this lesson, although difficult for some to comprehend, got the wheels turning. It meant so much when the teacher sitting in on our lesson approached me to say, "That was very interesting lesson Miss Eliza."  The fact that my dad and I impressed another teacher with a subject neither of us has ever taught, was very reassuring.  Hopefully the children found it intriguing and inspiring as well.  Thank you Mrs. Dobson ;)