SUBJECT
GRADE
DATE
DURATION OF LESSON
CONTENT & CONTEXT
TEXTBOOK CHAPTER AND
PAGES
ASSESSMENT TASK:
1/2/3/4/5/6/7
BARRIERS TO LEARNING
ENRICHING
OPPORTUNITIES
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
DRAMATESE KUNSTE
12
TERM 3
POETRY SPEAKING
PERFORMING POETRY: A STUDY GUIDE FOR TEACHERS.
BY KATHY NORRIS
TASK 5.
PAT 3. PERFORMANCE
INSTRUCTIONS, CONTENT, EXCERCISES AND ACTIVITIES
Voice Emphasis Exercises
Purpose: To have students learn the importance of varying the pitch, rate and volume of their voices. Emphasizing
different words will alter the meaning of the poem that the students are reading.
Exercise #1:
1. Use the following poem by Bruce Lansky for this exercise.
My Baby Sister
My baby sister’s
really swell.
I love her smile,
but not her smell.
(Note: All poems used in this study guide are copyright by Bruce Lansky.)
2. Have students take turns reading the poem emphasizing one word over the others. For example the first student
reads it emphasizing "My" and the second student reads the poem emphasizing "baby," and so on until the last
student has read the poem emphasizing the last word "smell."
3. Reading the selected word with emphasis means to say it louder, slower and more dramatically than the other
words in the poem. If you emphasize "My" it means my baby sister as opposed to yours. If you emphasize "baby" it
may mean your baby sister as opposed to your older sister.
4. Discuss how the meaning of the poem changes as different words are emphasized.
5. Teach your students that as they practice other poems to present in class that they can decide which words to
emphasize. They can underline these words so that they can identify these words as they practice their poems.
Exercise #2:
Many students speak too quickly when presenting poems in front of the class or an audience. Your pitch and volume
can vary more when you slow down your rate of speech.
1. Use the following poem by Bruce Lansky for this exercise:
I’d Rather
I’d rather wash the dishes
I’d rather kiss a frog.
I’d rather get an F in math
or run a ten-mile jog.
I’d rather do my homework.
I’d rather mow the lawn.
I’d rather take the garbage out.
I’d rather wake at dawn.
I’d rather dine on Brussels sprouts
or catch the chicken pox.
I’d rather do most anything
than clean the litter box.
2. Have a student volunteer to read the poem slowly, much slower than she/he would if they were actually presenting
to the class.
3. Now have a student volunteer to read the poem quickly. Tell then to read it as quick as she/he possibly can.
4. Discuss the effectiveness of both readings.
5. Lastly, have a student read the poem at a rate between fast and slow. Quick enough to maintain an interest of the
listeners yet slow enough to enunciate each word clearly and at a pace which enables the reader to ad emphasis
through his/her pitch, volume, and rate.
6. You can have students read the poem in pairs. The reading should take approximately seconds.
Variations: You may want to break up your class into small groups to do this exercise or assign it for homework to be
done with parents participating.
Exercise #3:
Some poems require the use of different voices or characters. Students should practice these different voices.
Students are often reluctant to practice using characterizations. Ask them to overemphasize them during this
exercise. If you exaggerate them while practicing it is easier than to tone it down when you actually present the poem.
It is very difficult, though, to effectively portray a character’s voice when you have only practiced it silently or without
much emotion or drama.
1. Use the following poem by Bruce Lansky for this exercise:
Where My Clothes Are
Dirty clothes should be put in the hamper.
Clean clothing belongs in the drawer.
But it takes too much time and it takes too much workso I throw them all over the floor.
2. Have students pair up and practice reading the poem to each other.
Have them read the first two lines in the following voices, followed each time by the last two lines in their own voice.
A. Their own mother or father.
B. A really mean or strict person.
C. With an accent of their choice.
D. With a really sassy voice.
E. With a rally bored voice.
F. With a cheerful voice.
G. With a scientist’s voice.
H. With an artist’s voice.
I. With a police officer’s voice.
J With an opera singer’s voice.
Tip: Encourage your students to have fun with this exercise. Have them vary their volume, pitch and rate greatly.
Remind them to over exaggerate and to be as dramatic as possible.
Exercise #4:
Here is another exercise designed to increase emotion through your voice.
1. Have students say the words "What’s So Funny" using the following emotions:
Happy Angry Afraid Surprised
Sad Jealous Apologetic Shy
2. Read the following line from Bruce Lansky’s poem, "What’s So Funny?"
I notice people staring at me everywhere I go.
Now read the same line above, but mean the following things:
A. You’re mad that people are staring at you.
B. You’re sad that people are staring at you.
C. You’re glad that people are staring at you.
D. You’re nervous or anxious that people are staring at you.
E. You’re embarrassed that people are staring at you.
F. You’re surprised that people are staring at you.
G. You’re suspicious of people that are staring at you.
H. You’re tired of people staring at you.
Body Movement and Gesture Activity
This is a nonverbal exercise to increase the awareness of how we show our feelings through different parts of our
bodies.
Exercise #1
1. Use the same emotion cards created in the facial expression exercise.
2. Have students practice being the arms of another student by standing behind the students and slipping their arms
through the arms of student who is standing facing the audience.
3. The student playing the "hands" of the speaker tries to show the given emotion through her/his gesturing and
positioning of her/his arms and hands.
Exercise #2
1. Select some of the basic emotion cards out of the pile. Ones that would be easier to display with one’s body.
2. Have students select a card ( or do as a group exercise) and portray that emotion through their posture only.
Exercise #3
1. Write down the names of animals on index cards.
2. Have your students act out that animal nonverbally. Encourage them to think how their animal moves (slowly,
quickly), any mannerism it might have (head movements...).
3. Have the class guess what animal they are.
(These animal cards can be used for students to use in exercise #4 of the vocal variety exercises. Have your students
read the "What’s So Funny" line as their animal would sound.)
Facial Expression Exercise/Expressing Emotion Through Facial Expressions
It is important when students recite poetry to have the appropriate facial expressions accompany the text. It is easier
for some students than others to do this. It is also helpful for everyone to practice this skill. This is a fun and
interactive exercise. Encourage your students to over exaggerate the emotions through their facial expressions and
have a great time.
1. Create a list of easily identifiable emotions that can be shown through facial expressions. Such as:
Happy Sad Surprised Fearful
Anger Dislike Shy Hopeful
Disappointed Courageous Anxious Bored
Stubborn Tired Disgusted Puzzled
Calm Sorry Mischievous Arrogant
2. Have the group as a whole practice each expression together or ask selected students to volunteer what particular
emotion might look like and demonstrate it for the class.
3. Write these words on index cards. Create a group of these for each small group in the class. Also write all of the
expressions on the chalkboard.
4. Have each small group sit in a circle. The first person takes a card off the top of the deck without letting others in
the group see the word.
5. She/he then shows this emotion to the group through a facial expression. Repeat the expression if the group needs
to see it again.
6. The members guess which emotion the person demonstrated by writing it down on a piece of paper that they have
numbered.
7. If they guessed correctly, they circle the number.
8. That card is then put in a throw away pile.
9. The next person in the circle repeats the activity.
Tips: If the younger children are having problems, let them use their whole body to express the emotion.
Quieter students may have a more difficult time with this exercise. Be careful who is in their small group.
Discourage any teasing or laughing at others during this activity. Disparaging remarks among group members may
result in decreased participation.
Variations and additional exercises:
Purpose: To have students see how different parts of the face show emotion.
1. Draw a circle on the chalkboard. Pick an emotion word from the generated list. Fill in the eyes and eyebrows in the
circle as they would appear for this emotion. Then fill in the nose and mouth.
2. Go through several or more words and repeat the above.
3. Have students practice moving their eyebrows, mouth, etc.., to see how their facial expressions change with each
movement.
Stance, Posture, Gestures, Movement & Eye Contact
Nonverbal Delivery Techniques
Stance:
When reciting a poem in front of the class or an audience, the speaker should stand in the front of the room or on the
stage facing the audience. The speaker’s stance should be balanced with the speaker’s feet approximately shoulder
width apart. Students should avoid swaying side to side, shifting their weight foot to foot, or crossing and uncrossing
their ankles. The speaker’s object is to deliver his or her presentation with as few distractions for the audience to
observe as possible. An exception to the balanced stance would be if the student wished to emphasize a point, for
example, as in the stomping of a foot, or as part of a characterization, to cross her/his ankles so as to show
bashfulness.
Posture:
The speaker maintains an erect posture during his or her recitation (straight back, shoulder up and back, head
direction straight forward). If a part of the poem calls for an old man or a sad moment, it could be reflected with a
drooping of the shoulders and lowering of the head. Thus, if a change of posture is part of a characterization it is
appropriate to otherwise maintain a balanced stance and erect posture.
Gestures:
The hands should rest down at the speaker’s sides in a relaxed manner. As easy as this sounds, it takes practice in
order to not grab at your clothes, ball up your hands, or fold them across your chest. Speakers should gesture
appropriately to the material being presented and then return the hands down to the sides between gestures.
Movement:
For the majority of the presentation the speaker should maintain a balanced stance without much movement. If a part
of the presentation lends itself to movement, such as bending down or bowing etc.., it can be effective. Remember,
though, that these moments of movement should be purposeful and planned. If this is not so, the speaker’s
movement may turn into a pacing back and forth across the stage.
Eye Contact:
The speaker’s eyes should maintain contact with the audience members. the exception to this is if the speaker places
a character or characters in certain places which are usually to the side and above the audience. The narrator should
always maintain eye contact with the audience. this also takes much practice. Most students are not used to keeping
eye contact with the audience members without looking down or up. Teach your students that when you look away
from you audience members (without dramatic reasons) you are giving them permission to look away from you. The
speaker wants the attention of the entire audience for the entire presentation . Also have your students work on
maintaining eye contact on a particular audience member for roughly one to two seconds. It is distracting for the
audience to have the speaker scan over the audience quickly wither their eye contact. Engage your audience by
maintaining longer eye contact with your audience members Tip: Advise your students to avoid looking at members of
the class who might make them laugh.
The Performance:
I tell my students that their performance begins as soon as they are introduced. All eyes are on the speaker as she or
he walks up to the front of the room. Walk confidently to the place where you will deliver your presentation and stand
in a balanced stance with your hands down at your sides. The speaker stands in front of the audience, establishes
eye contact with audience members, waits until they are all silent, and then begins with the title of the poem, the
author, and after a brief pause, the poem itself. This is not a time to giggle or appear nervous. Teach your students
that they can feel nervous, but act confident and the audience will never know that the speaker was apprehensive.
Delivery Exercise
Purpose: To become aware of the effectiveness of your delivery through feedback.
As your students realize what they are doing nonverbally in their delivery, they can correct distracting mannerisms
and become more effective speakers.
1. Review the delivery techniques listed above with the class.
2. Have students speak in front of the class for one minute about any subject that you choose or that the class has
brainstormed. For example, what happened over the past weekend, their favorite vacation, their most precious
possession, etc.
3. Have the audience members observe the speaker’s delivery. If the speaker doesn’t maintain a balanced stance
have the class stomp one foot. If the speaker doesn’t return his or her hands down to his/her sides in a relaxed
manner, have the audience snap their fingers once. If the speaker looks away from the students’ eyes (up, down, or
to the sides), have the class clap once.
4. The student is instructed to simply acknowledge the stomp, snap, or clap and continue on with his or her
presentation until his/her minute is completed.
This exercise can also be used to reduce distracting filler words that do not belong in presentations, such as "like,"
"um," "uh," "anyway," "stuff like that," and "I mean" by the audience hitting their desks with one hand each time they
hear one of these words.
The Audience
The oral speaking experience is not complete without an audience. When discussing effective delivery skills with your
students, it is important also to instruct them on how to be an effective audience.
Effective audience members give their undivided attention to the speaker. It is disruptive to the speaker to talk with
others, fiddle with their hair, clothing, or objects around them, or to make inappropriate facial expressions while the
speaker is delivering her/his presentation. It is useful to remind your students how they would feel if people were
disrespectful while they were presenting a poem, story, or speech.
Feeling comfortable speaking in front of an audience is only achieved through practice and positive speaking
experiences. Even one negative experience can cause a speaker to be extremely anxious about performing in public
again. As a teacher, be diligent about reminding the class to be a supportive, empathetic audience and your students
will reap the benefits by enjoying and looking forward to future speaking opportunities.
Readers Theater
A single students can present more than one poem in a given them or more commonly several students can join
together and present poems which have a related theme.
A Readers Theater presentation is an oral interpretation of poem or prose. In this way it differs from a play production.
Readers Theater is generally more subtle and suggestive. For example full costumes are not necessary. The
performer may have a hat and change from the hat to a scarf to signal another character. It is also common for
Readers Theater participants to have the poem or text in front of them (as in story telling), though it is not relied on
heavily and sometimes only the narrator has the text in front of them. It enhances the "oral interpretation" delivery.
Students may want to select poems that are grouped together by a common theme. For example, in Bruce Lansky’s
book, Poetry Party, poems are grouped in the table of contents according to a common theme.
There are no set rules in a Readers Theater performance. Let your students decide where the characters should be,
how little or much movement and what props and costuming they want.
Preparation and Practice
1. Read through your poem silently
2. Think about the narrator and characters.
3. Ask yourself:
a. What is this character feeling?
b. What meaning is this character trying to get across?
c. What do you think this character looks like?
d. What do you think this character sounds like?
e. How do you think this character moves (slowly, quickly, proudly...)?
4. Think about how you can best portray this character through your:
a. Voice
b. Body
c. Facial expression
5. You may want to underline key words that need emphasizing or write instructions on the poem (if it is your own
copy or photocopy), such as "slow down," "louder," whisper," "stomp foot," etc.
6. The more preparation and practice that you do, the easier it will be to present your poem. Try to practice in front of
others so that you get used to looking at different parts of the audience.
7. Record your poem and listen to it. Is there anything you can do to improve your presentation?
8. Videotape your presentation. Watch it and ask yourself what you can do to improve your delivery.
POETRY
CRITERIA
Fully Achieved (2)
Partially Achieved (1)
Not Achieved (0)
Preparation
The learner knows the words of the poem and
shows evidence of thought, planning and
rehearsal.
The learner knows the words, but there is some
evidence of uncertainty or lack of rehearsal.
The learner does not know the words of the poem
and does not show evidence of thought, planning
and rehearsal.
Understanding of
poem
The learner demonstrates an understanding of
the poem and the interpretation is appropriate and
justified.
The learner must demonstrate an understanding
of the poem and their interpretation should be
appropriate and justified.
The learner must demonstrate an understanding of
the poem and their interpretation should be
appropriate and justified.
Expression of
meaning
The learner has an understanding of how to
convey meaning through the use of such
elements as phrasing, pause, emphasis,
intonation and vocal tone (quality). S/he is able to
interpret a text using these elements and
communicates the meaning of the text clearly and
expressively.
The learner is only partially successful in
conveying the meaning of the poem. The
meaning is not always fully clear or expressive.
The learner is not successful in conveying the
meaning of the poem. The meaning is not unclear or
inexpressively conveyed.
Vocal
expressiveness
The learner is able to create a balanced, pleasant
voice quality, which is unique, appropriate to them
and shows no signs of strain. S/he explores and
utilises the expressive, interpretative and musical
aspects of speech sounds in order to express
subtleties of meaning, and convey
mood/atmosphere.
The learner’s voice is not consistently balanced
or pleasant to listen to, or there is some
evidence of vocal strain. S/he is not completely
successful in exploring and utilising the
expressive, interpretative and musical aspects of
speech sounds in order to express subtleties of
meaning, and convey mood/atmosphere.
The learner’s voice is not balanced or pleasant to
listen to, or there is evidence of excessive vocal
strain. S/he is not at all successful in exploring and
utilising the expressive, interpretative and musical
aspects of speech sounds in order to express
subtleties of meaning, and convey
mood/atmosphere.
Vocal clarity
The learner is able to speak distinctly and audibly
for clear communication. S/he is able to (within
certain limits) use the appropriate volume for a
space, without vocal strain.
The learner is partially successful in speaking
distinctly and audibly for clear communication.
There are momentary lapses, or there are
moments of strain.
The learner is unsuccessful in speaking distinctly
and audibly for clear communication. Volume can
only be attained with vocal strain.
Physical work
The learner chooses movement or stillness
appropriate to the poem and to their interpretation
of it. S/he demonstrates control over their bodies
in order to release unnecessary tension and
establish optimal alignment and balance. The
body supports the voice and is integrated with it.
The learner’s choices in terms of movement or
stillness are not always appropriate to the poem
OR there is a lack of control over their
physicality in moments OR there is evidence of
unnecessary tension at times OR the body is not
fully integrated into the poem.
The learner chooses movement or stillness which is
inappropriate to the poem OR there is little or no
control over their physicality OR there is evidence of
excessive unnecessary tension OR the body is not
integrated into the poem at all.
Emotional
connection
The learner is able to connect with the emotions
of the persona in the poem appropriately and
effectively in such a way as to convince the
audience of the truth of these emotions.
The learner is partially successful in terms of
connecting with the emotions of the persona of
the poem appropriately and effectively; they may
not be totally convincing at all moments, or they
may react inappropriately in certain moments.
The learner is unsuccessful in terms of connecting
with the emotions of the persona of the poem
appropriately and effectively; they are not at all
convincing, or their emotional choices are entirely
inappropriate.
Creation of
appropriate
mood:
The learner uses vocal and physical
expressiveness in order to create a
mood/atmosphere appropriate to the poem.
The creation of mood is inconsistent,
inappropriate or not fully sustained through the
poem.
There is little or no evidence of understanding of the
mood, or the ability to create it effectively using voice
and body.
Use of poetic
devices
The learner demonstrates a mastery of the poetic
devices inherent in their poem, including
utilisation of: pause, line and verse lengths,
rhythm, meter, rhyme, imagery, register, tone.
Not all poetic devices are handled with mastery.
Few if any poetic devices are well handled.
Impact of poem
The learner’s presentation is memorable, effective
and engaging.
The poem has some memorable, effective,
engaging moments, but these are inconsistent.
The poem has few or no memorable, effective,
engaging moments.