Since the poem has many words that I know my students do not know because they are not very common, it is always a struggle to read it with my students. This year I took a different approach and it went so well that I will use this lesson plan for the poem in the following years.
Holding a red, ripe tomato in my hand, I announced that we were going to read a poem about a tomato entitled, "Oda al tomate" by Pablo Neruda.
Then, I distributed the poem in Spanish to the students and instead of reading through it with the students, I asked for a volunteer (and usually when my students volunteer they do not know for what they are volunteering). I handed the poem with both the English and Translation to the boy that volunteered. Then I read a few words or phrases in Spanish, paused, and he read the English translation. While we read, the students followed along on their copies. Fortunately, the volunteer was the perfect fit for reading the poem and he did an OUTSTANDING job. The students enjoyed the poem from his way of echoing my words in Spanish - slow and a bit poetic-like. From their reactions, I think one of their favorite lines was "debemos, por desgracia, asesinarlo".
After the reading, I told them that they were going to write their own poem, similar to Neruda's style, but their poem was going to be titled, "Oda a la galleta". Of course, for inspiration purposes only, I pulled out a container of chocolate chip cookies for them. Now, not only were they happy because they enjoyed listening to the reading of the "Oda al tomate", but they were also happy because they were snacking on home-made chocolate chip cookies.
In about 15 minutes, they were finished with their poems and we were ready to read them, in the same fashion as the student and I modeled, first a few words or phrases in Spanish, followed by the English translation. One group requested to go first because they had even made their poem rhyme in Spanish! In true coffee-house like fashion, when each group finished we didn't clap. Oh no, we snapped.
The best part, one girl that I heard mumble as she walked in at the beginning of class, "I hate school" (because she wasn't happy with her previous class, was laughing and smiling. Before she left I asked if her day had improved and she said, "Sí, gracias señora".
And that, dear friends, is enough to put an extra spring in my step. :)
As a side note: It was perfect that I read a tweet by @senoraCMT about Pablo Neruda just days before my class read Pablo's "Oda al tomate". (Find the link about Pablo Neruda HERE.)
Love your lessons! I will definitely share this one on Facebook and Twitter today. I wish my Spanish teacher in high school was as creative as you are with your class. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Julia. It's rewarding when I hear from others that used the lessons or tweaked them to work with their particular students, so if by you sharing the lessons on Facebook and Twitter makes the lessons available to a broader group of teachers - then great!!
ReplyDeleteDid you have a template for them to use as for the construction of their poem? What were the parameters? Length etc?
ReplyDeleteThis is an open response activity, meaning it had very few parameters and I provided no template for them. The biggest parameter was that they had a limited time (in the class I talked about above it was 15 minutes) to write their poem, therefore they were not extremely long. The students had just read and listened to Pablo Neruda's "Oda al tomate" so they mirrored that format in their poems. The activity can be labeled as a poetry appreciation and exploration activity.
DeleteI haven't done this activity yet this semester with my Spanish 5 students, but I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks for the quick response! That is awesome! I have been trying to incorporate more literature into my senior level class and have found it a bit daunting. I have been looking for more creative ways to get them into the lesson (HELLO senioritis) and I think I have found it! I am honestly throwing out my initial plan for tomorrow and going to give this a try. :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI just happened to see a notification that a comment was awaiting publication and since I had my blog tab open, it was easy to respond.
DeleteI always enjoy the Cookie poem activity. We have 70 minute classes so we can read Neruda's poem, write Galleta poems, and read them in one class period. Have fun tomorrow!
Because you left a comment, I then found your blog, :-) I would like to tweet about your creative activity with the mystery bags and skits. Are you on Twitter? I'd like to include your Twitter handle on the tweet if you are on twitter.
Cynthia
No, I am not on Twitter. Just isn't a medium I can really get into. Feel free to post…er tweet? though. :)
ReplyDeleteI tried this lesson today with my upper level kids and it was fantastic! Since my kids are level 4 it took them longer than 15 minutes to write their poems, but other than that I followed it pretty closely. My favorite ode was the one to the lying, deceitful oatmeal raisin cookie that makes us think it's a chocolate chip cookie and dashes our hopes when it is discovered to be oatmeal raisin. So, so much fun. Thanks for the great idea.
ReplyDeleteHaha - your comment about the "lying, deceitful oatmeal raisin cookie". I agree. I've taken a bite from a cookie in the past thinking it was chocolate chips and was disappointed. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing your class experience with me.