Group F: Brenda Coleiro and Georgianne Mifsud

Wiki: War Poetry

Subject: English Literature

Theme: War [Suffering / Propaganda]

Target audience: Form 4/5 students

How the Wiki will be used in class...

● In the Form 4/5 syllabus the students have to study 2 war poems.

● This Wiki will include PowerPoint presentations, videos, audio files, exercises related to the poems, information and analysis about the poems, and space for students to discuss and give their opinions.

● This is useful in the students’ understanding of the poems.

● Thus, cognitive and social constructivist theories will be put into practice.

● The Wiki can be used both in class as well as at home to consolidate the learning that took place during the lesson and to get students to share their opinions.

● This knowledge will enable them to work on an unseen poem at a later stage.

Introduction to Wilfred Owen

● Students watch a short clip about the poet

and answer questions about it.

● This provides them with background about

the poet’s situation and helps them to

understand why the poet wrote the type of

poems he did.

● It also assesses their listening skills.

Introduction to War Poetry

The students will be able to watch 2 clips.

Through them they will be able to create comparisons and imagine what it would be like if they were in that situation.

Before war

During war/Life as a soldier

Anthem for Doomed YouthIntroduction to the poem:

● Students are provided with a copy of the poem which has gaps in it. They

try to fill in the blanks using the words provided. Then they listen to the

poem being recited (video clip) to check their answers.

● This activity encourages the students to think how words are used in

context. It will also help them to get the overall gist of the poem and to

assess their listening skills.

● In the following task, students match the words to their definitions.

● This will enable them to understand the poem in more depth because they would have had to read for detail.

Anthem for Doomed Youth● In the Analysis of the Poem section, students are provided with a list of 14

questions.

● Such an activity requires cognitive thought from which meaning is constructed and then shared with others.

● They are asked to choose at least 8 questions (or more if they wish to) and to contribute to the discussion by writing their comments below the selected question.

The Send-Off

Students are assigned with a number of questions and with videos and pictures that will help them to understand the poem.

Although in the final stage the students will be provided with notes about the poem, they first have to work on their own or with their fellow classmates and build their own opinions.

The teacher becomes a guide, and spoon feeding is eliminated.

IntroductionAnalysis of poem - questions, video clip with poem

Analysis of poem - notes, contextualisation

The Send-OffProviding students with a bombardment of information can put students off the subject.

As Hurst (2015) writes:

“[Students] can typically only handle a small fraction of the information at one time.”

Thus, some of the most important information is highlighted and broken down into points. This makes it easier for the students to follow.

Unseen PoemStudents will also be given the opportunity to put what they’ve learnt into practice and to analyse a poem they’ve never seen together with their friends, by posting ideas and replying to each other’s comments.

According to social constructivist views:

“knowledge is [...] a human product, and is socially and culturally constructed” (Beaumie Kim, 2001).

Thus, by working together students will be able to come up with a solid interpretation of the poem.

At several points in the wiki, the poems and topic being tackled are contextualised.

Students are asked how they would feel, to try and relate to the situation, and shown videos that able them to put themselves in the characters’ shoes.

Audio is also used to create more empathy.

This makes it more relevant to the students, and improves the learning experience.

It is also important to give our students space to think and be creative.

Let’s take a quick look at our wiki.

The Welcome Page

Two of the pages: ‘World War 1’ and ‘Figures of Speech’

Slideshare presentation that gives students some information about WW1

Videos

An activity to introduce students to one of the poems

Fill in the gaps of the poem

Watch the video and check the answers

Match the words to their definition

Discussion Questions

Use of other material

Polls

Prezi

https://wikispaces.com/join/PRKC4CM

For a better look, join our wiki.You can do so by clicking on the below link:

Thanks :)

ReferencesKim, B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 26 May 2015, from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/

Hurst, M. (2015). Using Cognitive Development Psychology in the Classroom - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. Study.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/using-cognitive-development-psychology-in-the-classroom.html