how to use song and poetry in primary school class

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SONG AND POETRY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
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SELECTED
POEM

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SONG AND POETRY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
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Sea Animals
What do you see in the sea?
Animals moving free!
Snails and whales
Using their tails.
Seals and eels
Looking for meals.
Catfish, flatfish
Chasing fat fish.
What do you see in the sea?
Animals moving free!
Meish Goldish
Retrieved from http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems21.html

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JUSTIFICATION
FOR THE SELECTED
POEM

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For the poem entitled Sea Animals, written by Meish Goldish, I had selected it as the poem
that can be taught in Year 3 pupils, Unit Seven, under the World of Knowledge theme. This poem
is chosen based on the consideration of three pedagogical principles which include interest,
proficiency level, and age and its purpose with reference to the primary English language
curriculum, which is the linguistic development.
For the first pedagogical principle, it focuses on the implementation of interest in the poem,
Sea Animals. This principle emphasize on how new knowledge about the sea creatures can be
used in order to attract the young learners to read the poem. In the selected poem, the knowledge
in identifying different aquatic life is created. For example, “Seals and eels” and “Catfish, flatfish”
show that sea animals have different shapes, sizes and colors live in the sea which can be
identified by the young learners.
The second pedagogical principle that can be implemented in the poem is the content. Based
on the poem, it only contains simple sentence with simple words. Thus this will make the pupils
learn and understand the poem easily as they can recognize the words stated in the poem. In
other words, the can learn and focus on new vocabularies. Besides,the content and the message
of the poem is clear as there are no hidden meaning or ambiguity when the learners study the
poem.
The last principle that can be related for teaching the poem to the young learners is the age.
It is important to recognize the suitability of the poem towards the reader based on age. Younger
age needs a simpler poem than the adults. For the poem, it can meet the needs of young learners
whose age around nine years old as it is very interesting to read and easy to understand. This
poem only contains ten lines whereby each line consists of two to seven words only.
While this poem is considered through the three principles, it also indicates its purpose for the
primary English language curriculum. The main purpose for using this poem in class is for the
linguistic development. The student can learn new simple words based on the categorization.
Furthermore, the poem does not contain too much words for the pupils to learn. For example,
they can learn new verbs such as “using”, “chasing”, and “looking”. They also can learn new
nouns, such as the names of the aquatic life such as “snails”, “whales”, “seals”, and “eels”.
In conclusion, it is important for the teachers nowadays to considerate the pedagogical
principles in choosing poem for the pupils to be learn, especially the second language learners of
English. This is because those pedagogical principles can help the teacher to choose the right
and the best poem for the pupils so that they can learn and develop their English easily step by
step. At the same time, teachers should know the purpose of using poetry in the Malaysian
primary school

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SONG AND POETRY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
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SELECTED
SONG

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SONG AND POETRY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
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Rain, Rain, Go Away
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Daddy wants to play,
Rain, rain go away,
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Mommy wants to play,
Rain, rain go away,
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Brother wants to play,
Rain, rain go away,
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Sister wants to play,
Rain, rain go away,
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Baby wants to play,
Rain, rain go away,
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
All the family wants to play,
Rain, rain go away.
Retrieved from http://www.kidsworldfun.com/rhymes_rain-rain-go-away.php

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CD FOR THE
SELECTED
SONG

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SONG AND POETRY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
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JUSTIFICATION
FOR THE SELECTED
SONG

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The song entitled Rain, rain go away, a nursery rhyme seemingly originated from James
Howell, is the song that I chose to be taught to the Year 1 pupils, Unit Nine under the World of
Self, Family and Friends theme. Proficiency level and age are considered for the pedagogical
principles of teaching poem to the pupils while intra personal development and moral values
become the purposes of the song to be taught in class.
Based on the structure of the poem, it can be taught in Year 1 class as it only contain several
words which is written repeatedly. The pedagogical principle of proficiency level is emphasized
as the Year 1 pupils will have the chance to focus on minimum pronunciation only. Besides, the
tempo of the song is moderate so that the pupils can follow the song and the words given can be
read and pronounced easily by the pupils such as “rain”, “go” and “away”. This poem also in
repetition form so that the student can practice their pronunciation on the particular words.
For the pedagogical of principle by age, consideration is made whether the song contains
complicated meaning for the pupils to learn. This song is suitable for Year 1 as it is appropriate
for them in knowing their members of family in English such as “father”, “mother”, and “brother”.
Besides, the song only contains simple English words for them to grasp of. Moreover, the song is
short so it can be remembered easily by the young learners.
Intra personal development is recognized to become the purpose of the song to be taught in
the class. It rises the awareness of the pupils through the song. From the song, the pupils will
learn that it is important to know the appropriate way to call their family members. For example, it
is polite to call their parents using “Daddy” and “Mommy” instead of calling them by their name.
The other purpose that can be considered is the moral values. From the moral value, the
pupils can differentiate which is good or wrong. From the poem, teacher can emphasize the
importance of love towards their family members. Aside from that, the teacher can teach them
that it is not good to play in the rain. The example can be seen through the repetition of “______
wants to play, Rain, rain go away,” It signifies that the pupils cannot play if the weather is bad.
To summarize, pedagogical principles such as proficiency level and age and the purpose of
using the song to be taught in class give huge impact on teaching and learning process in class.
The song must be selected carefully as it will resulted whether the teacher can use the chosen
song ideally in delivering knowledge or not.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Goldish, M. (n.d.). Can Teach: Songs and Poems - Others in and Around Water. Retrieved from
Can Teach: http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems21.html
Rain, Rain, Go Away: Kids Nursery Rhyme. (2014). Retrieved from Kids World Fun:
http://www.kidsworldfun.com/rhymes_rain-rain-go-away.php