Language approach

1. LANGUAGE APPROACH
The River by Valerie Bloom

2. Language based approach is one of the
important approach that teachers should give
importance in teaching literature. This is
because language approach is the basic level
that the teachers need to focus on so that, the
students able to understand the poem
thoroughly. It also helps the students to make
meaningful interpretations of the text itself. At
the same time, it also expands students’
knowledge and awareness of the language in
general.

3. INTRODUCTION

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSAt47Ol2qM
• Teacher can begins the lesson by showing a
video of polluted rivers together in the world
to the students. This could help to attract the
students’ attention and interest towards the
teaching.

5. PRE READING ACTIVITY
Based on the video, teacher asks few questions to introduce the poem to
the students. This could help them to trigger their schemata about our
environment.

6. 1. What do they feel about the rivers in the video?
Anticipated Answer:
dirty, polluted, full of rubbish, and sad.
2. List out few names of rivers in Malaysia that are
currently polluted.
Anticipated Answer:
Klang River, Penang River, Juru River, Sungai
Tebrau

7. 3. Describe what is river to you and how do you appreciate
the God’s creation (the river)?
Anticipated Answer:
 Any relevant answers by students can be accepted.
4. Give at least 3 activities carried out by human being that
lead to water / river pollution.
Anticipated Answer:
 Chemical fertilizers and pesticides run off from the farms
 Dumping of domestic and industrial waste
 Untreated animal waste

8. WHILE READING
ACTIVITY

9. 1. Teacher divides the students into 6 groups where each group
has 5 members with the mixture of both genders.
2. Teacher models the poem recitation with correct
pronunciation in front of the class.
3. Then, teacher calls out for the representative from the first
group to recite the first stanza of the poem and continues
with the other group representatives until the last stanza.
4. Teacher helps the students to read and to correct their
pronunciation during the poem recitation.

10. 5. In the group, teacher instructs the students to underline the
verbs found in the poem and finds the meaning of each
word using the dictionary provided.
6. Later, teacher asks the students to construct a simple and a
compound sentence using at least 5 verbs that they have
underlined or found.
7. Teacher assigns each group a stanza of poem to analyse the
meaning and teacher asks all the groups to present in front
of the class.

11. 8. Teacher asks few questions about the poem :
I. What does “He” refers to in the poem?
Anticipated Answer:
 ‘He’ refers to the river. Persona uses personification in this poem by giving some
human qualities to the river.

12. II. How does the persona describe about “The River”?
Choose the words from the poem to support your
answers.
Anticipated Answer:
 Persona describes the faces of river.
 The poem also shows that river is a part of nature and it can have both positive
and negative effects on the environment.
 The persona personifies the river by giving it human characteristics such be as a
nomad, wanderer, winder, baby, singer, monster, and hoarder.

13. POST READING
ACTIVITY

14. 1. Teacher concludes the lesson by asking:
I. What are steps need to be taken to overcome
this problem?
2. In groups, students need to create a poster
on the title “Save and Protect Me – River” for
a campaign in the form of collage to educate
our people about the importance of our river
for us and our next generation. Students are
allowed to use the magazines, newspapers or
any other materials where they can cut the
images and words from the materials.

15. APPENDICES

16. The River by Valerie Bloom
The river’s a wanderer,
A nomad, a tramp.
He doesn't choose any one place
To set up his camp.
The river’s a winder,
Through valley and hill
He twists and he turns,
He just cannot be still.
The river’s a hoarder,
And he buries down deep
Those little treasures
That he wants to keep.
The river’s a baby,
He gurgles and hums,
And sounds like he’s happily
Sucking his thumbs.
The river’s a singer,
As he dances along,
The countryside echoes
The notes of his song.
The river’s a monster,
Hungry and vexed,
He’s gobbled up trees
And he’ll swallow you next.