Please click on each link at the bottom of this page to find some notes that may help your students understand and discuss the poems for this year. You may also wish to discuss the theme of this year’s contest with your class: What Makes Us Human.

 

Choosing the poems to study.

From the list by form provided, you can select the poems for your students, or have individuals from each form pick a poem they like. It is fine for students in each form to all study the same poem—or for each to pick a different poem from the list provided for their form.

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Getting the most from the poems.

Encourage your students to read the poems on their own and generate questions and observations.

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You can work on the poems with your kids in club or one-on-one, but try to get some in-class time, as well. Look at the teacher guides and think about how to adapt them. Since you’ll be discussing big ideas, much of the discussion will be in Hayeren, and that’s okay. This contest is about critical thinking as much as it is about learning English.

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Students’ opinions, ideas, and experiences are important in discussions. There are no right or wrong answers (necessarily). “Critical thinking” requires analysis with an open mind rather than looking for an answer.

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Help students not only memorize the poems, but work on pronunciation, gesture, intonation and facial expression. They will communicate the poem’s message through all of these. See the judging criteria here.