Text types: Texts for fun & leisure

Poems & rhymes

Why should students read poems?

There are many reasons for using poems and rhymes with students, but the strongest argument for doing so is that reading, reciting and writing poems will extend and enrich their English. Plus, poetry can be fun!  Poetry appears in many cultures around the world and it appears to fill a basic human need, providing an outlet for self expression like painting and drawing and dance. Where possible, try and draw attention to similarities and differences between English poetry and Chinese poetry.

Students need exposure to a wide variety of English. Throughout their school career, they are exposed to a fairly limited range of text types so using poems helps to extend that range. Here are some further ideas for you to think about:

	Poetry appeals to our emotions as much as to our intellect.
	Poetry encourages students to engage with all their senses.
	Poetry encourages students to make perceptive observations of the world around them.
	Through reading poetry we can often gain fresh insights into human experience.
	Poetry is suitable for children of all abilities.
	Poetry encourages creativity.
	Poetry stimulates a love of reading and can improve reading skills.

There are many good reference books available. Here are some which we particularly recommend:

	Kennedy, P. and Falvey, P. (1998) (eds) Learning language through literature in primary schools: Resource book for teachers of English Hong Kong University Press
	Falvey, P. and Kennedy, P. (1997) (eds) Learning language through literature: A source book for teachers of English in Hong Kong  Hong Kong University Press
	Phillips, S. (1993) Young learners Oxford University Press
	Tunica, M. (1995) For the love of poetry Primary English Teaching Association, Australia

	Nicoll, V. and Roberts, V. (1993) Taking a closer look at literature based programs Primary English Teaching Association, Australia
	Graham, C. (1978) Jazz Chants Oxford University Press
	Zawadzki, H. (1994) In tempo: An English pronunciation course National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University, Australia

	English Section, Advisory Inspectorate & Institute of Language in Education. (1994). Poems, Songs and Games for the Primary English Classroom. Hong Kong: Education Department
	Mok, A. (1997). English Language Enrichment Programme Resource Book. Hong Kong: Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong.
	Murphy, M. (2000) Time to rhyme (for Hong Kong Primary 1 - 6) Longman Hong Kong Education

There are also some wonderful websites which you should explore. Here are some which we particularly recommend:

	http://www.edleston.cheshire.sch.uk/projects/poetry/poetry.htm (Poems written by pupils at a British primary school)
	http://www.hkedcity.net/english/fun-and-games/poetry/ (Poetry for children)
	http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/3041/ (Fascinating background information about nursery rhymes)
	http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/sources.html (The Mother Goose Page, very useful for nursery rhymes)
	http://www.lyrics.com (Collected lyrics of many popular songs. These can be read as poetry)

When you have got your students to write poems of their own, you might like to consider posting their poetry in the TeleNex poetry corner or on their own website!

Below, we have included some examples of poems and rhymes. These examples are for you to look at and think about yourself. Some of them may be suitable for using in the classroom with your students. We have also provided some of Mike Murphy's poems, written especially for Hong Kong students: