Today, with 8 Topaz, I started the poem ‘Children of the World’ which has rhyming couplets. Alternating rhyme was already done back in October, but I wanted to introduce the students to rhythm. So after reading the poem & identifying the rhyme scheme pattern, I asked the students to stand up. I handed them a pocket whiteboard, and along with Ms. Shrock, we created a rhythm called ‘run’. On the whiteboards, we wrote the alternating rhyme scheme and ran hand-in-hand, showing students that this type of rhyme creates a slow rhythm. Then, we wrote a couplet rhyme, stayed next to each other hand-in-hand, not across (like the alternating), and ran again. This showed students that couplets bring a faster rhythm to the poem. After that, students returned to their place and wrote the note on their handout. Thanks, Ms. Sarah Ann Cauchi, English teacher, for sharing!
