Let it Snow

Strategy: Dyads (pairs)

Objectives:

1. The students will learn about an American poet.

2. The students will learn a famous Western poem.

3. The students will practice using their listening skills as the Teacher recites the

poem.

4. The students will learn correct pronunciation.

5. The students will develop poise and confidence by reciting the poem before the

6. class.

7. The students will gain in fluency; students will be encouraged to practice their

English by memorizing “chunks of English” so that they will begin to have the

language in their minds and therefore able to use it more efficiently and correctly

in daily encounters.

8. The students will increase their vocabulary.

ESL Objectives:

Pronunciation - result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress,

and intonation, often with reference to the English standard of correctness or

acceptability. Pronunciation drills on the following sounds are included: /th/ /l/ /v/

/w/ /short e/

Diction - usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words and

their arrangement. This is encouraged when the students make substitutions, vary their

tales, or create their own skits. We want to encourage the students to use their English!

Vocabulary - learning new words of a foreign language. This includes idiomatic

expressions.

Fluency - able to speak smoothly, easily, gracefully, and readily. All ESL methods seek

to increase fluency.

Intonation - the sound pattern of phrases and sentences produced by pitch variation in the

voice which distinguishes kinds of sentences of different language cultures. Jazz chants

are for the purpose of working on intonation.

Confidence – levels increase the more students speak in front of their classmates, when

the students are encouraged to vary their stories and make substitutions, through stating

their own arguments and opinions, through skits, and in reciting dialogues.

Vocabulary:

woods

village

farmhouse

queer

horse

snow

frozen lake

harness

mistake

between

evening

downy

flake

mile

lovely

promises

sleep

FIRST SESSION: 45 minutes

I. Law of Review: review vocabulary from previous lesson by pointing to a word

on your Word Wall and calling on a specific student for its meaning. Chinese

students typically to not volunteer so the teacher needs to call in the students.

Review idiom in the same way.

II. Following the Review: Have the students stand, sing a song learned in class

or in music, or do a TPR. This is a “warm-up” to refresh them prior to learning

the new vocabulary for the day.

III. Law of Teaching from the Known to the Unknown:

A. Call on students and ask the question if anyone knows any poem they could recite

in Chinese. Have a couple of students recite short poems.

B. Ask the students to name their favorite Poet. See if there is one in particular that

several students enjoy.

IV. Introduce the students to the American Poet, Robert Frost.

A. Robert Frost is probably America's most beloved poet.

B. Most Americans are familiar with him and the poem we will learn today.

C. With ample reason: he wrote hundreds of poems, and he wrote them beautifully

and simply. More than thirty books of his poems were published, He won four

Pulitzer Prizes.

Young Robert Frost Older Robert Frost

V. Teach new vocabulary found in the poem. Use pictures where you can,

[Law of the Common Language] or act out conceptual vocabulary.

A. Review several times in various ways: give word, they give definition.

B. Give definition, they give word. Check pronunciation.

VI. Pronunciation Exercises:

A. Have the students watch your mouth as you demonstrate the movement of the

tongue in pronouncing the [th] in the following words:

B. Tell the students to place their tongue between their teeth. For the words “these”

and “though” there is no breath. For the word “think” they need to blow air out.

C. Write these sentences on the black board.

1. Whose woods these are I think I know.

2. His house is in the village, though;

SECOND SESSION: 45 minutes

I. Review Vocabulary of Poem – call on individual students to define a word

II. Read the Poem:

A. Read it 3 times, very slowly, using the pictures that go along with this lesson.

B. Ask the students to keep their workbooks closed for the story, as this becomes a

listening exercise as well.

[If you do not wish to use the attached pictures, you may want to purchase the book. Find one with

excellent colored pictures (garage sales, library sales, Good Will, Dollar Store, etc.), and remove the

spine and laminate the pictures. If you can find copies of this book cheaply from the Dollar Store, it

would make an excellent gift for your students.]

Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

C. Put the pictures, in order, on the chalk board tray when finished.

III. Next, have the students read the poem with you.

A. The teacher says the first line, the class recites the second line through to the end.

B. Then switch parts.

C. Finally, have the students say the entire poem with you.

D. Do this twice.

IV. Ask questions of this poem to ascertain if the students understand.

A. You will need to call on the students because typically the Chinese students

will not volunteer to answer questions.

B. Question samples:

1. Where does the owner of the woods live?

2. Where did the horse stop?

3. What season of the year is this poem speaking?

4. Why doesn’t the man want to stay in the woods?

5. What do you think are the “promises” he has to keep?

You can lead a discussion on question 5.

Bring other students in on this question.)

V. Pair Work:

A. Work in pairs. One option is for the student to select his partner. However, this is

not always a good idea.

B. An excellent option is to give half the class numbers (1-12), and the other half the

same numbers (1-12). The student must find the person with the same number and

partners are formed. (If you work in pairs a lot, this will ensure the students

working with a different student every day as they get new numbers every day.)

C. Another option for selecting pairs is to have the teacher pair up a strong student

with a weaker student. You will need to have the students several days before you

can make this assessment. This is an excellent option for use during the second

week of camp for lessons requiring working in pairs.

VI. Student practice

A. The students now practice reading the poem to each other. They may use their

workbooks.

B. Encourage students to help each other with vocabulary, pronunciation, and the

order of the story.

C. In addition, all Teaching Assistants will be going from pair to pair, listening,

encouraging, and correcting where needed. “Repetition is the mother of all

learning.”

D. The students need to practice this over and over and get to the point where they can

“read and look up,” where they can have “chunks of language” in their minds, and

where there is general fluency and principles of elocution.

E. The students will be told that they will recite the poem at the end of this session.

VII. Pairs recite in front of the class.

A. The pairs should recite the entire poem together. Encourage them to use the

pictures.

B. Important Note for Teachers: The students must receive encouragement whenever

they speak English in front of their classmates. Always give a very specific, positive

comment at the end of each one’s speaking turn. Examples:

“I like the way Alice pronounced her /th/ sounds.”

“I like the way Joseph projected his voice.”

“I like the way Mary put so much feeling into this poem.”

THIRD SESSION: 45 minutes

I. Continue having Pairs – Share. The students will build confidence speaking English

before their peers. It is important for the students to speak – speak – speak! Continue

until every pair has shared!!

II. Options if time permits:

A. Set up and play the game WORDO (like BINGO).

1. Give the students a grid sheet with 5 boxes across and 5 rows down.

(This is very easy to make. Make your template and run off at least 30

copies before you leave the States.)

2. The center box is marked FREE.

3. Orally give 24 of the vocabulary words they have learned thus far,

instructing the students to write the word in any one of the boxes they

choose.

4. Give the students small “chips” or small pieces of colored paper. When you

call out a word, they must find it on their grid, and place a chip over the

word.

5. The first student who has 5 across, 5 down, or 5 diagonally and says,

“WORDO” wins the game, and gets a prize (piece of candy, sticker, or

something).

See Sample Grid below:

B. Teach one of the following songs:

1. "Over the River and through the Woods"

Over the river and thru the wood,

To grandfather's house we go;

The horse knows the way

To carry the sleigh,

Thru the white and drifted snow, oh!

Over the river and thru the wood,

Oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes,

And bites the nose,

As over the ground we go.

2. "Let it Snow"

Oh the weather outside is frightful

But the fire is so delightful

And since we've no place to go

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping

And I brought some corn for popping

The lights are turned way down low

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

WORDO

FREE

Let It Snow

Vocabulary:

Pronunciation Drill:

woods snow between mile village frozen lake evening lovely farmhouse harness downy promises queer mistake flake sleep horse

1. Whose woods these are I think I know. 2. His house is in the village, though;

Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely dark, and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Young Robert Frost

Older Robert Frost

Songs:

Let it Snow

Oh the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful

And since we’ve no place to go Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It doesn’t show signs of stopping

And I brought some corn for popping The lights are turned way down low Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Over the river and thru the wood, To grandfather’s house we go;

The horse knows the way To carry the sleigh,

Thru the white and drifted snow, oh!

Over the river and thru the wood, Oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes, And bites the nose,

As over the ground we go.

Miles to go before I sleep! And miles to go before I sleep!