LESSON PLAN

Grade : VIII Subject: English

Unit : 3 Sec:3 Topic : I think I could turn and

live with animals ( poem)

Week : 9.7.2018 - 13.7.18 Periods: 6

Duration: 40 minutes per period Facilitator: Srividya.V

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson students will acquire the following skills.
 understand and enjoy the theme and language of the poem
 reflect, express and form individual opinion and deeper
understanding of the animals
 identify the connection to words or phrases that resonate with
other things
 know more about the poet or background of the poem
 enrich the students with vocabulary
 acquire a few grammar items, stress patterns, punctuation,
pronunciation, rhyme and rhythm
 appreciate the literary devices used
 sensitize the difference between animals and human
 draw their attention to the folly of mankind

RESOURCES / TEACHING AIDS:

1. Colour chalk 2. Black board 3. You tube videos 4.Pictures
5. ICT( animated video of the poem from Oxford educate)
6.PPT on Animals poem by Walt Whitman

TEACHING METHODOLOGY:

Brain storming , discussion and inquiry based learning

DAY – 4 and 5 - Thursday and Friday 12.7.18 and 13.7.18

OPENING:
Teacher asks the students to pair up and enact a role play on the following
topics :
(a) Construct a dialogue between a human and a dog

(b) Construct a dialogue between two animals about ‘animal cruelty’

CONTENT(1):

Teacher plays the audio of poem “I think I could turn and live with animals”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=cnIyJW3GSJ4

What are the ways in which animals differ form human beings?
Lets read and and find out if the poet Walt Whitman had similar views when
he wrote the poem 'Animals'

The poem

‘ANIMALS’
I think I could turn and live with animals,
they are so placid and self-contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them plainly in their possession.

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

Myself moving forward then and now and forever,

Gathering and showing more always and with velocity,
Infinite and omnigenous, and the like of these among them,
Not too exclusive toward the reachers of my remembrancers,
Picking out here one that I love, and now go with him on brotherly terms.

A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and responsive to my caresses,

Head high in the forehead, wide between the ears,
Limbs glossy and supple, tail dusting the ground,
Eyes full of sparkling wickedness, ears finely cut, flexibly moving.

His nostrils dilate as my heels embrace him,

His well-built limbs tremble with pleasure as we race around and return.

I but use you a minute, then I resign you, stallion,

Why do I need your paces when I myself out-gallop them?
Even as I stand or sit passing faster than you.

Explanation:
This poem is from ‘Song of Myself ’ in Leaves of Grass by ‘Walt Whitman’
The poet drives home the point that he feels more comfortable with animals
than humans. He says that humans are complicated and false but animals are
placid and self-contained. The poem can be summarized in following ways :

Opinion of the poet : - Walt Whitman thinks that he can turn and live with
animals comfortably because they are calm and self-contained. He says that he
can stand and look at them for a long time.

Animal's attitude : - The poet says that the animals do not labour
unnecessarily and complain about their condition. They do not repent for their
sins. They do not trouble their companies discussing their duties to God. They
are not dissatisfied with their conditions. The animals don't have mania of
owing things.

True relation : - Walt Whitman says that no animal kneels to another, not even
to an unknown ancestor who lived in the mortal world thousands of years ago.
The animals show their relations with the poet and he accepts them. They
bring him tokens of himself which they have in their possessions. They poet is
surprised to see those tokens. He thinks how they have got them. At last he
concludes that he had dropped them somewhere unknowingly.

Central idea : - Walt Whitman wants to tell us that humans have become
complicated and false. They have forgotten their true nature. They want to
earn more and more, so that they can own more and more luxurious
commodities. They do sins in order to earn, then they repent. Their sins have
made them restless. Humans trouble their companions discussing their duties
to God. On the other hand animals are free from all types of trivial anxieties, so
they are still living their natural life.

BREAK UP ACTIVITY:

Write ten words that is connected with the primitive age

CONTENT(2):

Teacher asks them question orally to initiate discussion and elicits answers
orally. Students share their views on the following questions after discussing
in groups :

Teacher : Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn
and live with animals…”. What is the poet turning from?
Group 1:_______________________________________________________

Teacher :. Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t.

Group 2:_______________________________________________________

Teacher: Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago?
Group 3:_______________________________________________________
Teacher: What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long
ago, and which the animals have kept for him?
Group 4:_______________________________________________________

WORDS IN FOCUS:

1. Complicated : complex

Life in the modern world has become

complicated.

2. demented : obsessed behaving irrationally due to anger or distress

She was demented with worry.

3. Placid : calm, peaceful, serene

Placid water has no turbulence.

4. Sins : offence

Animals know no sins. They kill each-other to satisfy their hunger.

5. Self contained- quiet and independent;

Akash is not dependent on or influenced by others. He is self-contained.

Teacher explains about the poet Walt Whitman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/walt-whitman

CLOSURE:
Teacher shows a ppt to do a recap the poem. She asks two students to come
forward and explain the poem .

ASSESSMENT:
Teacher after the recap of the lesson asks questions to test their
understanding and elicits answers orally .

(a) The poem “Animals” is composed by__________________

(i) Robert Frost (ii) Walt Whitman (iii) W.B. Yeats.

(b) The poet wishes to live_________________

(i) in a village (ii) in a city (iii) with animals

(c) Animals, according to the poet, are _______________________

(i)selfish (ii) brutal (iii) placid and self-contained.

(d) The animals do not weep over their____________________

(i) sins (ii) ancestors (iii) failures.

(e) In the world of animals, no one is_____________________

(i) honest (ii) materialistic (iii) respectable or unhappy

ASSIGNMENT:

Class assignment
1. Why does Whitman admire animals?
2. What vices in human beings does Whitman notice?
3. What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and
which animals have kept for themselves?

Home assignment

1. Research on the poet Walt Whitman and his poems and make a
presentation .
Refer this site :
https://www.tes.com/lessons/blJ5wqNXtw2lNw/animals-walt-whitman

APPLICATIONS:
 Students read the poem.
 They understand the meaning.
 They grasp the meanings of new words.
 They make sensible sentences using the new words.
 They listen to the rhyme and rhythm of the poem.

ASSESSMENT RUBRICS :
Students are assessed based on the following :
Vocabulary- Synonyms , Antonyms
Reading - Any passage from the poem
Comprehension- Reading the poem and answering the questions
Writing – Writing answering to the given questions.
Grammar -Use of adjectives .
Listening- Listening to audio and following
Speaking- Discussion about human folly

REFERENCE FOR STUDENTS:

www. snscourseware.snsacademy.org
Download information from Google Search about the given poem
TEACHER’S REFERENCE :
Internet Access -
1. Google -www.superteacher.com
www.youtube.com
www.wikipedia.com
2. Video clippings:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman
https://www.tes.com/lessons/blJ5wqNXtw2lNw/animals-walt-whitman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=cnIyJW3GSJ4
Subject : English Name: Class:VIII Date:13.7.18

Teacher: Teacher’s Comments:

Mrs.V.Srividya
Excellent V.Good Good Fair Try to do
better

WORKSHEET -2 Reading Comprehension

I. Read each poem and then answer the following questions:

Ellis Park
-By Helen Hoyt
Little park that I pass through,
I carry off a piece of you
Every morning hurrying down
To my work-day in the town;
Carry you for country there
To make the city ways more fair.

I take your trees,

And your breeze,
Your greenness,
Your cleanness,
Some of your shade, some of your sky,
Some of your calm as I go by;
Your flowers to trim
The pavements grim;
Your space for room in the jostled street
And grass for carpet to my feet.
Your fountains take and sweet bird calls
To sing me from my office walls.
All that I can see
I carry off with me.

But you never miss my theft,

So much treasure you have left.
As I find you, fresh at morning,
So I find you, home returning --
Nothing lacking from your grace.

All your riches wait in place

For me to borrow
On the morrow.
Do you hear this praise of you,
Little park that I pass through?

1. What is this poem about?

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. What is the speaker's tone? Explain your answer using textual evidence.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
II. Read the passage and answer the questions:

YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL vs REGULAR SCHOOL SCHEDULE

Both year-round school and regular school schedules are found throughout
the United States. With year-round school schedules, students attend classes
for nine weeks, and then have three weeks’ vacation. This continues all year
long. The regular school schedule requires that students attend classes from
September to June, with a three month summer vacation at the end of the
year. This schedule began because farmers needed their children at home to
help with crops during the summer. Today, most people work in businesses
and offices. Year-round school is easier for parents who work in businesses and
don’t have the summer to be with their children. The regular school schedule is
great for kids who like to have a long summer vacation. While some
educational systems have changed their schedules to keep up with their
population, others still use the old agrarian calendar. Both systems have
disadvantages and advantages, which is why schools use different systems.

3. Which of the following statements from the passage represents the

author’s opinion?
a. Year-round school is easier for the parents who work in businesses and
don’t have the summer to be with their children.
b. The regular school schedule requires that students attend classes from
September to June.
c. Both year-round school and regular school schedules are found
throughout the United States.
d. With year-round school, students attend classes for nine weeks, and
then have three weeks’ vacation.
4. The author feels that
a. each school should decide what schedule to follow.
b. year-round school is better.
c. both year-round and regular school schedules have different advantages
and disadvantages.
d. the regular school schedule is better.
5. The main organizing principle of this passage is______________________ .
a. chronology b. order of importance
c. comparison and contrast. d. cause and effect.
III. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line.
Write the incorrect word and the correct word in the space provided.
Incorrect Correct
a) Prabha go to the temple every Friday. ________ ________
b) He does his works fast. . ________ ________
IV. Rearrange the jumbled words into meaningful sentences:
a) the /works/in/Mohan/ for/firm/this/twenty/past/years
____________________________________________________________
b) late/all/trains/ why/are/today/the
_______________________________________________________________
V. Complete each sentence with an appropriate word from the options:
a) ____________ I go there , they receive me well.( as, whenever, so)
b ) We must do the exercise ________ the teacher comes. (but , before,or)
Vi. Combine the following sentences with suitable words:
a) I heard the noise. I opened the door.
_____________________________________________________________
b) We thanked the people. They helped us.
_____________________________________________________________