Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Regional Office No. VIII
Division of Northern Samar
Lavezares II District
MARAVILLA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Barangay Maravilla, Lavezares, Northern Samar

IMPROVING COGNITION AND TWENTYFIRST CENTURY SKILLS

OF MARAVILLA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADE 9 STUDENTS
THROUGH POETRY READING BUDDIES (PRB)

An Action Research Proposal

by Mark P. Bonabon
Secondary Grades Teacher I

School Year 2016 2017

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CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

It is almost consensual among high school teachers and learners that of all the
literary genres, poems which are especially included in the curriculum are the most difficult
to read and thus to teach. In the pursuit to investigate these problems, it is imperative that
issues on teaching and reading poetry in the classroom should be pointed out and
addressed, in the first place. Related literature shows that these problems are ascribed to
the key elements of the educative process: learners, teachers, curriculum, and
methodology.
To provide workable and practical solutions to these problems, the researcher
conceptualized and formulated an innovative technique called Poetry Reading Buddies
(PRB). It is an enriched and eclectic technique which proposes activities which are
assigned to the four phases of poetry reading: pre-reading (picture prompts, title-guessing
rebus game, and authors biographical video capsule), while-reading (reading-alouds with
background music, vocabulary notebook and word wall, pair-think-share comprehension
questions, and stanzaic or thought-unit paraphrasing), post-reading (differentiated
transcreation activities), and follow-up (creating digital poetry, and reflective literary
journal). It implements an enriched reading buddies scheme where students engage in
varied collaborative activities; proposes varied activities that cater to the students varying
interests and differentiated learning styles; employs visual, audiovisual and multimedia
materials to enrich the learning experiences; and caters to developing the learners 21st
century skills: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.
To fully understand the principles and activities integrated in this technique, a
sample lesson plan is appended at the end of this paper.
The results of this study could provide helpful inputs on enriching poetry reading
and teaching encounters, and on improving the school reading programs.
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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Parmar and Barot (2013), in their study, Problems of Teaching Poetry in English,
point out that these problems could be attributed to four key factors: the students, the
teachers, the instructional materials, and the curriculum.
As for the students, their lack of strong intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to read
poetry is the foremost reason why they find reading poetry uninteresting and boring.
Linaberger (2004) states that poetry can be so intimidating to some students because of
the complex poetic concepts and language which may be difficult for them to grasp.
Relatively, Young (2007) remarks that "cultural attitudes are often dismissive of poetry"
and describes the bias that many of students feel and express in their comments, such as
poetry is deep, mysterious, or "all poets are depressed and wear black.
As for the teachers, their lack of technical and theoretical knowhow in literary
criticism compels them to venture on superficial analyses of poetry. Hence, literary
workshops, fora, seminars, and trainings should be sponsored and carried out to resolve
this aggravating problem. Also, the teachers lack of helpful theoretical inputs and the
haphazard and half-hearted practice of appropriate and effective techniques,
methodologies, and approaches in teaching poetry worsen this academic crisis. Peskin et
al. (2010) reveal that some teachers misinterpret the idea that poetry has a quite subjective
and personal nature. This view, if taken to an extreme, means learners could only
comprehend poetry through their own silent and unexpressed perceptions. Such a view
can weaken the whole educational process and reduce it to a fruitless endeavor to teach
an unteachable subject.
As for the curriculum, the anthology of poetry and the related learning activities
that are integrated in the curriculum should be appropriate and relevant to the needs,
interests, and culture of the learners. Curriculum planners and implementers should
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venture on researches to ascertain that the curricular contents are parallel to the learners
capabilities. Relatively, the inappropriate selection of the texts as a major reason of
students failure in understanding and appreciating English poetry is also pointed out by
Khatib (2011) in his article, A New Approach to Teaching English Poetry to EFL Students.
Moreover, Khatib mentions that the ineffective teaching methodology is also at
the heart of these problems. Therefore, teachers should conduct action researches to try
out innovative methodologies that could address the overriding poetry reading and
teaching dilemma, taking into account that these methods, approaches and techniques
are in compatible with the K-12 basic education program. Moreover, to implement these
methodologies, the teachers should coordinate with the school administration to request
the purchase and the provision of these materials, facilities, and/or amenities necessary
to achieve the curricular goals and lesson objectives.
Hughes (2007), in her journal article, Poetry: A Powerful Medium for Literacy and
Technology Development stressed that if we want our students to understand how
literature, and poetry in particular, brings them to a deeper understanding in life, we need
to find meaningful ways to engage them with poetry. She also states that poetry is meant
to be lifted from the printed page and explored in multi-modal ways (visually, gesturally,
aurally). Also, in her dissertation, Poets, Poetry and New Media: Attending to the
Teaching and Learning of Poetry, Hughes (2006) points out the importance of hearing the
poem read aloud, engaging with it, and probing for deeper meaning through discussion
with others. Relatively, Poetry Reading Buddies seeks to meet all those ends.

As to reading buddies, Tiessen and Dust (2006) state that aside from the
academic focus, the partnership between the learners accentuates the development of
their social skills. They found out that these learners are more responsive to the
reinforcement and feedback provided by their buddies than they are to that provided by
the teacher.
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study will seek to determine the effects of Poetry Reading Buddies (PRB)
technique to improve the cognition and 21st century skills of Maravilla National High School
Grade 9 students. Specifically, it will aim to answer the following questions:
1. How can PRB technique improve the cognition of the participants?
2. Does the technique improve the poetry reading test results of the participants at the
following levels of Andersons cognitive domain?
a. remembering

d. analyzing

b. understanding

e. creating

c. applying
3. Does the technique help improve the participants 21st century skills (creativity, critical
thinking, collaboration and communication)?

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

The participants of this study will only be Grade 9 students of Maravilla National
High School, Barangay Maravilla, Lavezares, Northern Samar for the School Year 20162017.
The researcher will employ only the PRB technique as implemented through the
lesson, The Seven Ages of Man by William Shakespeare. A lesson plan is appended at
the end of this paper as a guide.
As to poetry pre-reading or post-reading test, the participants will answer only
twenty-five (25) items, five (5) items for each cognitive level: remembering, understanding,
applying, analyzing, and creating. These parallel tests will be conducted before and after
the lesson sessions respectively.
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METHODOLOGY

Sampling
Complete enumeration method will be employed in this study. The participants of
this study will be all Grade 9 students of Maravilla National High School, Barangay
Maravilla, Lavezares, Northern Samar for the School Year 2016-2017.

Data Collection
To collect the necessary data, the researcher will take the following procedure:
1. Profiling
a. Informal Reading Inventories (IRI) At the beginning of the school year, the
participants shall take the assessment to determine their entry reading level. They
will be categorized into frustration, instructional and independent readers. The IRI
questionnaire will be appended at the end of the paper.
b. Learning Style Inventory The participants shall also take this assessment tool to
determine each participants dominant learning style. They will be categorized into
visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. The Learning Style Inventory
questionnaire will be appended at the end of the paper.
2. Poetry Pre-Reading Test Before the conduct of lesson sessions, the participants shall
take the diagnostic test to determine their strengths and weaknesses as regards the
five (5) levels of cognitive domain. For every cognitive level, five (5) questions shall be
answered. The test questionnaire will be appended at the end of the paper.
3. Lesson Sessions Using the PRB Technique There shall be three (3) sessions; each
session takes an hour to finish. The reading buddies should have the same learning
styles, but should have different reading levels (e. g., independent reader with

frustration reader, instructional reader with frustration reader, or independent reader

with instructional reader). The lesson plan is appended at the end of this paper.
a. Session 1 Routinary Activities, Review, and Pre-Reading Activities
b. Session 2 While-Reading Activities
c. Session 3 Post-Reading and Follow-Up Activities
4. Poetry Post-Reading Test After the conduct of lesson sessions, the participants shall
take the achievement test as regards the five (5) levels of cognitive domain. For every
cognitive level, five (5) questions shall be answered. This is parallel to the Poetry PreReading Test.
5. Technique Critiquing Written comments shall be solicited from the participants as
regards the PRB activities that help them improve their 21st century skills (creativity,
critical thinking, collaboration and communication), and how these particular activities
help them improve such skills. The Technique Critique Form will be appended at the
end of the paper.

Ethical Issues
A consent letter will be sent to the participants and their parents and/or guardians
to ask permission for the conduct of research. The same letter shall be presented to the
Maravilla National High School administrator.
To address the issue on confidentiality, the participants may or may not write their
names on the test papers and other research instruments. The researcher shall designate
a number for each participant which they should write on their papers instead of their
names.

Plan for Data Analysis

Tables will be used to systematically present the data gathered. Appropriate
statistical tools will be utilized for data analysis. Each table will be coupled with textual
analysis and interpretation.
As for profiling, the results of the Informal Reading Inventories and Learning Style
Inventory will be presented in respective tables such as below using frequency counts and
percentages.
Table 1. The Reading Levels
READING LEVEL

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

Frustration
Instructional
Independent
TOTAL

Table 2. The Learning Styles

LEARNING STYLE

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAGE

Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
TOTAL

As to the results of Poetry Pre-Reading and Post-Reading tests, the Mean

Percentile Score (MPS) for each set of cognitive level questions will be calculated. Then,
the range of the two scores for each cognitive level will also be determined and tabulated
such as below.

Table 3. The Poetry Pre-Reading and Post-Reading Tests

COGNITIVE LEVEL

PRE-READING

POST-READING

TEST MPS

TEST MPS

RANGE

Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Creating

As for technique critiquing, the participants responses will be analyzed and

presented in a table such as below.
Table 4. The Technique Critiquing
21ST CENTURY

WHAT ACTIVITIES

HOW DID THESE ACTIVITIES

SKILLS

DEVELOPED THE SKILL?

DEVELOP THE SKILL?

Creativity
Critical Thinking
Collaboration
Communication

Work Plan and Cost Estimates

In the conduct of the action research, the researcher will be guided by the following
time and cost estimates.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY

TIME ESTIMATE

COST ESTIMATE

Informal Reading Inventories

(June 13-14) 2 days

PhP 200

Learning Styles Inventory

(June 15-16) 2 days

PhP 200

Poetry Pre-Reading Test

(June 20-21) 2 days

PhP 200

Lesson Sessions Using PRB Technique

(June 22-24) 3 days

PhP 500

Poetry Post-Reading Test

(June 27-29) 3 days

PhP 200

Technique Critiquing

(June 30-July 1) 2 days

PhP 200

Concluding Research Work & Printing

(July 2-11) 10 days

PhP 500

TOTAL

24 days

PhP2, 000

Action Plan
The results of this study could provide helpful inputs on enriching poetry reading
and teaching encounters, and on improving the school reading programs.
To do this, the researcher will gather, analyze and interpret the data from the
Poetry Reading questionnaires and the Technique Critique forms, considering specific
PRB activities that help improve their cognition and 21st century skills. Hence, suggestions
on modifying, adding, removing irrelevant activities will be considered. Moreover, those
helpful activities could be adapted and integrated in the school reading programs to
specifically address the problems on poetry teaching and reading.

LIST OF REFERENCES
Hughes, J. (2006). Poets, poetry and new media: Attending to the teaching and learning
of poetry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Western Ontario.
Hughes, J. (2007). Poetry: A powerful medium for literacy and technology development.
University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Khatib, Mohammad (2011). A new approach to teaching English poetry to EFL students.
Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran.
Linaberger, M. (2004). Poetry top 10: A foolproof formula for teaching poetry. The
Reading Teacher, 58(4).
Parmar and Barot (2013). Problems of teaching poetry in English. Indian e-Journal on
Teacher Education (IEJTE) Bi-Monthly e-Journal.
Peskin, J., Allen, G., & Wells-Jopling, R. (2010). The educated imagination: Applying
instructional research to the teaching of symbolic interpretation of poetry. Journal
of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(6), 498-507.
Young, L. (2007). Portals into poetry: Using generative writing groups to facilitate student
engagement with word art. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(1), 50-55.
9

APPENDIX A
A Semi-Detailed Lesson Plan in English 9
Time Frame: 3 hours
No. of Students: 40

I. Objectives:
A. elicit meaningful responses through picture prompts and rebus game
B. remember the authors biographical details after viewing a video clip of the authors
life story
C. enhances the skill on reading-aloud with background song
D. broadens the mental lexicon by keeping a vocabulary notebook
E. paraphrase a poem by thought unit
F. draw or paint a scene from a poem
G. give tune to a poem and sing it
H. present a pantomime or one-act play based on or inspired by a poem
I.

create a video of the poem using Moviemaker or any video-editing app

J. analyze literature as a means of discovering the self

K. foster camaraderie among students

II. Subject Matter

A. Topic: The Seven Ages of Man by William Shakespeare (adapted from As You Like
It)
B. Reference: A Journey though Anglo-American Literature (English 9 Learners
Material), p. 9.
C. Materials: pictures, video clip, chalk and board, textbooks, player, mp3 or mp4
soundtrack file (100 Years by Five for Fighting) drawing materials, reflective literary
journal
III. Procedure
Session 1
A. Routinary Activities (5 min)
B. Review (5 min): The teacher facilitates the review of the previous lesson.

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C. Pre-Reading Activities (50 min)

Picture Prompts (15 min). This a set of pictures closely related to the theme and/or
subject of the poem to be discussed. In this case, the topic is about the human beings life
cycle. This motivational technique seeks to prompt meaningful responses from the
students. The number of pictures depends primarily on the texts level of complexity and
the students poetry reading comprehension skills. More pictures are necessary for
students with poorer comprehension skills.
1. The teacher shows or posts the set of visual prompts in the class.

Picture A

Picture B

Picture C
2. Working in dyads, the students study and interpret the pictures. Each student shares
his/her impressions and insights about them with his/her partner.
3. After a minute, the teacher asks two to three dyads to discuss with the class their
insights and impressions about the pictures.
4. The teacher synthesizes the students ideas and tells the class that their responses
have some close bearing on the theme and/or subject of the poem to be discussed.

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Title-Guessing Rebus Game (15 min). It is a riddle which provides pictures of objects
and/or symbols whose names resemble the sounds of the intended words and/or syllables
which comprise the poems title. This game seeks to test the students abstract reasoning
and spatial skills.
1. The teacher shows or posts the set of pictures which present the rebus game.
2. Working in dyads, the students figure out the answer to the riddle. The pair to guess
out the answer first is given bonus points.
3. A member of the winning dyad shows to the rest of the class how they figure out the
answer.
PICTURE(S)

CORRESPONDING
WORD(S)

CORRECT WORD

the

sea + Venn

seven

A + (Jesus us)

ages

off

of

man

man

4. The teachers proclaims the title to the class.

Authors Biographical Video Capsule (20 min). It is a video clip which encapsulates the
key biographical details of the author of the poem to be discussed. The teacher may
download the video from YouTube if it is available, or create his/her own video using
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Moviemaker. Ideally, the video is shown twice on projected screen to accommodate the
whole class. This enrichment activity seeks to input key biographical details of the author
that would later aid the students in the literary analysis.
1. The teacher facilitates the video clip viewing.

2. Working in dyads, the students answer a brief completion test which assesses their
grasp of the video clip. Sample completion test items may include:
a. William Shakespeare was born in _______________.
b. He was believed to be born on _______________.
c. He was married to _______________.
d. One of Shakespeares twin sons named _____________ died.
e. In 1599, he built the largest open-air amphitheater named _______________.
f.

His

plays

are

categorized

as

histories,

comedies,

tragedies,

and

_______________.
Session 2
D. While-Reading Activities (60 min)
The teacher tells the students that their topic is a poem titled The Seven Ages of
Man, and instructs them to open their learners material.

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The Seven Ages of Man

by William Shakespeare

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

10 Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

11 Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then, a soldier,
12 Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
13 Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
14 Seeking the bubble reputation
15 Even in the cannon's mouth. And then, the justice,
16 In fair round belly, with a good capon lined,
17 With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
18 Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
19 And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
20 Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
21 With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
22 His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
23 For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
24 Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
25 And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
26 That ends this strange eventful history,
27 Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
28 Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

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Reading-Alouds with Background Music (5 min per reading-aloud). These are

reading sessions where the teacher and/or students read aloud each poetic line observing
appropriate stress and rhythm, and employing evocative background soundtrack that
matches with the poems theme. In this particular lesson, we choose the song, 100 Years
by Five for Fighting. To view its lyrics, please refer to the Appendices.
1. In the first reading-aloud, the teacher reads each poetic line and the students repeat
after him/her.
2. In the second reading-aloud, each dyad reads a stanza or two (depending on the
poems structure and length) until the last stanza.

Vocabulary Notebook and Word Wall (10 min). Keeping a vocabulary notebook is a
reading strategy to broaden ones mental lexicon. It is done by listing problem words which
a reader comes across in a text, guessing their meaning using context clues, checking
their conjectures against a reliable dictionary, and finally, using them in their own
sentences. This strategy
1. With their vocabulary notebooks on their desks, each dyad scans through each poetic
line for problem words.
2. Working in dyads, they copy and fill out the following table:
Problem

Context

Guessed

Dictionary

Own

Word

Clue/s

Meaning/s

Meaning/s

Sentence/s

mewling

puking in the
nurses arms

Sample

The baby is
crying

crying weakly

mewling because
his diaper is wet.

3. With the teacher acting as a facilitator, the students check on the accuracy of their
responses.
4. The students at the end of the session mount the problem words onto the Word Wall.

Pair-Think-Share (PTS) Comprehension Questions (20 min). These questions are

formulated by the teacher to elicit meaningful responses from the students that would lead
to optimum grasp of the poem. They are enjoined to apply their learned concepts and
theories relative to literary analysis, and their own schemata which may include their
personal and vicarious experiences.
1. In dyads, they collaborate in answering the questions. Questions may include:
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a. What comprises the seven ages of man according to the poem?

b. Describe the school boys attitude towards school. How do you feel about this
picture of childhood?
c. What is compared to the stage in the first two lines? How are the two related?
d. In lines 13 and 14, what is compared to reputation?
e. What other comparisons are used in the poem. Which are examples of metaphor?
Which are examples of simile?
f.

According to the speaker or persona in the poem, what physical and mental
changes take place as a man reaches the sixth and seven ages?

g. Do you agree with the personas description of old age? Why?

h. What other acceptable descriptions of old age can you think of?
i.

In the last line of the poem, the word sans is repeated. What do you think is the
purpose of repeating it four times?

2. The teacher calls on students to share their responses with the class.
3. The other students can comment, argue, and/or expound on the ideas presented,
observing proper decorum.
4. The teacher synthesizes the students ideas.

Stanzaic or Thought-Unit Paraphrasing (20 min). This is a process of restating each

stanza or thought unit in prose form. The dyad-paraphrasers should work together to arrive
at a simple yet meaningful paraphrased version of the poem. This activity seeks to assess
whether the students grasp well the meaning of each poetic stanza or thought unit.
1. Working in dyads, the students study and analyze each stanza.
2. They write their paraphrases on sheets of paper. The following is a sample
paraphrased version of the poem:
Lines
1-5
5-6
7-9
9-11

Thought-Unit Paraphrases
Shakespeare considers the world a stage and men and women
actors on the stage of life. They play seven roles according to
their age.
The first stage, as described by the poet, is the infant who is being
carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time.
Later, that infant grows into a schoolboy, not willing to attend
school which is the fourth stage of a mans life.
The third stage is that of a lover who is lost in his thoughts of love.
The lover writes poetry to his ladys beauty.

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11-15

15-19

19-25

25-28

In the fourth stage, as he grows older, he joins the army and

becomes a soldier. He is physically fit and is aggressive, shorttempered and ambitious in nature.
The fifth stage shows that with maturity and wisdom, the family
man becomes a judge. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom.
His look is authoritative and he advises people.
The sixth stage is about the man who has grown old and is seen
in a pantaloon and spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown
weak and his voice trembles as he talks.
The last stage is about the senile man who loses his teeth, his
vision and his hearing. After this, the man part in the play ends
and he exits from the stages of his life forever.

3. The teacher calls on students to share their stanzaic or thought-unit paraphrases.

4. The other students can comment, argue, and/or expound on the ideas presented,
observing proper decorum.
5. The teacher synthesizes the students ideas.

Session 3
E. Post-Reading Activities (60 min)
Differentiated Transcreation Activities. This is a set of varied activities that cater to the
differentiated learning styles of the learners.
Visual Dyads: They draw or paint a scene from the poem and present it before the
class.
Auditory Dyads: They give tune to the poem and sing it before the class.
Kinesthetic Dyads: Before the class, they present a one-act play or pantomime
based on or inspired by the poem.
Instructions Phase (5 min). The teacher gives instructions about the activities and
presents the criteria for assessing their outputs and/or performances.

Preparation Phase (15 min). The visual dyads create their paintings or drawings
inspired by the poem. The auditory dyads experiment on suitable tunes for the poem,
and then rehearse. The kinesthetic dyads conceptualize pantomimes or one-skit plays
based on the poem, and then rehearse.

17

Presentation Phase (1.5 min each dyad). Each dyad presents its output or
performance. While doing so, the other students do their evaluation of the output or
performance (peer assessment).
Feedback Phase (10 min). The teacher and the students give comments about the
outputs and performances by pointing out the strong and weak points, and give
suggestions for improvement and recommendations.
F. Follow-Up Activities
Creating Digital Poetry
Students can use Moviemaker or any picture or video-editing application to create
their own digital poem based on the poem discussed. Students can use scanned or
downloaded images or, even better, take their own photos with a digital camera. They
organize their images and use the voice recording feature to read the poem aloud. They
can add sound effects, a soundtrack of music they have created, or clips of music that
come with the program. These new media allow students to have oral readings linked with
their print version of the poem, an approach that honors the multimodal nature of poetry
and students multiple literacies.

Reflective Literary Journal. The students write their realizations, impressions and
insights about the poem.

18