It is common for students to freak out when given a poem to analyse for an NCEA assessment or NCEA exam. That is why I always make sure I begin my tutorials with 5 easy steps. These 5 steps boost my students' confidence with NCEA English.
Visualising is just as important as understanding words.
4 common reasons why NCEA students freak out:
The language style is confusing to understand
There are too many big words
The topic or storyline isn't clear immediately
They haven't found a connection to their own lives
These reasons can also cause a lack of interest. So, how do I get students to analyse poetry, so they do understand?
5 easy steps to analyse poetry for NCEA exams:
Prior knowledge
Research definitions
Research images
Tone and perspective
Praise
Allow me to explain this more in depth.
Prior knowledge
Starting off a poetry analysis with prior knowledge allows my students to find things they already know. This means my students will notice they already know little aspects about the poem. They will build their confidence with poetry when they see that they can contribute, by making connections and opinions.
Research definitions
I like to go through line by line and find out which words make sense, and which ones don't make sense. After that, I will let them know the definition of each word and explain how it links to the poem's storyline/themes/writer's intention.
Research Images
Visualising is just as important as understanding words. So, I will often show my students what things look like. Teachers can often make the mistake of thinking students have seen things before, e.g. what a tavern looks like. This is because we see them in Country and Western films, but some of our students haven't been exposed to such places. This is why researching words and showing our students images of the subject is valuable and an important process for building the poem's imagery in their minds.
Tone and perspective
I think it is important to have a sense of empathy and perspective when we are analysing text.
This is why I make sure I lead questions and conversations, such as:
a.) what is the character experiencing
b.) what you would do in this situation
c.) how would the character feel in this situation
d.) how would you feel in this situation
This would also help the student to understand the tone of the piece and whether the reader should experience happiness, angry, serenity, nostalgia, longing, fear, betrayal etc. when reading it.
Lastly,
Praise
I think above all things, it is important to show that my students are learning and that I am proud of them for giving it a go. This also includes the very small moments. Learning is learning. At the end of the activity, I will let them know what they were like ten minutes before, and now what they know. When they make the link and are aware that they've taking the risk of learning and trying something new, and were successful, they feel incredible.
It always gives my heart a little squeeze. I'm always so proud of my students.
NCEA exams can feel overwhelming to begin with, but our NCEA expert teachers know how to make sure our students are prepared. We work together to boost our students' confidence so they can get to a point where they can do things on their own.
Look forward to supporting your child through their NCEA experience,
Tovah
Tovah's Tutoring Company Ltd ®
NCEA tutorials are available now
Phone
0274530411
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