Title Page
Hickory Dickory Dock (song) 2
The Animal Sounds Song (song) 6
Without You (song) 9
My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean 12
(song)
Star (poem) 15
Crayons (poem) 17
Ice Cream (poem) 20
The Wind (poem) 22
Reference 24
1
Song 1 Hickory Dickory Dock
Artist -
Genre Nursery Rhyme
Target group KSSR Year 1
Curriculum Standard 4.1 By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be
able to enjoy and appreciate rhymes, poems and songs,
through performance.
Learning Standard 4.1.1 Able to enjoy nursery rhymes, jazz chants and action
songs through non-verbal response
A snake.
A squirrel.
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Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.
A cat.
A monkey.
An elephant?! Oh no!
Oh no!
http://supersimplelearning.com/songs/themes-series/animals/hickory-dickory-crash
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Justification
Hickory Dickory Dock is selected based on some pedagogical principles. There are
content, interest as well as the resource. All these three elements do contribute in
achieving purpose with reference to the CS.
Firstly, it is chosen because of its readability. The content of the song is suitable to
be taught in year 1 classrooms since the language used is comprehensible to the students.
Simple sentences are used and therefore clear messages are easily got across by students.
For example, the mouse went up the clock and the mouse went down. Simple sentences
are repeated and students may easily get used to the simple sentence structure. Santi
(2009), an experienced ESL teacher said that by using songs in teaching, children tend to
internalize the language. Thus, it is proved that by using the song, students may
subconsciously internalize the sentence structure in meaningful chunks. Also, it is aligned to
the CS where students may enjoy the song because they can understand the song due to
simple lexical components and sentence structure.
Secondly, the song is chosen according to the factor of suitability. Students interest
is taken into account when it comes to selection of song. The song is selected because it
has appealing theme that motivates students to learn. For example, there are many animals
appear in the song. It may arouse students curiosity in which they are expecting what
animal will come out next and they can enjoy singing the song by imitating the animals
action. According to Harmer (2012), young learners understanding comes not only from
explanation, but also from what they see, hear and from what they touch and interact with. It
is true that this song can be used to enhance students understanding on the topic of
animals in which students can perform it through non-verbal response. For instance, they
can act like a monkey by scratching under their arms with both hands and make a monkey
face. Therefore, the song is selected because it can encourage students to participate
actively in the lesson and consequently promote students learning by singing the song.
5
Song 2 The Animal Sounds Song
Artist -
Genre Childrens song
Target Learner KSSR Year 2
Curriculum Standard 1.1 By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils
will be able to pronounce words and speak confidently with
the correct stress, rhythm and intonation.
Learning Standard 1.1.3 Able to listen to, say aloud and recite rhymes or sing
songs.
These are the sounds that the animals make. These are the sounds, that the animals
make.
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Rabbit goes thump, thump, thump
These are the sounds that the animals make. These are the sounds, that the animals
make.
These are the sounds that the animals make. These are the sounds, that the animals
make. x 2
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Justification
The Animal Sounds Song is selected as it has useful content in educating students
and its theme is suitable for the target group (age). Also, it is resourceful in terms of
designing activities for students.
Firstly, the song is chosen because of its suitability of content. It contains a lot of
animal sounds so that it can be used to teach students about onomatopoeia like hiss, buzz,
meow and so on. From the song, students can learn that not all animals sound the same and
each of them has their own way of sounds. Other than that, learning something from a song
may retain memory longer than merely lecturing. Eistein in Mattison (2012) says that
researchers have proved that music can stimulate memory when we are studying. This
shows that the song can stimulate students to learn the topic effectively as they relate the
animals with the melody and sounds. Thus, students may be able to sing and enjoy the song
at the end of the lesson as stated in 1.1.3.
Last but not least, this song is exploitable because it is not only teaching a single
language skill or focus. We can utilize various resources such as audio song, video and so
on in order to design activities based on our students needs. For example, if an audio song
is used, teacher can provide a listening task where students listen and repeat the
pronunciation of words in the song. Thus, it may provide us opportunities to integrate
listening and speaking skill as well as the sound system in the classroom which corresponds
to the CS. It is also proved by Harmer (2012) where integrating skills are available in order to
cater different type of students.
8
Song 3 Without you
Artist David Guetta featuring Usher
Genre POP song
Target Learner KBSR Year 5
Learning Outcome 1.2 Listen to and repeat accurately the correct
pronunciation of words, and the correct intonation and word
stress in phrases, expressions, and sentences.
Curriculum 1.2.3 Listen to and repeat chants, poems, rhymes and
Specifications songs paying attention to pronunciation, stress and
intonation correctly.
I am lost, I am vain,
Oh oh oh!
Without...
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Without...you
Oh oh oh!
Without...
Without...you
I am lost, I am vain,
Without...you
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Justification
Without you is a POP song by David Guetta featuring Usher and its chosen as one
of the songs for young learners for use in the primary ESL classroom. The decision to use
this song was made based on values, resources and interest. It is also chosen because it
can be used for teaching and learning purpose with reference to the English Language
curriculum.
Firstly, the main theme of the song is love since the persona in the song says that he
cannot be without his loved one. The teacher can adapt the song into teaching the
importance of the loved ones in the students life. The loved ones of the students can be
their parents, relatives and teachers. This teaches the value of appreciating your loved
ones. Since this song is aimed for the year five students, it can be used to teach the world
of self. This lowers students affective filters since students learn better if what they are
learning is personally relevant to them (Harmer, 2012), in this case, they learn about the
people they love.
Secondly, the availability of the song through the World Wide Web makes it an easy to
obtain resource along with the fact that it is easy to be utilized into many types of activities
such as sing along and guessing activities. A good material can be adapted into any
teaching and learning activity (Nuttal, 2005). Different types of new verbs such as paralyzed
and vein are also introduced to the students through this song.
Thirdly, wonderful beat and rhythm of this song is guaranteed to capture the interest of the
students. This song is considered one of the hit songs in the year 2012 (Grein, 2012).
Students can remember the new words better since it has rhythm to it.
Finally, it is undeniable that this song also can be used to teach English in primary
classroom. For example, It can be used to achieve learning objective 1.2 Listen to and
repeat accurately the correct pronunciation of words, and the correct intonation and word
stress in phrases, expressions, and sentences. It can be achieved by conducting an activity
where the students sing along to the song.
In conclusion, without you is selected because it is the content is appropriate and suits ESL
classroom.
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Song 4 My bonnie lies over the Ocean
Artist -
Genre Childrens folk song
Target Learner KSSR Year 3
Curriculum Standard 4.3. By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will
be able to plan, organize and produce creative works for
enjoyment.
Learning Standard 4.3.1 Able to produce simple creative works with guidance
based on :
(a) jazz chants
(b) poems
(c) action songs
(d) stories
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Last night as I lay on my bed
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Justification
My bonnie Lies over the Ocean is a childrens folk song is chosen as one the songs
as one of the songs for young learners for use in the primary ESL classroom. It is chosen
based on pedagogical principles namely interest, age and proficiency level.
Firstly, the song is chosen because of it will be interesting for year three students.
The word bonnie means something pretty in Scottish. Thus in this poem, bonnie can be
related to a small toy boat which is called bonnie being swept away by the ocean and lost.
This sense of losing a toy and missing it would certainly capture the interest of the year three
students who are still would be playing around with toys. Moreover, the nice tune and the
sweet melody of the song would appeal to the students thus would make this song
unforgettable. This can be proven when Temple, Martinez and Yokota who say that children
will forever remember things that are interesting to them.
Secondly, this song is also chosen because it is suitable to the nine year olds. The
theme of a lost toy would be something that makes sense to them because they themselves
as kids would have lost many of their toys as they were playing with it. Thus, the song which
talks about a bonnie which is lost by being swept away by the sea would make sense to
them as they could feel the emotions portrayed in the song. This develops their sense of
appreciation towards the poem.
Thirdly, the song also suits the proficiency level of the year three students as it
does not contain difficult words and most of the words are repeated thus drilling them to
remember the words better. Repetition is sometimes deliberately used to achieve certain
effects (Barnard & Winn, 2006), therefore, the repetition of the line Bring back my Bonnie to
me would convey the emotion to the students and they could capture the Emotion used due
to the fact that this poem suits the proficiency level of the students.
Finally, the song is suitable for year three students as it complies with learning
standards for year three. For example, the teacher could ask the students to create a poster
based on the song that they just learned. This can achieve the content standard of 4.3. By
the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able to plan, organize and produce
creative works for enjoyment.
In conclusion, if used properly; this song can create an unforgettable lesson for the
students because it matches very well in terms of suitability for ESL classroom.
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Poem 1 Star
Author Kaitlyn Guenther
Genre Limerick
Target Learner KSSR Year 3
Curriculum Standard 4.1 By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, students will
be able to enjoy and appreciate rhymes, poems and songs.
Learning Standard 4.1.2 Able to sing action songs, recite jazz chants and poems
with correct pronunciation, rhythms and intonation
STAR
http://www.kidzone.ws/poetry/limerick.htm
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Justification
This limerick is chosen because it has good language content. Also, it is rich of
moral values and it is appropriate to students proficiency level.
Firstly, the limerick is a good choice because of its suitability of language content. It
contains a lot of rhyming words since its rhyming pattern is AABBA. The rhymed words are
pronounced almost the same because they are phonetically similar. (Roach, 2012) By
teaching this poem, students are able to learn rhyming words such as star, far and then
develop their knowledge in sound system. Since they are exposed to rhyme, they can
discover more about how to pronounce rhyming words correctly and then aware of their
pronunciation. It is in line with the LS where students are able to recite poems with correct
pronunciation and intonation.
Secondly, the limerick consists of valuable moral values that can be used to educate
students. From the poem, students may learn that we should not too proud of ourselves and
otherwise we may get embarrased. By learning this limerick, students not only entertained
by the humorous aspects but also obtain values from the discussed topic. This also allows
them to make connection between their personal experience and the lesson. (Hassard,
2003) says that students must relate themselves in order to learn meaninfully. This proves
that Star is a suitable poem in teaching as it provides opportunities for meaningful learning
and thus promotes students to appreciate the poem as stated in the CS.
Last but not least, the poem is selected according to the readability. The language
level of this limerick is proper to be taught to year 3 student as it does not have much
difficult words. Words such as clown and star are high frequency words where they may
learn it from other song like twinkle twinkle little star Other than that, it suits students level
as the tense used is simple past tense whereby no complex tenses are used such as past
participle and past continuous tense. By teaching this poem, students may easily understand
the message being depicted and would not be easily confused by any intricate vocabulary or
tenses. Thus, students can achieve the CS of enjoying this poem because it does not have
challenging components that goes beyond students level that may block them from
learning.
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Poem 2 Crayons
Author Dee Lillegard
Genre Colour poem
Target Learner Year 3
Curriculum Standard 1.1 By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be
able to pronounce words and speak confidently with the correct
stress, rhythm and intonation.
Learning Standard 1.1.4 Able to talk about a stimulus with guidance.
Crayons
by Dee Lillegard
Sticks of colors
Orange, red,
Yellow, green,
In the sea.
On my knee.
Dreaming in yellow,
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Justification
Firstly, the poem contains good language content that meets the criteria of
suitability. The poem has a few examples of simile such as blue like water in the sea and
brown like bread. This element can be taught to students because students can
understand easier by indicating a colour to a certain thing. Students who might not know
purple can figure out the colour when he compares it with his bruises. Thus, by using this
poem, students will be able to learn simile and understand the poem better by comparing
colours to the common things that we have around us. This is an example of top-down
processing where students understand something by making prediction based on their
schemata. (Nuttall, 2005).Thus, the LS can be achieved where students are able to speak
based on the topic discussed.
Secondly, the poem has suitability in terms of students interest and needs. By
learning the poem, students can relate their own values in interpreting the colour poem.
Students can see colours everywhere and it provides them opportunities to share their own
opinions and views on the theme discussed. Children attempt to take new information and
fit it into existing knowledge in order to create an accessible schema. (McDaniel in Piaget,
2009) This shows that when students relate their prior knowledge with the new information,
they tend to comprehend easily. Therefore, the poem allows students to have active
discussion in the lesson which enable them to use their world knowledge. Therefore, the LS
can be achieved where students are able to talk regarding to the topic in the poem.
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that this poem is relevant to the year 3 students proficiency level in which no very
complicated structures and vocabulary are used.
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Poem 3 Ice Cream
Author Sherry Finley
Genre Shape poem
Target Learner KSSR Year 1
Curriculum Standard 4.3. By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be
able to plan, organize and produce creative works for
enjoyment.
Learning Standard 4.3.1 Able to produce simple creative works with guidance
based on :
(a) jazz chants
(b) poems
(c) action songs
(d) stories
Ice Cream
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Justification
A very attractive shape poem named Ice Cream is chosen for young learners for use in the
primary ESL Classroom. This is because it suits with few pedagogical principles namely age
and interest along with its purpose with reference to the primary English Language
Curriculum.
Firstly, this poem is aimed to year one kids who are seven years old. This is because as
children at that age has keen interest in food stuff like ice cream, therefore; age played a
role when choosing this poem. Moreover, the simple language and words used in this poem
make it easier for the young kids appreciate this poem more. Temple, Martinez & Yokota
says that the arrangement of words on the page affects their look, readers progress
through them, and the emphasis given to some of the words (Temple, Martinez, & Yokota,
2011), this is why this ice cream shaped poetry is chosen for the children at this age. Usually
children of seven years old are attracted to ice cream, therefore an ice cream shaped poem
could motivate them remember the poem better.
Secondly, Interest plays a part in making the poem suitable for ESL classroom. This is
mainly because the ice creamed shape of the poem. It is undeniable that ice cream is one of
the most loved food through the world. Hence, a poem shaped after peoples favourite food
would capture the interest of the student.
Finally, this poem is also highly exploitable in a sense that students will be able to reproduce
similar poems as mentioned in year one content standard 4.3 Pupils will be able to plan,
organize and produce creative works for enjoyment. This is a good way to expand childrens
taste In poetry since way to encourage appreciation of poetry is to encourage children to
write it (Temple, Martinez, & Yokota, 2011).For Example, teacher could conduct an activity
where the students create other food shaped poems.
In conclusion, this poem can be used to achieve good language in students if used correctly.
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Poem 4 The Wind
Author Christina Rossetti
Genre Free Verse
Target Learner KBSR Year 4
Learning Outcome 3.4 Read aloud expressively and fluently pronouncing words
correctly and observing correct stress and intonation and
sentence rhythm.
Curriculum specifications 3.4.3 Read aloud poems and storiesclearly and expressively.
The Wind
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Justification
The Wind poem was chosen for young leaners for use in the primary ESL
classroom because it complies with few pedagogical principles namely interest, proficiency
level, content and some other purposes as well.
Firstly, this poem surely would capture the interest of the students because it deals
with the concept of elements of nature. Therefore, the wind which is one of the elements of
nature will capture their interest and appeal to them therefore making the teaching and
learning process easier. The poem also explains about the nature of the wind which is
colourless and its act of shaking the trees as it passes by. This is would make the students
intrinsically motivated to learn about the wind in order to achieve self-satisfaction. It is also
considered as the most powerful reward a teacher could give to the student (Brown,
2001).Hence, Interest is one of the main reasons why this poem was chosen.
Secondly, the students proficiency level is also taken into consideration when
choosing this poem. This poem is aimed for the Year Four students because it has simple
and short sentences with high frequency words that could be understood by the students,
eventually, it also contains few difficult words like trembling, neither and nor which is slightly
higher above the students. This is comprehensible input, a term coined by Stephen Krashen
who says that the aural reception of language is just a little beyond the learners present
ability (Brown, 2001). Thus, it would be suitable to teach this poem to year four students
who are able to learn difficult words found in the poem.
Thirdly, Content of this poem teaches the students to appreciate the beauty of the
nature such as the movement of plants and trees due to the wind. This content is also
suitable to teach the world of knowledge since it talks about nature.
Finally, the poem can also be adapted to teach reading skills as specified in the
Curriculum. For example, reading aloud activity can achieve the learning outcome 3.4 which
is Read aloud expressively and fluently pronouncing words correctly and observing correct
stress and intonation and sentence rhythm.
In conclusion, this poem is suitable to be taught to year four students and many
activities can be created based on the poem.
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References
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Education.
2. Brown, D. (2001). Teaching By Principles. New York: Pearson Education.
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Press.
4. Edelenbos, P. (2006). Languages for the children of Europe : The main pedagogical
principles underlying the teaching of languages to very young learners. Retrieved
from European Comission:
http://p21208.typo3server.info/fileadmin/content/assets/eu_language_policy/key_doc
uments/studies/2007/young_en.pdf
5. Grein, P. (2012, September 19). Week Ending Sept. 16, 2012. Songs: Novelty Hit Of
The Year. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from Yahoo.com:
http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/week-ending-sept-16-2012-songs-
mindless-fun-022236621.html
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http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/advorgbk02.htm
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Rhyme. Retrieved February 13, 2013 from
http://www.designedinstruction.com/prekorner/child_lit_poem_rhyme.html
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Studying. The Star.
10. Mc.Daniel, R. (2009).Teacher Tips/Training: Prior Knowledge and Learning.
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11. Nuttall, C. (2005). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, UK: Macmillan
Publishers Limited.
12. Oregon, U. (2009). Shaping the Way We Teach English: Module 12, Younger
Learners. [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agx2mWqIzzU
13. Roach, P.J. (2012) English Phonetics and Phonology, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
14. Riedel, C. (2013). Game design: The Key to Education. The Journal.
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15. Santi, M.H.D (2007). Young Children Learn through Play. Retrieved February 19,
2013, from the webmaster@e1-master website: http://www.e1-
network.com/articles/children/young_children.html
16. Supersimplesongs(n.d) Hickory Dickory Dock from Super Simple Songs. [video file].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGgsklW-mtg
17. Temple, C., Martinez, M., & Yokota, J. (2011). Childrens books in Childrens Hands.
New York: Pearson Education.
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