Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

San Isidro Campus
San Isidro, Nueva Ecija

A SEMI – DETAILED LESSON PLAN IN ENGLISH 9

I. OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to:

a. discuss the free verse poetry using the poem “Arithmetic” by Carl Sandburg;
b. value the relevance of the poem to their development as individuals through a listening
activity; and
c. express the concept of free verse poetry in written forms.

II. SUBJECT MATTER

A. Topic: Discussing the Free Verse Poetry using the Poem “Arithmetic” by Carl
Sandburg;
B. Reference/s: http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=2865
C. Materials: visual aids, pictures, charts, chalkboard, laptop, television

III. TEACHING PROCEDURE

A. Pre – Listening
 Daily Routine
a. Greetings
b. Daily Prayer
- A student will lead a short prayer.
c. Checking of Cleanliness
- The students will pick up the pieces of papers under their chairs.
d. Checking of Attendance
- The students will pick the paper with their names on the board. The student/s
whose name/s is/are still posted on the board will be considered as an absentee.

 Review of the Past Lesson

- The class reviews the previous lesson by answering the following questions:
 What is a prose?
 What are the elements of a prose?

 Motivation
- The class will view a picture of the famous painting called “Starry Night” which
is painted by Vincent Van Gogh. After viewing the picture, the teacher will ask
the following questions:
 What do you see in the picture?
 What can you say about the painting?
 Without the use of paint or paint brush, what do you think you will do in
describing the painting?

- Then, the teacher will discuss that aside from painting a picture, we can write a
literary work by describing something.

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  Vocabulary Enrichment
- The learners will be grouped into four. The teacher will give strips of paper to
each group. Each strip contains word that the students are not yet familiar with.
The students will analyze the unfamiliar word using the pictures and sentences
given by the teacher. One representative per group needs to put the word to its
picture with the correct definition.

B. While Listening
- The teacher will discuss the free verse poetry by describing a specific object. He will
make description to object poetically without following the rules, without rhyme or
rhythm, but with artistic expression.

- The teacher will give a short biography about Carl Sandburg. Then, the teacher will
discuss a free verse poem entitled “Arithmethic” by Carl Sandburg.

- In the same groups, the learners will listen to the poem stanza by stanza. One
representative per group needs to verbalize the thoughts and insights of his/her group
about what they have listened to the stanza. The teacher will elaborate and will make
clarifications if needed.

- As the learners will listen to the poem, they will answer the following questions:

“Arithmetic”
by Carl Sandburg

I
Arithmetic is where numbers fly
like pigeons in and out of your head.

1. To where is arithmetic being compared?

2. What figure of speech is used?
3. What does the simile “where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head”
means?

II
Arithmetic tells you how many
you lose or win if you know how many you had
before you lost or won.

1. What does arithmetic tells us?

2. Can you cite examples?

III
Arithmetic is seven eleven
all good children go to heaven—or five,
six bundle of sticks.

1. What does this stanza mean to you?

2. Can you give your own examples regarding this?

IV
Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze
from your head to your hand to
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 your pencil to your paper till you
get the answer.

1. What figure of speech is used?

2. What does the metaphor “Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to
your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer” mean?

V
Arithmetic is where the answer is right
and everything is nice and you can
look out of the window
and see the blue sky— or the answer is wrong
and you have to start all over
and try again and see how
it comes out this time.

1. What is the author’s attitude towards arithmetic, as indicated in this stanza?

2. When does arithmetic right?
3. When does arithmetic wrong?

VI
If you take a number and double it
and double it again and then
double it a few more times, the
number gets bigger and bigger and goes
higher and higher and only
arithmetic can tell you
what the number is when you decide
to quit doubling.

1. What will happen when you double a number?

2. How can you relate it to your life?
3. When is the right time to quit doubling?

VII
Arithmetic is where you have to
multiply— and you carry the
multiplication table in your head
and hope you won't lose it.

1. What will happen when lose your ability to multiply?

2. What does this stanza mean?

VIII
If you have two animal crackers, one
good and one bad, and you eat
one and a striped zebra with
streaks all over him eats the other,
how many animal crackers will
you have if somebody offers you
five six seven and you say
No no no and you say
Nay nay nay and you say
Nix nix nix?
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 1. Where does the humor of the author lie in this stanza?
2. How can you relate this stanza in your life?

IX
If you ask your mother for one fried
egg for breakfast and she gives you
two fried eggs and you eat both of
them, who is better in arithmetic,
you or your mother?

1. Where does the humor of the author lie in this stanza?

2. Who is really “better in arithmetic”, you or your mother? Why?

C. Post – Listening
 Generalization
1. In your own words, what is your definition of arithmetic?
2. What does the poem reveal about the value that the author upholds?
3. How can arithmetic helps our lives? Give examples.

 Application
- In the same groups, the learners will pick their topic and do the specific tasks/s.
They are given 15 minutes to finish the task.

 Group 1. Perform a song how to add fun in life.

 Group 2. Make a poster on how to subtract loneliness in life.
 Group 3. Construct an acrostic showing how to multiply experiences in
life.
 Group 4. Make a slogan on how religion divides human.

- Group presentation will be graded on the following criteria:

Relevance of the Interpretation – 10 pts.

Unity and Coordination – 5 pts.
Delivery and Effort – 5 pts.
20 pts.

IV. EVALUATION
The learners are given pictures individually. They will write a two – stanza free verse poem
according to what the picture conveys. Each stanza should contain four lines. They are given
15 minutes to finish the task.

Learner’s work will be graded on the following criteria:

Focus/ Main Point – 10 pts.

Relevance of the Interpretation – 10 pts.
Sentence Structure and Word Choice – 5 pts.
20 pts.

V. ASSIGNMENT
The learners will go to their old pictures from their photo album. They will think about the
time they have enjoyed in the photograph and will describe it. Write the description in a form
of a free verse poem with two stanzas.

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Learner’s work will be graded on the following criteria:

Focus/ Main Point – 10 pts.

Relevance of the Interpretation – 10 pts.
Sentence Structure and Word Choice – 5 pts.
20 pts.

Prepared by:

Kenneth V. Reyes
BSE III – A