Pao School students create poetry in motion

Pao School students study poetry throughout their time at the school, allowing them to develop a deep appreciation for the beauty of poetry and learn to express their thoughts in concise, refined language.

Pao School's Primary School curriculum uses teaching materials issued by the Ministry of Education. The curriculum covers a number of different works of classical Chinese poetry, starting with simple nursery rhymes in Year 1 and steadily increasing in length and difficulty up to Year 5. Studying poetry allows students to better understand Chinese culture, notes Mandy Ren,  Head of Upper Primary Chinese at the Primary School. Further, in Upper Primary, students are introduced to modern Chinese poetry. One of the Year 4 unit activities focuses on enhancing students' reading ability outside of the classroom. In this exercise, students are divided into groups to choose poems according to their own taste and specific themes and compile them into a collection. By studying multiple works of poetry by others, students learn the fundamentals of the discipline and then they can try to write poems of their own.

One of the challenges in teaching classical Chinese poetry is understanding the background of works that were created centuries ago, in a world far different from the one we know today. Jade Tao, Y5 Chinese Planning Leader, notes that before starting to teach the content, the teacher first discusses the background of each poem with the students, and asks them to research the poems on their own. This encourages the children to develop a better understanding of the historical and cultural background of each poem. In this manner, the students can better understand the feelings expressed in the poetry. Teachers also encourage students to research how Chinese poetry has been influential throughout the course of China's history. This kind of exercise is also a chance for students to boost their independent research and exploration abilities. After the unit study, the students produce some posters and record videos of themselves reciting poetry to share with their parents, allowing parents to see the fruits of their children's hard work.

In the middle school, there are a variety of methods used to teach poetry. For example, the teacher may select poetry based on a common theme or writer for students to read and study. In Year 7, students follow the theme of "Ascend", which gives students an appreciation for the different emotions expressed through poetry as the poets climbed up mountains or tall buildings . They also learn about the background of the poet, to help discover and consider the wider context of the piece, alongside how it may relate to a wider discussion and understanding of the world.

Recently, in Year 8, students were looking at classical Chinese Shan-Shui landscape poetry, building on their previous studies of learned classical Chinese and Tang-Song dynasty landscape poetry. The students used mock up WeChat moments to share poetry reviews and interpretations, allowing them to also practice their writing skills.

Over the past few years, the High School Chinese Department has published a number of student poem collections, such as "A Poem for Spring,"  "A Poem for Autumn" and other seasonal themed collections. In addition, the Illuminate Poetry Club has published the poetry collection "Illuminate." The High School has also held a variety of colourful poetry events, such as "Menglong Shihua" and "Exploration: Poetry's Secret Code," which have been widely acclaimed by both teachers and students. These successes have been a source of tremendous encouragement for everyone involved in poetry education at Pao School.

Menglong Shihua

However, learning a language requires more than just studying texts – eventually, learners must also turn their hand to creation using the language. Here are some examples of  original poetic works of four members of the Illuminate Poetry Club. The poems explore a number of themes, including the expression of aspirations and emotions, and most were written all at once.

From left to right: Stephanie, Alisa, Titi, Danny

*Thanks to David Xiong, the Director of Chinese Academics on Songjiang Campus, for contributing some of the content and photos.