There are four literatures we learned in class: “The Chinese Grandmother”, “Fire and Ice”, “To a Daughter Leaving Home”, “The Red Hat”. If I have to choose one literature and teach students, I will choose “To a Daughter Leaving Home”. There are two reasons why I choose “To a Daughter Leaving Home”.
The first reason is familiar theme. The thematic idea of “To a Daughter Leaving Home” is that a parent teaches a daughter how difficult it is to live a life independently like riding a bicycle. That is, this poem deals with the theme of family, and the theme, such as family, is so familiar to student’s ordinary life. When students read and study this poem in class, students can recollect their own childhood days, so students can understand the poem easily. Therefore, it will make class more interesting and help students focus more on their class.
Another reason is easy to understand. Metaphor is used in most poems, so students can feel burden when they read some poems because of its ambiguity and difficulty. However, “To a Daughter Leaving Home” is writed in plain language. Metaphors are also expressed, using easy words and grammar. Therefore, students don’t have any difficulties when they are reading the poem.
Studying English through the poem may be harder for students to understand. However, if teacher choose easy poem, such as “To a Daughter Leaving Home”, class will be more interesting and effective.
* a picture "Old photo of girl on a tricycle",
