Cloze dictogloss

Idea taken from the book "Grammar Games" from Mario Rinvolucri

Some of you will surely ask what is a Cloze dictogloss... to my Ss it was also the first time but I think that they liked it... and they did some great effort.

Cloze dictogloss -- I read a poem (just once or twice) and students have to write all the words they can. Then, I give them the poem with some missing words (it could be verbs, pronouns, nouns or other words) and with the words they have, they have to write their poem.

Here are my Students' poems (a note: you were lucky because I didn't take pictures ;))
Note 2: Some of them don't make much sense... but that's the beauty of poetry, isn't?

Whenever I see
A new group of buildings
Impatient to grow up
How slow they grow at first.
The kids are so far ahead,
Above-
almost out of sight.

Mahendi

nuno

Nzuzi

David

The kids see the night

go up

You think slow

And talk to grow

The night seemed long.

Joana

Malam

Vera

Rita

Whenever I see

a new sun rising

is so good

Impatient waiting

How slow was at first

The sun so far ahead,

above- the sea level

Almost out of energy.

Then, overnight, the moon shines

There are millions of stars

Up there among the best of souls

Zé Pedro

Whenever I see a new

Block go up

I think us kids

in passion to grow

it slows the

others so far ahead

- almost out

of sight.

(would we reach your height)

Then, overnight, up there

we are the

best of them

we stop on the

top of

our separate buildings.

Catarina

Dora

Francisco

Sara

THE ORIGINAL:

Walking Tall

Whenever I see

A new block go up

I think of us as kids,

Impatient to grow;

How slow it seemed at first,

The others so far ahead,

Above-

Almost out of sight.

(would we ever reach your height)

Then, overnight,

There we were

Up there among the best of them,

And there we remain -

Stuck on the top

Of our separate buildings.

Alan Maley