Department of Education
National Capital Region
Schools Division Office
NORTH FAIRVIEW HIGH SCHOOL
North Fairview, District V, Quezon City
AN ENGLISH 9 LESSON USING A SONG AND THINKING MAPS AS SPIN-OFF FOR TEACHING POETRY
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Get the message of the poem.
2. Interpret words or phrases as they are used in the text
3. Identify the theme of the poem.
4. Cite textual evidence from inferences or conclusions.
II. SUBJECT MATTER:
POETRY: THE MAN WITH THE HOE
Edwin Markham
Reference: A Journey Through Anglo-American Litetature Learner’s Manual (pg. 135)
Learner’s Materials used: visual and writing materials
III. LEARNING STRATEGIES
A. INITIAL TASKS
Task 1. Picture Analysis
Teacher presents an image of a man hoeing the
ground.
Look at the picture closely, what can you infer about
him from his facial expression, pose, and clothing?
The man in the image shows a French peasant who
is forced to work hard in the field.
How do you think the speaker of the poem feels
about the man with a hoe?
Task 2. Heal the World
Now, let us see what the song says about healing the world.
I will play a song from Michael Jackson entitled, “Heal the World.”
As I play the song, I want you all to listen carefully.
Is there anyone who loves or heard this song already?
Do you see any relationship or connection between the title and the picture?
What is it? How is the word “heal” related to the picture?
1. Did the song make you cry?
2. What do you think is the message of the song?
3. What feelings do you think the musician was trying to express?
Read the conclusion:
Do you agree that the song
addressed one of the most important
issues in our society today? If so,
what societal problem is tackled in
the poem?
Do you see any relationship or
connection between the song and the
poem, The Man with the Hoe? Ok let’s find out.
Task 3. Vocab Activity
Match the following words with their opposite meaning in Column B.
A B
1. bowed angels
2. rapture straighten
3. above despair
4. seraphs down
III. DISCOVERY TASKS
Reading Connections
The Man with the hoe is a poem of social protest. It has been called "the battle-
cry of the next thousand years" and translated into 37 language. After its publication,
the poem's content, form, and language have captured the feelings and thoughts of
people, drawing attention to social issues such as labor exploitation while helping
causes such as the revitalization of efforts pursuing labor reform.
The man in the poem is not treated fairly and justly. What do you think
happened to the man at the end of the poem. To whom is the poem "The Man with the Hoe" addressed?
Let’s check it out. Let the students read the poem aloud.
The Man with the Hoe
Edwin Markham
Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,
And on his back the burden of the world.
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?
Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land;
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power;
To feel the passion of Eternity?
Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And marked their ways upon the ancient deep?
More tongued with censure of the world's blind greed --
More fraught with menace to the universe.
What gulfs between him and the seraphim!
Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
Time's tragedy is in that aching stoop;
Through this dread shape humanity betrayed,
Plundered, profaned and disinherited,
Cries protest to the Judges of the World,
A protest that is also prophecy.
O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
Is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched?
How will you ever straighten up this shape;
Task 4. Think It Over!
After reading the poem, go deeper and discuss the answers to the questions on the following
tasks:
1. What is the occupation of the man in the poem?
2. Who is “bowed by the weight of the centuries”?
3. What does the bent body of the man with a hoe signify?
4. What is on his face?
5. Describe the miserable condition of the man. Where do you see evidence in the poem
to support your idea?
6. Why do you think the speaker of the poem refers to the man as "a brother to the ox"?
7. In the poem, what does God intend him to be?
8. The man with a hoe is a ‘Slave of the wheel of labor’, what does the wheel symbolize?
9. What is meant by the line, ‘What to him are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
10. What does the 4th stanza mean?
11. What does the word ‘Future’ with a capital letter symbolize?
12. What does the last stanza mean?
13. What is the message of the poem?
Task 5. Interpreting Words and Phrases
What do you think is the symbolism of the following words and phrases as used in the poem?
a. bowed by the weight of the century >>>>>>> ________________
b. brother to the ox >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> __________________
c. breath blew out the light within his brain >>> __________________
Task 6. Synthesis!
THINKING MAP 2
(Brace Map)
The poem, The Man with the Hoe, consists of 49 lines divided into 5 stanzas of social
commentary that focus on America’s working class and their sufferings. It is a striking
poem of protest against exploited labor.
Analyze the message of each of the five stanzas and write them on the circle below.
The Man
with
the hoe
5th stanza
1st stanza
4th stanza
2nd stanza
3rd stanza
TASK 7. Theme Builders
THINKING MAP 3
(The Multi-Flow Map)
Using the Multi-Flow Map, what theme(s) can you identify in the poem?
Social injustice
dehumanization
n
How do these
theme(s) relate
exploitation to the message hard work
of the poem?
labor
degradation of labor
sufferings
TASK 8. Textual Evidence
THINKING MAP 4
( The Flow Map)
Cite textual evidence to support the following inferences or conclusions.
A. The man has been dehumanized and Textual Evidence
brutalized so much that he has become
almost an "ox!"
B. Textual Evidence
The man is a pitiful and pitiable figure
The man is betrayed by faceless
C. 'masters, lords and rulers in all lands'
who have 'plundered, profaned, and Textual Evidence
disinherited' him from his true
heritage.”
The man will dare to rise up and Textual Evidence
D. revolt after silent for centuries
IV. ASSIGNMENT
FINAL TASK.
Task 9. IMAGE IN MY MIND
A.
1. What social issue was discussed in the poem?
2. Are the Filipino laborers treated fairly?
3. Illustrate the message of the poem in the last stanza.
B.
Think of a scenario about poverty. You will create a still picture, without talking, to capture
and communicate the meaning of the concept. You must truly understand the meaning of a concept
or idea in order to communicate it using physical poses, gestures, and facial expressions rather than
words. Have one representative to explain that picture you posed in 3 sentences.
Prepared by:
MA. ADELIA C. SOLIABAN
Master Teacher II
North Fairview High School
