READING AND WRITING POEMS IN ENGLISH: COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES AT A BRAZILIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

Abstract

This study, presenting an experience with eighth-grade students at a Brazilian public school, in Goiânia, Goiás, shows students’ ability to collaboratively read and write poems in English. A poem was selected from the Indian-born, Canadian poet Rupi Kaur’s book The sun and her flowers (KAUR, 2017) to discuss and reflect on themes such as love and loss. Firstly, a theoretical reference on the importance of literary texts for English language teaching and the role of collaboration is presented to provide a theoretical basis for this pedagogical practice. The pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading activities are then described and the students’ written productions, based on Rupi Kaur’s poem, are also presented. Through these activities, students enhanced their lexical knowledge of the English language and their creativity, and also interacted with their colleagues to reflect on current issues.