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6.3 Poem: The Wicked PostmanA. Discuss the title of the poem with the class. Explain that wicked means very bad. Get students’ ideason what the postman might have done.B. Pre-teach single (in this context it means only one), rule (to make straight lines with a ruler), foolish(stupid) and horrid (an old-fashioned word meaning horrible). Students read the poem and thinkabout why the mother is unhappy.Possible answer:She is unhappy because the father of her child (probably her husband) is not there. The poem isnot clear about where he is, or even if he is alive.C. Students read the sentences and decide if they are true, false or the information is not in the poem. Gothrough the answers and get students to explain why they decided on this.Answers:1. T – the gong is striking four (line 3)2. NI – we know the speaker is young, but there is no information about their gender.3. F – the speaker has at least one brother, who is mentioned in line 34. T – the speaker refers to ‘your maid’ in line 9.5. NI – the speaker doesn’t say where Father is, or if Father is alive.6. F – the speaker can write from A-K.7. T – the speaker thinks the postman is keeping Father’s letters to Mother.8. NI – the speaker doesn’t mention this.D. Students answer the questions. Go through the answers and get students to explain why they decidedon this.Answers:1. Probably between 4 and 6, as they are just learning to write the alphabet.2. No, they live in a village. We know this because the speaker refers to ‘the next village’ in line 9.3. No, as they employ a maid. They might be middle class, or very rich.4. To write letters, pretending they are from Father, and give them to Mother.5. Because everyone else is getting letters except Mother. The speaker thinks Father must have writtento Mother. As the postman doesn’t deliver any, the speaker thinks the postman must keep them himself.E. Students choose the summary that best covers the main point of the poem.Answer: cF. In their groups, students decide on a background to this poem. Encourage them to be as creative asthey can.If possible, groups explain their backgrounds to the rest of the class, or to another group if your classis very big.If you like, get students to write their background stories for homework.UNIT 1035