KS3 Units Unit 11: Published with English Allsorts English and Media Centre, 2007 http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk
Teacher's Notes 11 Unit Summary (3 weeks) This unit provides a poetry focus which takes pupils through various close reading strategies aimed at getting them interested, curious and pleasurably engaged with the way language works in poetry to make meaning. The poems in this unit represent a range of cultures, times, voices and levels of difficulty. Teachers should feel free to change the order of the stages or use some in isolation. In Stage One, pupils compare the use of imagery in two love poems, one by John Cooper Clarke and one by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This is done through a line matching game and a rap version of Browning s poem. In Stage Two pupils explore the themes and language of Ozymandias by Shelley. After a short sequence of pre-reading activities they consider its meaning further by doing some imaginative writing. The aim is to engage them with what on first sight seems an inaccessible poem and to get them into the habit of paying attention to language in poetry. In Stage Three pupils speculate on The Sick Rose by Blake as it is revealed to them line by line. They read and discuss comments by other KS3 pupils as a way of sorting out their own ideas and responses. The aim is to show that many different ideas about one poem may exist. In Stage Four pupils compare three short poems by Grace Nichols, Osip Mandelstam and Debjani Chatterjee, which share the themes of silence and the power of the word. The emphasis lies on the way the precise use of language in poetry wrestles with big ideas, experiences and themes. In Stage Five pupils select any of the poems in this unit (there are some more printed at the end) and choose one to work on for a live reading or performance to the rest of the class as another way of providing an interpretation. Differentiation Throughout, pupils work in small groups. The poems and tasks range in difficulty. Generally, the sequence of tasks around one poem get progressively more difficult. Teachers will want to think about groupings and ensure that pupils change group composition frequently - explain fruitbowling. Underway Stage One Explain that this is a matching game. Divide the class in half and call them A s and B s. Using Teacher Text i wanna be yours give the lines from the A column to the A pupils and tell them to read their lines out to the other As until they are confident about them. Give the other half of the lines to the B pupils and get them to familiarise themselves with their line in the same way. When they are ready, divide the class into two lines with A and B facing each other as far as possible. Ask each A to say their line aloud to the whole group. They should do this twice. The B s should be listening and think about who might be their other half. Ask the A s to say their lines once more and this time the B s, consulting with each other if they wish, should say their line if they think it matches. Once a B chooses a partner, they should sit down together and wait. Keep going until the time or the lines run out. Next, ask all the pairs to read their matching lines out loud. Let the whole class discuss any changes people think might be made snd why lines match. Give the class copies of the complete poem and give them time to read it in their pairs before reading it aloud to them yourself. Finally invite a whole class reading of the poem with pairs saying their lines together. Hand out Pupil Sheet 1 How do I love thee? which starts by asking pupils to explore Cooper Clarke s use of metaphor and image. Talk through Tasks 2 and 3 on the Sheet. Feedback their ideas and finish this stage by making an OHP or handing out Pupil Sheet 3. Read it to them. No discussion. Assessment Opportunities/ National Curriculum References Reading: 1b, 1c, 1d, 2a, 3b. Stage Two Give pupils in groups of three or four Pupil Sheet 4 Poem Fragments. Explain that the words are taken from a poem and give them 15 minutes to talk about the mood, feelings and ideas suggested by them. Encouraging pupils to annotate the sheet as a series of spidergrams would be best for this activity. Feedback as a whole class and write their ideas up on the board. Next, give the small groups Pupil Sheet 5, the whole poem Ozymandias and ask them to read it aloud in their groups. Let them talk about their reaction to 169
Teacher's Notes seeing the whole text and ask them to complete the two sentences at the bottom: what they think the poem is saying and what they re still not sure about. Read the poem to them and hear what groups wrote in their two sentences. Pupils may explore this poem further by choosing one of the imaginative writing assignments on Pupil Sheet 6. Assessment Opportunities/ National Curriculum References Reading: 1b, 1d, 2b. Writing: 1a, 1b, 1c. Stage Three Working in fours, give pupils the first line of Blake s The Sick Rose cut up and photocopied from the Teacher s Sheet. Tell them it is the first line of a poem and ask them what is happening in this poem (is there a person or a thing in it?). Give them a few minutes to talk and make notes, then give them the next line and get them to do the same, adding further considerations for them to discuss such as where and when. Continue the process until they have had all the lines. Now ask them to think up a title for this poem. Hear their ideas for titles and perhaps write them on the board. Pupil Sheet 7 contains the whole poem together with extracts from Year 8 pupils discussions about this poem. Read the title and the poem to them and then give them the sheet. The task is for groups to read the complete poem aloud and talk back to the comments printed around it, noting down their opinions and adding more. These sheets can then be displayed. Assessment Opportunities/ National Curriculum References Reading: 1b, 1d, 2a, 3b Speaking & Listening: 1a, 3b Stage Four During this stage pupils explore and compare three short poems. Arrange pupils into groups of three calling the groups A, B or C. This will identify the poem they are going to explore. Tell them that each group is going to become expert on one poem which they will then report back on to the whole class. First give the groups Pupil Sheet 8 and ask them to spend 10 minutes brainstorming silence, ocean and words which are written on the sheet. When they have finished give them the three short poems: Epilogue by Grace Nichols, You took away all the oceans and all the room by Osip Mandelstam and From Silence by Debjani Chatterjee on Pupil Sheet 9. Talk them through Pupil Sheet 10 which offers a talk framework for exploring a poem. Give them about 20 minutes to explore their poem making notes on the way. Then have the whole class feedback with one representative from each group reading out loud the poem in which they have become expert. To avoid feedback dragging, use Pupil Sheet 10 as a structure, asking for responses from groups in turn, e.g. Group A tell the class what they discussed for No. 2, Group B for No. 4, etc. Allow for interruptions and additions. Finish by discussing what they see as the similarities and differences between the three poems. This could be done as a list on the board. Assessment Opportunities/ National Curriculum References Speaking & Listening: 1a Reading: 1a, 3b Stage Five In the final stage of this unit, pupils to work on a live performance or reading or enactment of one poem. The poem may be chosen from any of those they have already worked on in the unit and from the additional poems at the end. Pupil Sheet 11 should be talked through with them before they are set off on the task in groups of anything from two to six. Give plenty of time for rehearsal and for them to hear the performances. If possible, audio or video record these as evidence for their Speaking and Listening Assessment records. Assessment Opportunities/ National Curriculum References Speaking & Listening: 1d Reading: 1b, 1c, 2a 170
Teacher's Text i wanna be yours i wanna be yours A let me be your vacuum cleaner B breathing in your dust let me be your ford cortina i will never rust if you like your coffee hot let me be your coffee pot let me be your raincoat for those frequent rainy days let me be your dreamboat when you wanna sail away let me be your teddy bear take me with you anywhere let me be your electric meter i will not run out let me be the electric heater you get cold without let me be your setting lotion hold your hair with deep devotion deep as the deep atlantic ocean that s how deep is my emotion deep deep deep deep de deep deep 171
Pupil Sheet 1 i wanna be yours i wanna be yours let me be your vacuum cleaner breathing in your dust let me be your ford cortina i will never rust if you like your coffee hot let me be your coffee pot you call the shots i wanna be yours let me be your raincoat for those frequent rainy days let me be your dreamboat when you wanna sail away let me be your teddy bear take me with you anywhere i don t care i wanna be yours let me be your electric meter i will not run out let me be the electric heater you get cold without let me be your setting lotion hold your hair with deep devotion deep as the deep atlantic ocean that s how deep is my emotion deep deep deep deep de deep deep i don t wanna be hers i wanna be yours John Cooper Clarke 172
Pupil Sheet 2 How do I love thee? How do I love thee? In small groups look at 'i wanna be yours' and talk about the following: 1. Can you list all the different ways John Cooper Clarke describes his love for this person? How many are there? 2. Why do you think he selected the images that he has and how did they affect you when you read the whole poem? What kind of character do you imagine the poet to be? 3. The list below is taken from another love poem. Talk about what you think each one is saying. Then write a short sentence or phrase alongside explaining it in your own words. Talk about it I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach I love thee to the level of everyday s Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. 4. Now take your short phrases or sentences and work together to turn them into a rap or a song which you could call How do I Love Thee? Let me count the ways. 173
Pupil Sheet 3 Sonnet from the Portuguese How do I love thee? Let me count the ways Here is the poem in full. It was written about 150 years ago. Sonnet from the Portuguese How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday s Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-61) 174
Pupil Sheet 4 Poem Fragments Poem Fragments Talk & write about it The words below have been taken from a poem. Talk about and jot down around them, the ideas, moods and feelings that they suggest to you. lone shattered lifeless sands mocked them nothing sunk command passions far away 175
Pupil Sheet 5 Ozymandias Ozymandias I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert... Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal these words appear: My name is OZYMANDIAS, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) One thing that we think this poem is saying is............... But what we re still not sure about is............... 176
Pupil Sheet 6 Imaginative Writing Imaginative Writing around Ozymandias Your turn to write Choose one or two of these short writing activities to explore this poem further and to show your understanding of it. Imagine that you visit the ruins in the desert as part of a holiday or a school trip. Describe what you see and how you feel about it. Write a tourist s guide explaining the history behind these ruins. Find suitable illustrations. Write Ozymandias nightmare in which he dreams he is dead and forgotten and which prompts him to plan the creation of his own statue. Describe the scene and conversation in which Ozymandias and his advisers instruct the sculptor to make the statue. After the sculptor has been commissioned to build the statue, he returns home and talks about it all with his family. Imagine the early days of the building of the statue. Write up some of the conversations in the crowd as they watch the sculptor work over the months. 177
Teacher s Sheet The Sick Rose, Line by Line The Sick Rose, Line By Line O Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy. William Blake 178
Pupil Sheet 7 The Sick Rose The Sick Rose It s getting sicker and sicker because it s having it s life ripped out He s kidnapping her He s sad and then he s angry Well, it s not actually a worm, it s just the idea O Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night In the howling storm, It s not about the rose at all It has a passionate feeling to it In the howling storm? Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy. William Blake It s all in old English. Thou and thy and all that. It has loads of different meanings When it says the invisible worm I think it means that the man is hiding behind his shame or something I think he s saying he s loving something - someone - and when he tries to pick it up he does damage to it 179
Pupil Sheet 8 Brainstorm Sheet Brainstorm Sheet In your threes, discuss these words and write down all the other words, phrases and ideas that you come up with. silence Talk about it ocean words 180
Pupil Sheet 9 Three Short Poems Three Poems A You took away all the oceans and all the room You took away all the oceans and all the room. You gave me my shoe size in earth with bars around it. Where did it get you? Nowhere. You left me my lips, and they shape words, even in silence. Osip Mandelstam translated by Clarence Brown and W. S. Merwin B Epilogue I have crossed an ocean I have lost my tongue from the root of the old one a new one has sprung Grace Nichols C From Silence Speech is... but silence is golden. Little girls should be seen, not heard. What bully shut our silver mouths? ( In the beginning was the Word. ) Silence is ripening, yearning, listening. Let my silence grow - silence to nurture thoughtful speech. From silence may my language flow. Debjani Chatterjee 181
Pupil Sheet 10 Talking About a Poem Talking About a Poem Talk about it Make notes on your poem so that when you move into another three you can talk about your ideas there. In your group, read the poem aloud once or twice. Individually, mark any words or phrases that: - strike you for some reason - you don t understand. Someone in the group should read the poem out loud again. Now share the words and phrases that you marked. Who is speaking in the poem? Is the voice sad, happy, thoughtful? Mark word or phrases which tell you about the emotions or feelings in this poem? Look at the title and talk about how it fits with the rest of the poem. What about the shape of the poem and the length of the poem? Does your group have any comments about these? Talk about why this poem might have been written. What is it trying to say? What ideas and reactions does your group have to it? If the poem you are looking at is very short, try writing another verse. You will need to talk about the shape, rhythm and rhyme of the poem to do this. 182
Pupil Sheet 11 Performing Poetry Performing Poetry You are going to prepare a performance or live reading of one poem from this unit. You can choose one of the ones you have worked on already or there are a few more for you to select from. 1. Read the poem first out loud, several times. Talk about it. 2. Now think about how to perform it: Are there sounds in the language that you want to do something with? Are there sound effects that could accompany the poem? Mark the key words, lines or phrases in this poem. Mark the main images, places and people in this poem. 3. Start to experiment with ways of performing this poem. Here are some ideas to get you started: Add sound effects Use more than one voice Repeat some parts Have a chorus Move bits of the poem around Cut some bits out Be visual - you could act it out, have still pictures, use props Include the audience if you like. Make sure that everyone in the group is involved in some way. 183
Pupil Sheet 12a More poems Rainbow When you see de rainbow you know God know wha he doing - one big smile across the sky - I tell you God got style the man got style When you see raincloud pass and de rainbow make a show I tell you is God doing limbo the man doing limbo But sometimes you know when I see de rainbow so full of glow & curving like she bearing child I does want know if God ain t a woman If that is so the woman got style man she got style John Agard 184
Pupil Sheet 12b More poems Love Letta Me darlin Love, my lickle Dove, Me dumplin, me gizada, Me sweety Sue, I goes for you Like how flies goes for sugar. As ah puts me pen to paper An me pen nib start to fly, Me remembrance remember De fus day you ketch me y eye. You did just come off o tram-car, A bus was to you right, A car swips pass you lef-aise An you stan up stiff wid fright! You jaw drop, you mout open, Jus like wen jackass start yawn, Me heart go boogoo-boogoo An ah know wha meck ah born! Noh scorn me lickle letter Love, Noh laugh after me yaw, Me larnin not too good, but wat Me kean spell, me wi draw! De ting eena de corner wid De freckles is me heart, An de plate o yam an salfish mean Dat we can never part. See how me de two face dem Dah-look pon one anada Well one is you an one is me, Teck anyone you rada! Is not a cockroach foot dis, is A finger wid a ring, An it mean ah want to married you Dis line is piece o string. Teck it put roun de wedden-finger A you wedden-han, Careful fe get de right size, an Den gi it to dis man. De man is me. Now sweet-rice, Keep swell till ah see you nex, Accep me young heart wile ah close Wid love an bans o X. Louise Bennett 185
Pupil Sheet 12c More poems Attention Seeking I m needing attention. I know I m needing attention because I hear people say it. People that know these things. I m needing attention so what I ll do is steal something. I know I ll steal something because that is what I do when I need attention. Or else I mess up my sister s room throw all her clothes onto the floor put her hamster under her pillow and lay a trap above the door a big heavy dictionary to drop on her when she comes through. Swot. This is the kind of thing I do when I m needing attention. But I m never boring. I always think up new things. Attention has lots of colours. And tunes. And lots of punishments. For attention you can get detention. Extra homework. Extra housework. All sorts of things. Although yesterday I heard the woman say to my dad that I was just needing someone to listen. My dad went mad. Listen to him, he said. Listen! You ve got to be joking. Mind you that was right after I stole his car keys and drove his car straight into the wall. I wasn t hurt, but I m still needing quite a lot of attention. Jackie Kay 186
Pupil Sheet 12d More poems I m a Parrot I m a parrot I live in a cage I m nearly always in a vex-up rage I used to fly all light and free in the luscious green forest canopy I m a parrot I live in a cage I m nearly always in a vex-up rage I miss the wind against my wing I miss the nut and the fruit picking I m a parrot I live in a cage I m nearly always in a vex-up rage I squawk I talk I curse I swear I repeat the things I shouldn t hear I m a parrot I live in a cage I m nearly always in a vex-up rage So don t come near me or put out your hand because I ll pick you if I can pickyou pickyou if I can I want to be free CAN T YOU UNDERSTAND Grace Nichols 187