Lesson video

Hello, everyone, it's lovely to see you here today for this lesson on planning a written response on Worlds and Lives poetry.

My name is Dr.

Clayton, and I'm gonna guide you through your learning journey today.

For today's lesson, we're going to look at some of the connections you might make between some of the poetry from the AQA Worlds and Lives anthology, and work our way up to you planning a written response to the question, "How do poets present ideas about migration in two poems from the Worlds and Lives anthology?" Now, you will need your copy of the Worlds and Lives anthology for this lesson, so make sure you have it with you.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you're using for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to conceptualize and plan a comparative response.

So we have four words today we're going to focus on as our keywords, they're identified in bold throughout the learning material and I'll try to point 'em out to you as well so you can see them being used in context.

Our first keyword is "compliment," which is not to be confused with saying something nice about something, instead, this means when something supports something else or makes it more effective.

Our second keyword is "contrast," and if one thing contrasts with another, it's very different from it.

We're going to think about how certain poems in the anthology compliment each other, but also what contrast we can see between them.

Our third keyword is "intention," and this means the reason or purpose behind a decision or action.

Finally, our fourth keyword is "conceptualize," which means to form an idea or principle in your mind.

So I'll just give you a few moments to write down those keywords and their definitions, so pause the video and write them down now.

(no audio) Fantastic, let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to take 12 of the poems from the Worlds and Lives anthology and think about what connections we can make between them, and what the key themes are for those poems. For our second learning cycle, we're going to explore a model response.

Looking at models is a great way to prepare for your own writing because it allows you to see how someone else conceptualized their ideas and how they've structure them.

For our third learning cycle then, we're going to use multiple paragraph outlines to plan your own response to the question, "How do poets present ideas about migration in two poems from the Worlds and Lives anthology?" So as I said earlier, we're going to consider 12 poems from the Worlds and Lives anthology today, and they are, "pot," "Thirteen," "On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955," "A Wider View," "In a London Drawingroom," "A Century Later," "Lines Written in Early Spring," "England in 1819," "Shall earth no more inspire thee," "Homing," "Name Journeys," and "The Jewelry Maker." Now, perhaps you might already have some favorite poems in that list, and perhaps you might have some you don't connect to as much.

When we're thinking about a comparative response, we need to look past our personal feelings.

Consider which poems create the most effective comparison, even if that means not writing about your favorite poem.

So to start us off, let's think about what overall ideas connect all of these poems together.

They've been put into the Worlds and Lives anthology because there's a common thread that connects all of them, what do you think that thread is? Now, if you're working with a partner, you might discuss your ideas with them, if you're working through this by yourself, you might just think about it, so pause the video and think about what the overall idea that connects all of these poems is.

(no audio) Some fantastic ideas there, it was great to see people considering ideas such as identity and belonging because they feed into each of these poems, since they all arguably consider our connection to the world around us, how do we impact the world, and where do we consider that we fit in within it.

Now, when you're asked to write a response to the anthology, you'll be given one poem from the anthology and asked to compare it to another poem.

You'll be asked to compare two poet's presentations of a theme, such as nature or migration.

Now, when you're given your first poem, you need to consider how does the poet present the theme? And is there attitude towards the theme positive or negative? Then you can start to think about what other poems compliment this poem or contrast with it.

Again, remember to take your personal feelings about the poem out of the equation and think about which poems best fit together to answer the question.

Now, imagine you've been given the question, "Compare how poets present the connection between humanity and nature in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee' and one other poem from the Worlds and Lives anthology." So we have our first poem, Brontë's "Shall earth no more inspire thee", and we have to decide which poem we're going to compare it with.

Now, Sofia has looked at the question and thought, "I think I'd like to compare 'Shall earth no more inspire thee' with 'pot,' because 'pot' is my favorite poem in the anthology." Now, what I'd like you to think about is why might this not be the most effective approach to take? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Now, you might have said that it's not the most effective approach because the poems need to be prepared thematically, not just because you like a poem or think you know it well.

Now, 'pot' happens to be one of my favorite poems in the anthology as well, so I can understand why Sofia might want to talk about it, but you need to think carefully about the poems' similarities or differences.

Consider which poem actually answers the question the best.

So Sofia has changed her mind and said instead she's going to look at Wordsworth's "Lines Written in Early Spring" as her second poem, so what I'd like you to think about is has Sophia chosen a poem that compliments the one she's been given or contrasts with it? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Now, you might have said that the poems compliment one another well because they both explore the connection and disconnection between humanity and nature.

Now, examining the question you're given is very important, you need to think about which poems have similar ideas in relation to the question, but you also want to think about the subtle differences so you can create a comparison between them, so imagine that this was your question, "Compare how poets present ideas about migration in 'Name Journeys' and one other poem from the Worlds and Lives anthology." What I'd like to think about is which poem compares well with "Name Journeys" on the theme of migration, so pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Now, you might have said that both "Name Journeys" and "On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955" explore the experience of migrants in the UK, so we have similarities between how the poets are considering migration.

Now, we've got the similarities, but what are the key differences in how "Name Journeys" and "On an Afternoon Train" portray migration? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Now, you might have said that whilst "Name Journeys" portrays the speaker's sense of isolation and the experience of not fitting in, "On an Afternoon Train" shows the progression of separate individuals forming a connection through open conversations, so "Name Journeys" and "On an Afternoon Train" both complement and contrast each other.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following poems would compare well with "Name Journeys" in terms of migration? Is it A, "Lines Written in Early Spring," B, "On an Afternoon Train," or C, "A Wider View?" So pause the video and make your selection now.

(no audio) The correct answer is B, "On an Afternoon Train," because both "Name Journeys" and "On an Afternoon Train" explore the experience of migrants.

This is a similarity.

However, the speaker's experiences differ in terms of the connections or lack of connections they form with other people.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Now we've arrived at the first task of the lesson.

Now, I've put together a table here of 12 of the poems from the anthology and some of the potential themes you might talk about, so creating a resource like this will be really useful for you to keep track of the poems and give yourself a brief reminder of their ideas and themes.

So what I'd like you to do is put a tick next to each theme that you think the poems cover, so the themes you have to pick from are identity, meaning heritage and culture, nature, temporality, which means ideas of time, liminality, which means being on the threshold of somewhere, identity in terms of place, migration, prejudice, power and authority, and change and revolution.

And just a reminder, the poems you're considering are "pot," "The Jewelry Maker," "Homing," "England in 1819," "A Century Later," "Name Journeys," "On an Afternoon Train," "Thirteen," "Lines Written in Early Spring," "Shall earth no more inspire thee," "In a London Drawingroom," and "A Wider View," so pause the video and complete the table now.

(no audio) Amazing work, everyone.

Now, you might have said the speaker in "pot" is looking at a pot in a museum and questioning how the pot was taken away from its home and put on display, so it might connect it to ideas of identity, heritage, and culture.

(indistinct) Our identity is influenced by those who made us.

It also considers ideas of identity and place, because the pot is said to be empty in the foreign museum.

The pot's been forcibly moved to a different place, so it connects to ideas of migration, and it references colonial power, so it links to ideas are power and authority.

"The Jewelry Maker" represents someone in a marginalized position who is forced to sell their jewelry to those wealthier than them.

Now, because it's a family business, we can connect the poem to ideas of identity and heritage.

We can connect it to ideas of place because of the connection between the maker, his creations, and the workshop.

Now, "Homing" is about a speaker lamenting her grandmother having to hide her accent and wanting to use the accent as a way of connecting to her, so it concerns ideas of identity and heritage, because it's about generational connections.

It's also about prejudice, because it shows how negative perceptions influence people, and it's about power and authority, because it shows how the dominant culture forced the grandmother into elocution lessons.

Now, "England in 1819" draws the reader to a specific time, so consider the ideas of temporality.

The poem is a critique of powerful institutions such as the monarchy, the church, and parliament, so consider the ideas of power and authority, and it applies that change is coming, so it references ideas of change and revolution.

Now, "A Century Later" is about the cyclical nature of violence, so it draws on ideas of temporality, and it shows how girls are subjected to violence because they want to get an education, so consider ideas of prejudice, power and authority, and change and revolution, since the girls take a stand against their oppressors.

Now, "Name Journeys" is about the speaker's experience of migrating from India to the UK, so it considers ideas of identity, heritage, and culture because the idea is our identities are woven together through generations.

It considers the ideas of liminality through the idea that the speaker is on a journey but hasn't arrived at a destination.

It concerns ideas of identity and place because it shows how our identities are connected to where we come from, it concerns migration because the speaker is migrating, and it concerns prejudice because we see how isolated and uncomfortable the speaker is in the UK.

Now, "On an Afternoon Train" is about the speaker having a conversation with a stranger on a train about where he comes from, and it concerns ideas about identity and heritage because it shows his connection to his father.

It considers ideas of liminality because the speaker is on a train and therefore on a journey.

It shows ideas of identity and place because it shows how our identity is linked to a place, it shows ideas of migration because the speaker has migrated, and it links to ideas of prejudice because it hints at the ignorance of people when it comes to migrant experiences.

Now, "Thirteen" is about a young boy who's stopped by the police and accused of a crime.

It concerns ideas of prejudice because, while never mentioned, the assumption is that police have stopped him because of the color of his skin, and it concerns power and authority because it shows the danger of institutional racism.

"Lines Written in Early Spring" shows the speaker reflecting on the beauty of nature and the chaos of mankind, so it concerns ideas of nature, but also ideas of change and revolution, since it hints at the Industrial Revolution causing mankind's discordance.

"Shall earth no more inspire thee" is about nature trying to comfort the listener and convince them to return to their former love of nature, so it's about nature, but also about change and revolution since it reflects the shift away from nature that the Industrial Revolution caused.

Now, "In a London Drawingroom" is about the damage industrialization has done, so it considers the damage to nature, it considers how our identities are shaped by where we live, it considers power and authority since it hints at the disparity between the working class and the wealthy, and it considers change and revolution since it references the impact of the Industrial Revolution.

"A Wider View" then, shows the speaker reflecting on their great-great-grandfather's time during the Industrial Revolution, and the two meet in a moment of time, coming together, so it's about connections between identity and heritage because it shows how the past impacts the present, it's about nature because it implies the damage done by the Industrial Revolution, it considers temporality because it concerns the nature of time, it considers our generational connections to place, and it considers change and revolution since it references the impact of the Industrial Revolution.

Now, hopefully you found the excise helpful, and this is a resource you can keep and use again whenever you need it.

Amazing work, everyone, we're now into our second learning cycle, we're going to explore a model answer.

So when we're thinking about the model answer, and then, planning our own answer, we're going to use a multiple-paragraph outline, so I'd like you to start off by thinking about whether you can explain the purpose of each of the different parts of the multiple-paragraph outline, so pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Now, the thesis is the outline argument of the whole essay, so this is where you give your overall argument about the poems and say what their similarities and differences are.

Your topic sentence outlines the arguments of each paragraph and includes key question vocabulary.

Your supporting detail is key language, form, and structural or contextual details.

Your concluding sentence summarizes the argument in each paragraph, with a sharp focus on writer's intention, and finally, your conclusion offers a conclusive summary of the writer's message.

Now, in your additional materials, there's a model essay comparing how Brontë and Wordsworth present nature in "Shall earth no more inspire thee" and "Lines Written in Early Spring." What I'd like you to do is pause the video and read through that model essay now.

(no audio) Amazing, so now, you've read the essay, what I'd like you to think about is where is the model comparing similarities in their ideas about nature, and where is the model showing differences in their ideas about nature? So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Fantastic work, everyone, you might have noticed that the model is weaving the similarities and differences in how Wordsworth and Brontë present nature throughout the answer, and that is one really effective way of creating a comparative response, 'cause it shows the reader you're really considering how the writer is using language and structure in order to create their own unique perspectives.

Now for a quick check for understanding, so which Oak pupil's summary of the thesis statement is correct? So Laura said, "While both poems lament the disconnection between nature and humanity, Brontë depicts nature as reaching out and trying to reforge the connection," and Jacob said, "While both poems lament the disconnection between nature and humanity, Wordsworth depicts nature as reaching out and trying to reforge the connection," so pause the video and make a selection now.

(no audio) The correct answer is Laura.

When she says that, "While both poems lament the disconnection between nature and humanity, Brontë depicts nature as reaching out and trying to reforge the connection," so very well done if you got that right.

Now, for our second task of the lesson, I'd like you to return to the model essay and read through it once again, then I'd like to use the model essay to backwards-plan and create a multiple-paragraph outline, so what is the thesis statement of the essay? What are the topic sentences for each of the paragraphs? What are supporting details within the paragraphs? And what conclusions does the essay reach? So pause the video and create your multiple-paragraph outline now.

(no audio) Fantastic work, everyone, here's what you might have said for the first paragraph, so for the topic sentence, "Both Wordsworth and Brontë depict the comforting and soothing characteristics of nature," for the supporting detail, the regularity in the rhyme schemes conveys a calm, soothing tone, "Lines Written in Early Spring" used the quotation, "A thousand blended notes," to show that nature is harmonious and pleasing, and "Shall earth no more inspire thee" used the word "soothe" to show that nature is actively trying to comfort and calm the listener, and the concluding sentence then, "Whilst both poems convey nature is comforting, Brontë implies that nature is actively trying to soothe and calm humanity; in contrast, Wordsworth displays humanity's reaction to nature." Fantastic work, everyone, we're now at the final learning cycle of the lesson, we're going to talk through the planning process and you are going to finish by creating your own plan.

So here's a section of a multiple-paragraph outline comparing the ways identity is presented in Khan's "pot" and Berry's "Homing," now, both Khan and Berry explore ideas around constraints and identity, however, Khan arguably uses the poem as a metaphor for fears around migrant identity, while Berry uses the poem to explore perceptions of regional accents and to argue that to deny our voice is to deny ourselves.

Now, the topic sentence for one paragraph is, "Both poets use objects in order to metaphorically explore external influences on identity," the supporting detail then is in "pot," they use the quotation, "Shatter this glass," and that.

(indistinct) The idea of something being put on display and it's value being determined by somebody else.

In "Homing," they use the quotation, "Box," and that suggests their identity has been hidden away.

They also use the quotation, "Elocution," and that suggests that outside influences are affecting the perception of regional accents and identity.

Now, let's think about what concluding sentence we might use for that paragraph, so concluding sentences should summarize the argument in each paragraph, with a sharp focus on writer's intentions so what I'd like you to think about is which concluding sentence is more effective? Is it A, "In 'pot,' the pot has been placed on display by others, which perhaps reflects how migrant identities are judged and valued by others.

Whilst in 'Homing,' the grandmother's accent was hidden away in a box, which speaks to how negative perceptions can cause us to constrain and contain our own identities in order to try and fit in," or is it B, "'pot' explores the impact of migration on identity whilst 'Homing' explores the negative perceptions of regional identity.

Both poets evoke feelings of injustice in the reader?" So pause the video, think about which one is more effective.

(no audio) So you might have said that concluding sentence A gives more thoughtful consideration to each of the writer's intentions and really unpicks the way other people can influence our identities, so while concluding sentence B gives general ideas about how the poems talk about the impact of migration and negative perceptions on identity, concluding sentence A goes into detail of how "pot" shows migrant identities arguably being judged and valued by others, while "Homing" shows how negative perceptions can cause us to constrain our own identities to fit in.

Now, when you're thinking about a multiple-paragraph outline, you need to consider how you can separate your ideas into distinctive paragraphs with their own topic sentences, so I'd like you to think about whether you can come up with two more topic sentences to complete this grid.

So the thesis statement is, "Both Khan and Berry explore ideas around constraints on identity.

However, Khan arguably use the poem as a metaphor for fears around migrant identity, while Berry use the poem to explore perceptions of regional accents and to argue that to deny our voice is to deny ourselves," and our first topic sentence is that both poets use objects in order metaphorically explore external influences on identity, so what are the two topic sentences can you come up with? Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

(no audio) Now, for your second topic sentence, you might have said that both poems arguably use structure to reflect the fragmented nature of identity that's been influenced by others.

The third one, you might have said that both poems explore imagery of creation in order to explore the impact of heritage on the formation of identity.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

So a concluding sentence should A, rephrase the topic sentence, B, give your opinion about the poem, or C, have a sharp focus on the writer's intention? So pause the video and make your selection now.

(no audio) The correct answer is C, it should have a sharp focus on the right's intention, so very well done if you got that right.

So now, we're going to bring everything from the lesson together and create a multiple-paragraph outline to answer the question, "How do poets present ideas about migration in two poems from the Worlds and Lives anthology?" So you might return to your table from learning cycle one and think about which poems consider migration, and then, think about which poems you think complement each other the best, then think about what your overall argument is about the similarities and differences between how the poets present migration, and then, break your ideas down into three paragraphs, so pause the video and create your multiple-paragraph outline now.

(no audio) Amazing work, everyone.

Now, what I'd like you to do is read back over your plan and use these coaching questions to assess and improve the quality of the plan, so do you have an interesting thesis which focuses on the similarities and differences between the poet's presentation of migration? Do all your topic sentences support your thesis? Do you use a range of evidence across both poems, exploring language, form, and structure? Do you use context as part of your supporting detail? Do your concluding sentences link back to the question with a sharp focus on the writer's intention? And is your conclusion focused on contrasting each poet's overall intention and aims for their whole poem? So pause the video and look back over your plan now.

(no audio) Fantastic work, everyone, it was great to see people looking back over their plan and refining it, because having a cohesive and comprehensive plan will really help you when it comes to writing your answer.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone, here's a summary of what we covered.

The anthology poems all arguably consider our connection and place within the wider world.

The poems that you choose to compare should both be linked to the focus and nuances of the question you're asked.

It's useful to consider the similarities between poems, and then, consider any subtle differences between them.

Concluding sentences should have a sharp focus on the writer's intentions.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson today, everyone, and hope that it's made you feel confident about going forward and writing an answer to a question on the Worlds and Lives anthology, goodbye.

(no audio).