Lesson video

(no audio) <v ->Hello everyone.

</v> How are you doing today? I hope you're feeling pretty good.

My name's Ms. Afzal, and I'm feeling great, because we are about to explore the poetry of somebody really fantastic, and that is the poet, Laura Mucha.

So we're gonna get an introduction to Laura Mucha.

We are gonna take a look at a fantastic poem of hers.

I'm really excited.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is, I can share my initial response to the poem and read it aloud.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Poem.

Poet.

Impression.

Let's find out what these words mean.

A poem is a piece of writing that uses creative and rhythmic language to express thoughts, feelings or ideas.

A poet is a writer who uses verse to convey emotions.

An impression, initial feelings about a person, place, or thing gained from reading a text.

These are our keywords, they'll be coming up in our lesson today, so let's make sure we look out and listen out for them.

So our lesson, introduction to the poet Laura Mucha has two parts to it.

First of all, learning about Laura Mucha.

And next, first impressions of "Dear Ugly Sisters." Shall we begin with learning about Laura Mucha? A poet is someone who does all of these things, creates poems. Writes and sometimes performs poetry.

Expresses ideas, thoughts and feelings.

Uses language to express themselves in a creative or artistic way.

Draws inspiration from the world around them.

Loves using and speaking language.

What a lot of amazing things a poet does.

Which of the following are correct? A poet can control how a reader engages with their work.

Writes and performs poetry.

Guarantees all readers will understand their work in the same way.

Uses language to express themselves.

Pause the video while you choose which of these are correct.

(no audio) Well done if you selected these two.

A poet writes and performs poetry.

A poet uses language to express themselves.

Let's find out more about the poet Laura Mucha.

Laura Mucha is an ex-lawyer and award-winning poet from the UK.

She loves to explore the emotions and connections between people, especially love and friendship.

She's written books for both children and adults.

When she's not writing, she does important work for children, in working with organizations like UNICEF.

(no audio) <v ->Hi, my name is Laura Mucha,</v> and I am a poet and author, and I live in London.

I used to be a lawyer at an international law firm until I was hit by a car when walking across the road.

And then I was left bedbound for years, which was really miserable.

Like totally properly miserable.

Like really kind of the worst kind of miserable.

And in that time, I turned to reading and writing to cope, and I found myself writing poems in the middle of the night, weirdly.

So now I am.

I've left law.

I'm a full-time poet and author, and I'm a big believer in the importance of writing and reading to support our mental health and wellbeing.

And, so it's not just useful for like filling out the form at the dentist.

Why are those forms so long? But also as something that we can turn to when we need it.

(no audio) <v ->So good to hear from Laura.

</v> Here are some facts about Laura Mucha.

Laura Mucha was born in London, where she lives now with her husband and son.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Laura studied psychology and philosophy, and worked as a lawyer.

She also made time to learn trapeze, work as a face painter and even swim in Antarctica.

Oh my goodness.

And now she's a full-time poet, author and performer.

Her enthusiasm for life and people deeply influences her writing.

Laura's known for her children's books and poetry, and her writing has won many international awards.

Well done, Laura.

We're going to watch some videos of Laura answering questions to learn more about her and her poetry.

First of all, how did you become a poet? (no audio) <v ->It wasn't like I was born,</v> thinking, "I wanna be a poet." I was quite happy being a lawyer.

I worked with lovely people in a big shiny office.

I earned loads of money, like, boo-boo.

And then it was really only when I was hit by a car that I started writing poems, and working on books.

And now that I do it, it feels like definitely the right thing and that I'm doing what I should be doing.

But it's weird, because it wasn't, it wasn't necessarily a decision that I made.

Like sometimes I hear people going, "I knew when I was five that I wanted to be a blah, blah, blah, blah." And that is definitely not what happened with me.

But I'm really glad I do it and it feels like something that's a really good use of my time here because I get to make videos like this.

(no audio) <v ->So interesting.

</v> Laura mentioned that she was a lawyer at an international law firm before she was hit by a car.

This left her bedbound for years.

In that time she turned to poetry, and reading and writing more generally to cope.

Now she's a big believer that reading and writing are essential for our mental health and that we can turn to them at difficult times.

True or false.

Laura Mucha always knew she wanted to be a poet.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

(no audio) You're right, it's false.

She didn't always know that she wanted to be a poet.

Laura was a lawyer before becoming a poet.

She turned to poetry after she was hit by a car and left bedbound.

Let's find out some more information about Laura.

Firstly, why do you think writing poetry is good for mental health, is something that Laura will answer.

And then which poems or poets are you inspired by? (no audio) <v ->I think poetry, writing and reading of it,</v> is really good for mental health, partly because there's quite a large research based on it.

So people have gone out and carried out research, and can show that it is helpful in a number of situations.

But also because I've experienced it in my own life, and I experience it when I work with young people.

So poems usually are quite small, and there's something about the smallness that kind of contains it.

It's a bit like if you've got loads of gravy and you just plonk it on a table, it just goes everywhere, a bit uncontrollable.

But if you put the gravy into a cup, then it's held in the cup and it's easier to contain the gravy.

And sometimes I think it's like that with difficult things and if we don't find something to kind of hold the difficult thing, it can just kind of go everywhere.

And I think a poem can act a bit like a cup or a container for the difficult things, whatever those difficult things are.

So I think that's one of the reasons.

I also think that even if you're not writing the poem, if you're just reading it, if you're feeling something that is uncomfortable, if you read a poem that tells you that someone else has felt like that, or is feeling like that, then it helps you feel less alone.

And I think the act of trying to get things out with words can help make sense of what's going on inside.

So I have shared 'The Land Of Blue' poem.

I don't think I knew that I was feeling sad until I wrote that poem, and then I was like, "Oh, right, I'm feeling sad." (Laura chuckles) I think also there's something, not just about the smallness of poems, but the meter, which is the rhythm and the rhyme, which helps, it's like a weird code.

And for me it works, it's basically saying, "It's okay, Laura, you're safe.

You can, like, look at what's troubling you." And you don't have to share it.

You can write it and not share it with anyone.

You can write it, think about it, and then decide to share it with someone.

You can do what you like with it.

But I think that the act of writing and reading poems is really important, really important.

(no audio) There were loads of poets that inspired me as a child, but I think that what I want to tell you about is a poet who wrote a stanza, which is a poetry word for paragraph basically, that I read every day for two years when I was bedbound after being hit by a car.

And it was like this poet.

Her name was Susan Coolidge, but that wasn't her real name, it was her pen name.

It was like Susan was saying, "Come on, Laura, you can do this." Every day.

And I think that's sometimes what poems can do and that's why I love them so much.

So I wanted to share the stanza with you.

It's an excerpt from a poem called 'New Every Morning.

' "Every day is a fresh beginning.

Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain.

And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning, puzzles forecasted and possible pain.

Take heart with the day, and begin again." And it literally was like Susan had just popped over and said, "Laura, I know you're having a really rubbish time.

Like really rubbish.

Take heart with the day and begin again.

Don't worry about all the pain that may or may not come, and all the problems. And what's happened in the past, don't worry, just take heart with the day and begin again." (no audio) <v ->I hope you enjoyed hearing from Laura.

</v> Which of the following are true.

Laura believes that reading and writing poetry is good for your mental health.

Laura believes that poetry helps you to make sense of your feelings and things that are going on inside.

Laura thinks that you should always share your poetry with someone else.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements from Laura are true.

(no audio) Well done if you selected the first two statements.

Yes, Laura believes poetry is good for our mental health, and that it helps us to make sense of the feelings and things that are going on inside.

But we don't always have to share our poetry with someone else.

It can be for ourselves.

And now I would like you to have a discussion.

Based on what you've learned about Laura from the videos and information, what do you think she writes about in her poetry? Pause the video here while you have that discussion.

(no audio) Here's Aisha, "I think she writes about feelings and emotions." Yeah, good idea there.

Laura's poems explore a wide range of themes.

She often focuses on relationships, emotions, well done Aisha, experiences and human behaviors.

She writes a mix of funny poems and sad poems. (no audio) <v ->How do I choose a poem to perform?</v> I like it when I can choose a poem to perform rather than when someone tells me, "You have to perform this poem," because it means that I can choose one or choose some that make me feel something or make me laugh.

And I find it easier if I can choose them.

I, if I'm doing some poems, will try to get a range.

So I probably wouldn't go, bu-dum-chi, hilarious, for every poem.

I would probably go for some hilarious, hopefully hilarious if they're my own poems, and some sad or some with like some real emotion in there.

So I want a bit of a range.

I wouldn't ordinarily get up and just go straight for the sad, and stay with the sad all the way through.

I think it's easier to kind of have a bit of a relief, like here's a really emotional poem, and here's a bit of light relief.

Whew.

Phew.

And then here's another one.

I think it's easier for me personally to perform a poem if I feel something about it, because then I think it's easier for me to get you to feel something about it.

And if I find a poem that's funny, and if it makes me laugh, I think it's gonna be easier for me to get you to find it funny.

So being able to choose a poem is the ultimate luxury.

(Laura laughing) (no audio) <v ->And now I'd like you to discuss,</v> why is it important for Laura to choose a poem to perform that makes her feel something? Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

(no audio) Hope you enjoyed sharing your answers.

More discussion now, as you come into your first task.

Considering what we found out so far, what else would you like to learn about Laura Mucha? Write five questions you would like to ask Laura.

You could consider the following.

Her early life, education, influences, writing style, themes, awards.

You could begin your questions with, why, how, what, can, where, are there? So pause the video here and come up with five questions that you would like to ask Laura.

I'll see you when you're finished.

(no audio) Great to be back with you.

So, what questions did you come up with? Here are some.

How do you come up with ideas for your poems? Like that.

What's your favorite poem that you've written? Oh goodness, I wonder if that would be hard for her to choose.

What's the funniest thing you've ever written about? That's tickling me already.

Do you like writing more for children or adults? Interesting.

What was your favorite book or poem when you were a child? Oh, I love that question.

Wow.

Well done, such great questions.

And what advice would you give to someone who wants to write poetry? What fantastic questions.

Well done for coming up with these.

And now it's time for the next part of our lesson.

First impressions of "Dear Ugly Sisters." It's gonna be interesting.

We will be reading Laura Mucha's poem, "Dear Ugly Sisters," from her book of poetry with the same name.

But before we read it, what does the title "Dear Ugly Sisters" make you think of? Does it link to anything you've read or know? Does it give you a positive or negative image? So pause the video here while you discuss your answers to these questions with someone nearby.

(no audio) Okay, what did you come up with I wonder.

Let's hear it from Jun.

"The word 'Dear' makes me think she's writing a letter, which can be a positive thing to do." Okay, great.

And here's Alex, "I remember the ugly sisters from 'Cinderella.

' They're cruel and selfish, and do not treat Cinderella nicely." Oh, I wonder if those are the ugly sisters that Laura has in mind.

Shall we find out? 'Dear' is indeed a greeting used at the beginning of a letter? Well done, Jun.

And 'Ugly Sisters' are characters from the fairytale 'Cinderella.

' Well done, Alex.

"Dear Ugly Sisters," is Laura Mucha's debut poetry collection for children.

Debut means the first time.

It features fun, imaginative and thought provoking poems that often have a humorous twist on traditional stories and characters.

The collection has been praised for its originality and creativity and won the 2021 North Somerset Teachers' Book Awards, Poetry Category.

Well done, Laura.

And now I would like you to read the poem, "Dear Ugly Sisters" aloud.

The poem is also available in the additional materials.

I'll have a go at reading it now as well.

"Bread has been baked, veggies are chopped, salt in the pan - kitchen's been mopped, cleaned up the bathroom, cleaned up the sink, washed all your socks - still really stink, ironed the laundry, folded the sheets, serviced the car - here's the receipt, dog for a walk, cat to the vet, married a wonderful prince that I met, leaving tonight, so good luck with the chores, dropping my apron and keys by the doors.

From Cinderella." So there we have "Dear Ugly Sisters" by Laura Mucha.

I'm going to respond to the poem.

So I'm gonna consider what I liked about the poem and if there are any questions that I have about it.

I liked the way the poem is written like a goodbye letter from Cinderella.

I found it quite funny that she just decided she'd had enough and was going to leave them, and start a new life.

And I wonder where Laura got the idea from to use Cinderella in the poem.

And now it's your turn to respond to the poem.

What did you like about the poem? Do you have any questions about it? Pause the video while you discuss this with someone nearby.

(no audio) Great to be back with you.

I hope you enjoyed your discussion.

In the poem, Laura Mucha gives the fairytale character, Cinderella, a new life, and she's presented differently to the original character.

I would like you to discuss and compare the original Cinderella to Laura Mucha's Cinderella.

How has Laura updated the reader's view of Cinderella? Pause the video while you have this discussion.

(no audio) Here's Jun.

"Cinderella from the poem seems stronger and more empowered.

And she challenges the ugly sisters." Yes, I love it.

And here's Alex, "Laura's Cinderella doesn't accept the hardships placed on her.

She shows independence as she goes off to start a new life." Yes.

Fantastic.

Good for you, Cinderella.

Thank you, Laura, for giving us this version.

And now I'd like you to watch and listen to Laura Mucha introducing "Dear Ugly Sisters." (no audio) <v ->I wrote this poem,</v> it's called "Dear Ugly Sisters," so it's the title poem of the book, "Dear Ugly Sisters," in the bath on the back of an envelope.

And I was writing a list of all the chores that I'd done.

I was really proud of myself.

I was like, I've done this and I've done that.

And then I started writing it in meter, which is sort of like rhythm basically and in writing.

And I finished it and then I was like, that's a really boring poem.

No one's ever gonna wanna read that.

And then I put it in a drawer for eight years.

And then when I was trying to figure out which poems should go in this book, I shared the poem with a friend, and the friend said, "Have you thought about doing this?" And all of a sudden I was like, "Yeah, what a great idea." And the poem that was terrible, that was sat on the back of an envelope, in a drawer for eight years was transformed.

This poem has been on public transport.

It's won a massive award.

It's reprinted in loads of books.

And it was terrible for eight years.

So please don't give up on what you write.

You're only gonna get better, and you or someone else might figure out what to do with what you've created if you are not initially happy with it.

"Dear ugly sisters.

Bread has been baked, veggies are chopped, salt in the pan - kitchen's been mopped, cleared up the bathroom, cleaned up the sink, washed all your socks, - still really stink, ironed the laundry, folded the sheets, serviced the car- here's the receipt, dog for a walk, cat to the vet, married a one of all prince that I met.

Yes.

Leaving tonight, so good luck with the chores, dropping my apron and keys by the door.

From Cinderella." (no audio) <v ->And now I'd like you to decide, is this true or false?</v> Laura put the poem, "Dear Ugly Sisters," in a drawer for eight years.

Pause the video while you decide true or false.

(no audio) Well done.

It's true, she did.

Laura was not happy with the poem initially and thought it was boring.

Then she spoke to a friend and improved it, and now it's a famous poem.

Well done for sticking with it, Laura.

And now I would like you to watch and listen to Laura Mucha reading "Dear Ugly Sisters." I'd like you to pay particular attention to her voice and tone.

(no audio) <v ->I wrote this poem,</v> it's called "Dear Ugly Sisters," so it's the title poem of the book, "Dear Ugly Sisters," in the bath on the back of an envelope.

And I was writing a list of all the chores that I'd done.

I was really proud of myself.

I was like, I've done this and I've done that.

And then I started writing it in meter, which is sort of like rhythm basically and in writing.

And I finished it, and then I was like, that's a really boring poem.

No one's ever gonna wanna read that.

And then I put it in a drawer for eight years.

And then when I was trying to figure out which poems should go in this book, I shared the poem with a friend and the friend said, "Have you thought about doing this?" And all of a sudden I was like, "Yeah, what a great idea." And the poem that was terrible, that was sat on the back of an envelope in a drawer for eight years was transformed.

This poem has been on public transport.

It's won a massive award.

It's reprinted in loads of books, and it was terrible for eight years.

So please don't give up on what you write.

You're only gonna get better, and you or someone else might figure out what to do with what you've created if you are not initially happy with it.

"Dear Ugly Sisters.

Bread has been baked, veggies are chopped, salt in the pan - kitchen's been mopped, cleared up the bathroom, cleaned up the sink, washed all your socks - still really stink, ironed the laundry, folded the sheets, serviced the car - here's the receipt, dog for a walk, cat to the vet, married a wonderful prince that I met.

Yes.

Leaving tonight so good luck with the chores, dropping my apron and keys by the door.

From Cinderella." (no audio) <v ->So, what impression does Laura create</v> when she reads the poem? Is it happy or sad? Is it serious or playful? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

(no audio) And remember, our impressions and personal responses to the poem will be different because we are all unique.

We don't all need to think in the same way.

I'm going to respond to the poem.

I'm going to consider how the poem made me feel and what it made me think of.

This poem made me feel happy.

I liked the way Cinderella is represented as a strong woman, who's had enough and is saying goodbye to those controlling sisters.

It's also quite funny that they will be left to do all the chores.

And now over to you.

It's your turn to respond to the poem.

How did the poem make you feel? What did it make you think of? Pause the video while you share your answers with someone nearby.

(no audio) Okay, it's time for your next task.

I would like you to read "Dear Ugly Sisters" aloud to a partner.

Listen to your partner and give them feedback, and swap roles.

Think about the impression you want to create and try to convey this through your tone and voice.

So pause the video here and enjoy reading "Dear Ugly Sisters" aloud to a partner and offering feedback.

(no audio) Okay, how did you get on? I wonder what feedback you got.

Maybe something like this.

Here's Jun.

"I liked the way you made it quite playful when you were reading aloud, you pulled her face when saying, the socks 'still really stink,' which was a bit like Cinderella was laughing at the sisters," love that.

And here's Alex, "You made Cinderella seem quite carefree through your voice.

It was like she was finally standing up for herself and not worrying about her ugly sisters anymore." Yes.

Love that too.

Well done everyone for reading the poem aloud and hopefully you got that playfulness and expression in.

In our lesson, introduction to the poet Laura Mucha, we have covered the following.

A poet uses language to express ideas, thoughts and feelings in a creative way.

Laura Mucha is an English writer and award-winning poet.

Laura Mucha was a lawyer before becoming a poet, and she believes reading and writing poetry is good for mental health.

"Dear Ugly Sisters" is Laura Mucha's debut poetry collection for children.

The poem, "Dear Ugly Sisters," is presented as a goodbye letter from Cinderella to the ugly sisters.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

It was great fun to introduce Laura Mucha to you to watch her videos together, and especially loved you reading "Dear Ugly Sisters" aloud.

Let's meet again to explore some more of Laura Mucha's fantastic poetry.

Bye for now.

(no audio).