Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're really well.

My name is Ms. Afzal.

I'm feeling great because we're going to be exploring a very exciting and fun poem, which is called 'I'm an Orchestra' and it's by Laura Mucha.

I am all set for the performance and the action to begin, are you? The outcome for today's lesson is I can mark up a poem before performing it.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Orchestra, rhyme, metaphor, alliteration, marking up.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Orchestra, a large group of musicians who play many different instruments together and are led by a conductor.

Rhyme, the similarity of sounds between the ending syllables of words, creating a musical quality and pattern.

Metaphor, a poetic device that makes a comparison between two things by stating that one thing is another.

Alliteration, the repetition of the same sound found at the start of words that come close together.

Marking up, the process of adding notes to guide delivery of a poem.

These are our key words.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

Our lesson, "Performing 'I'm an Orchestra' by Laura Mucha" has three parts to it, exploring 'I'm an Orchestra', marking up a poem, and performing a poem about feelings.

Let's begin by exploring 'I'm an Orchestra'.

'I'm an Orchestra', is a poem found in the poetry collection 'Being Me: Poems about Thoughts, Worries, and Feelings'.

The collection contains poems written by Liz Brownlee, Matt Goodfellow, and Laura Mucha.

The illustrations are by Victoria Jane Wheeler.

'Being Me' features a diverse range of poems that explore various aspects of what it means to be ourselves, including topics like individuality, friendship, family, and personal growth.

Through the poems in 'Being Me', readers are encouraged to celebrate their differences, embrace their strengths and weaknesses, and navigate the challenges of growing up.

Before we read the poem, what does the title 'I'm an Orchestra' make you think of? What words or images come to mind? Pause here and share with someone nearby.

Here's Andy.

"It makes me think of a person who can make lots of different sounds with their mouth and body." Okay, like a human orchestra.

I like that.

And here's Sophia.

"Maybe it's about someone who is really loud and makes a lot of noise like a whole orchestra." Okay.

Another kind of human orchestra.

Interesting.

Were these similar or different to your responses, I wonder? And now it's time to read the poem, 'I'm an Orchestra'.

So I'll be reading.

You could follow along through the slides or the poem is also available in the additional materials.

'I'm an Orchestra'.

"I love to be the double bass solid, sonorous, strong.

I'm going somewhere, things to do, always driving on.

But sometimes I'm the cor anglais, solitary, subdued.

If my tone is soft and sumptuous, it's my melancholy mood.

Sometimes I'm the trumpet, a spicy, strident sound, and others the euphonium, velvety and round.

I'm the triangle, worth the wait, I'm the harp, I radiate, I'm the cymbals, clang and crash, I'm a bass drum, meet your match, I'm crotales, decisive, sure I'm the tam-tam.

Hear.

My.

Roar! I'm an orchestra." And now I'd like you to have a discussion.

Did the poem match your predictions from thinking about its title? What do you think the message of the poem is and why? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

Here's Andy.

"The poem wasn't about the different sounds a person can make, but more about how someone can feel different things like quiet or loud, a bit like the instruments in an orchestra." And Sophia, "I think the message of the poem is that we all experience many different feelings and we should accept the different emotions that we have." Oh, thank you for sharing those ideas.

And now I'm going to give my initial response to the poem.

How the poem made me feel and any questions that I have.

I like the way the poem highlights that it's okay to have lots of different feelings.

I sometimes feel strong and brave like the double bass, but I also have quieter days too.

I'd like to know what some of the instruments are, like cor anglais or crotales.

And now it's your turn to give your initial response to the poem.

How did the poem make you feel? Do you have any questions about it? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

I hope you enjoyed sharing your initial responses.

'I'm an Orchestra' contains some language which we may not know.

Let's have a look at some definitions.

Sonorous, having a deep, pleasant sound.

Cor anglais, a woodwind instrument like an oboe that has a lower sound.

Strident, a sound that is loud, harsh, and often unpleasant to hear.

Croatles, percussion instruments made up of a set of small tuned bronze or brass disks, cymbals.

And a tam-tam, a percussion instrument consisting of a metal plate that is struck with a soft headed drumstick.

Match the following words to their definitions.

Sonorous, strident, croatles.

Percussion instruments consisting of small tuned bronze or brass disks, a deep pleasant sound, a sound that is loud, harsh, and often unpleasant to hear.

Pause a video while you match the words to their definitions.

Did you match sonorous with a deep pleasant sound? Strident, a sound that's loud, harsh, and often unpleasant to hear? And croatles, percussion instruments consisting of small tuned bronze or brass disks? Well done if you match these words and definitions.

In the poem, Laura Mucha compares the emotional life of a human to an orchestra through the use of metaphors.

A metaphor is a way of describing and comparing something by saying that it is something else.

It's different to a simile, which is a way of comparing something using the words 'like' or 'as'.

The central metaphor of 'I'm an Orchestra' compares the speaker's emotions to an orchestra.

"I'm an Orchestra," "Sometimes I'm the cor anglais," "I'm the cymbals, clang and crash." All of these are metaphors comparing the speaker's emotions to an instrument from an orchestra.

The poem highlights that we don't just feel one emotion, but that we have many different feelings on different days and that's okay.

The range of emotions that we have is a positive thing, just like the range of instruments in an orchestra that create wonderful music.

I'm going to tell you my favorite metaphor from the poem.

My favorite metaphor is, "Sometimes I'm the trumpet, a spicy, strident sound." I like how it is described as spicy and strident, reflecting a bold, outspoken, or confident mood.

Now it's your turn, which is your favorite metaphor in the poem? Read the poem again and find your favorite metaphor.

Pause the video here.

Hope you enjoyed finding and sharing your favorite metaphor.

And the language and comparisons used may create different pictures in our minds because we are all unique and have different experiences.

How wonderful is that? Poems are often written to be read aloud.

This means the sounds that words make is very important.

Poets might use devices such as repetition, rhyme, or alliteration to enhance the sound of the poem read aloud.

'I'm an Orchestra' contains four verses, also known as stanzas.

In the first three verses, the second and fourth lines rhyme.

The fourth and final verse follows an AABBCC rhyme scheme.

The shift in rhyme scheme reflects the different moods felt by the speaker.

And now I'd like you to read the poem aloud, emphasizing the rhyming words.

Pause the video while you do this.

Well done for reading the poem aloud with such great emphasis on the rhyming words.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound found that the start of words that come close together.

For example, "The brass blared boldly, while the strings sang softly, creating a symphony of soaring sounds." It's the repetition of the sound, not the spelling, which creates alliteration.

It can help create rhythm and enhance the sound and flow of the poem.

And now, I'd like you to see if you can find any examples of alliteration in the poem.

Pause the video while you do this.

I wonder if you found these examples of alliteration.

We've got the alliteration in "solid, sonorous, strong," "my melancholy mood," "the spicy, strident sound," and the "clang and crash." Well done if you spotted these examples of alliteration.

And now say these lines aloud and emphasize the repeated sounds.

Pause the video while you do this.

Which sentence contains alliteration? "The sound of the orchestra grew like a rising wave." "The orchestra is a wave of sound." "The drums beat boldly as the flutes fluttered their songs." Pause the video while you identify which sentence contains alliteration.

Well done if you selected the final sentence.

This has got lots of alliteration.

"beat boldly," and, "flutes fluttered".

And now I'll read verses one and two aloud and I'll emphasize the alliteration used.

"I love to be the double bass solid, sonorous, strong.

I'm going somewhere, things to do, always driving on.

But sometimes I'm the cor anglais, solitary, subdued.

If my tone is soft and sumptuous, it's my melancholy mood." And now it's your turn.

I'd like you to read 'I'm an Orchestra' aloud and emphasize the alliteration.

Pause the video while you do this.

Well done for having a go.

And did you emphasize the alliterative words? Did this help to convey meaning and emotion? And now it's time for your task.

I would like you to read 'I'm an Orchestra' aloud to a partner.

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

Try to emphasize the rhyme and alliteration to enhance the sound and meaning of the poem read aloud.

Pause the video while you read the poem to a partner.

And here's Tun with, sharing some feedback.

"I like the way you emphasized the alliteration of 'melancholy mood' and slowed down on these words." Here's Alex.

"I think you could vary your voice a bit more to really emphasize the different emotions conveyed by the different instruments." Okay, good point.

Thanks, Alex.

And now it's time to look at marking up a poem.

We're going to perform the poem, 'I'm an Orchestra' to an audience.

Let's watch Laura Mucha performing.

<v ->I wrote this poem, which is in this book, "Being Me",</v> because I wanted to try to explain a principle of psychology that's really important.

The idea is that we need to experience all our emotions if we are going to be mentally well.

There are some adults who don't like some emotions.

Some people don't like to be sad or they really don't like anger.

But we know, from science, that actually it's better for you if you can experience all of them.

Emotions can be annoying, don't get me wrong, but they are there to sort of help us understand what we think and feel about things.

So I tried to write a poem that would communicate this idea and this is what I came up with.

"Today, I am the double bass solid, sonorous, strong.

I'm going somewhere, things to do, always driving on.

But sometimes I'm the cor anglais, solitary, subdued.

If my tone is wistful, it's my melancholy mood.

Sometimes I'm the trumpet, a spicy, strident sound.

And others, the euphonium, velvety and round.

I'm the triangle, worth the wait.

I am the chimes, I captivate.

I am the cymbals, clang and crash.

I am the bass drum, meet your match.

I'm croatles, decisive, sure.

I'm the tam-tam.

Hear.

My.

Roar! I'm an orchestra." <v ->Fantastic performance from Laura Mucha.

</v> Laura Mucha uses marking up to help her when performing a poem.

Marking up a poem for performance is the process of adding notes to guide delivery, emphasizing elements like tone, pace, emotion, and gestures to enhance its impact.

Let's find out more about how to do this.

We asked Laura, "How do you mark up a poem?" <v ->When I'm marking up a poem,</v> I generally grab some colored pens like these and then I will mark up different things.

So I might use blue for, you've gotta make an emphasis here, or green for don't forget to pause, or yellow sometimes if I am doing something with words that I don't necessarily know how to pronounce, then I might write how I would say it above, so that I can get it right.

So basically, I use all the colored pens and scribble as much as is helpful to me.

You can make your up, make up your own coding system.

When I did voiceover training, I was taught certain things that are kind of vaguely common, but it doesn't really matter.

What matters is that you can read the poem or perform the poem in the best way that you think you can do it.

So you can, they're basically notes to yourself and I think they're really, really helpful.

And I do it when I narrate audio books.

So I'll say things like, "This is where you take the breath." (laughs) If it's a really long sentence and I'll, and I'll start reading it and go (Laura gasps) then I figure out where I'm gonna take the breath and mark it up.

I think marking up is really useful and also quite fun.

<v ->So interesting.

</v> And here all Laura's top tips for marking up a poem.

Use colored pens.

Make up your own coding system, or you could use Laura's.

Use the marking up as notes to yourself to help you when performing.

Laura suggested these colors.

Blue, make an emphasis.

Green, pauses or changes in pace.

Yellow, pronunciation of words.

What else might you want to mark up before performing a poem? Pause here and discuss with someone nearby.

Maybe changes in volume.

For example, getting louder, facial expressions, or gestures.

So many helpful things we could do to support ourselves before performing.

What is marking up a poem? The process of reading the poem again and again before performing.

The process of writing a poem.

The process of adding notes to a poem to guide delivery.

Pause the video while you decide which of these is what marking up a poem is.

Well done if you chose statement C.

Indeed, marking up a poem is the process of adding notes to a poem to guide delivery.

It's time for your task.

I would like you to mark up a copy of 'I'm An Orchestra' ahead of your performance.

Use colored pens.

Make up your own coding system, or you could use Laura's.

Use the marking up as notes to yourself to help you when performing.

Things you might mark up may include these.

Emphasizing certain words or phrases.

For example, alliterative words or rhyme.

Changes in tone or emotion.

Pauses or changes in pace.

Facial expressions or gestures, and pronunciation of words.

So pause the video while you mark up your copy of 'I'm an Orchestra'.

Okay, well done.

Did you mark up the following? Where to emphasize certain words or phrases, changes in tone or emotion, pauses or changes in pace, facial expressions or gestures, and pronunciation of words.

I hope so.

It's all gonna help when it comes to your performance.

And it doesn't matter if you didn't mark up all of these things.

It's just important that that your marking up helps you with your own performance.

And now we've come to the time where we'll be performing a poem about feelings.

You are going to perform the poem, 'I'm an Orchestra' to an audience.

Let's watch Laura Mucha performing the poem again.

<v ->I wrote this poem, which is in this book "Being Me",</v> because I wanted to try to explain a principle of psychology that's really important.

The idea is that we need to experience all our emotions if we are going to be mentally well.

There are some adults who don't like some emotions.

Some people don't like to be sad or they really don't like anger.

But we know, from science, that actually it's better for you if you can experience all of them.

Emotions can be annoying, don't get me wrong, but they are there to sort of help us understand what we think and feel about things.

So I tried to write a poem that would communicate this idea and this is what I came up with.

"Today, I am the double bass solid, sonorous, strong.

I'm going somewhere, things to do, always driving on.

But sometimes I'm the cor anglais, solitary, subdued.

If my tone is wistful, it's my melancholy mood.

Sometimes I'm the trumpet, a spicy, strident sound.

And others the euphonium, velvety and round.

I am the triangle, worth the wait.

I am the chimes, I captivate.

I am the cymbals, clang and crash.

I am the bass drum, meet your match.

I'm croatles, decisive, sure.

I am the tam-tam.

Hear.

My.

Roar! I'm an orchestra." <v ->Discuss now, how did Laura use her voice</v> to convey the meaning of the poem? Pause the video while you answer this question.

We've now done all of these things to prepare for our performance.

We've read the poem aloud in advance, we've researched the poet and learn why they wrote the poem, we've connected with the poem through our initial responses, marked up the poem.

Remember some of Laura's other top tips for performing poems. Which ones do you think will be most useful for you? Be prepared to look silly and don't hold back.

Consider how you can use the poem to have an impact on the audience.

I think we are ready.

Do you agree? So, time for a final practice.

Practice reading the poem aloud one more time using your marking up.

Be prepared to look silly.

Don't hold back.

Consider how you can use the poem to have an impact on the audience.

We want the audience to connect to the poem and understand all the different emotions conveyed in the poem.

So pause the video here while you have a final practice.

And now it's time for your final performance.

You could perform the poem individually, in a pair, or in a group.

Think about the following.

Emphasizing the rhyme or alliteration to enhance the sound of the poem, who you're performing to and what you want them to think or feel, using your voice to show the changes in emotions, and including some gestures and movement for impact.

Remember, be prepared to look silly and don't hold back.

Pause the video here and enjoy your final performance of the poem.

Well done, well done.

You did it.

And now pause and reflect.

Did you emphasize any words or phrases? Did you use your voice to show the changes in emotions? Did you include facial expressions or gestures? Did you enjoy performing? I really, really hope so.

In our lesson, "Performing 'I'm an Orchestra' by Laura Mucha", we've covered the following.

In the poem, 'I'm an Orchestra', Laura Mucha compares the emotional life of a human to an orchestra.

Poets might use devices such as repetition, rhyme, or alliteration to enhance the sound of the poem read aloud.

A metaphor is a way of describing something by saying that it is something else.

Alliteration is when words that begin with the same sound are placed close together.

Marking up a poem for performance is the process of adding notes to guide delivery, emphasizing elements like tone, pace, emotion, and gestures to enhance its impact.

Well done, everybody for your fantastic performance of 'I'm an Orchestra' by exploring the way that there's space for all of our emotions, just like there's space for all of the different instruments in an orchestra.

I hope you can move forward by continuing to embrace all of your emotions.

I'll see you to another lesson soon.

Bye for now.