determined to teach, often a moral lesson

the act of settling and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area

if something takes precedence, it is considered more important than something else

Analysing the Poem 'Checking Out Me History'

English

Revising key themes in the ‘Power and Conflict’ anthology

Refining comparative essay writing

Understanding the poem 'Checking Out Me History'

Understanding the poem 'The Emigree'

Analysing the poem 'The Emigree'

Comparing ‘Checking Out Me History’ and ‘The Émigrée’

Understanding the Poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker

Analysing the Poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker

Exploring theme, message and intent across the ‘Power and Conflict’ anthology

Comparing 'Tissue' with other poems

‘Power and Conflict’ poetry: writing a sophisticated comparative response

In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry' continued, pupils used a range of reading skills to aid the supported decoding of challenging poems. In 'Unseen Poetry', pupils use these reading skills to decode texts with independence. 

In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry', pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems connected by the themes of power and conflict. In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons, focusing on the final three poems: *Checking Out Me History*, *The Emigree* and *Tissue*

In this unit, pupis read and analyse three more poems from the 'Power and Conflict' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. At the end of the unit, pupils analyse themes from across the anthology and write a sophisticated comparative essay,

Poetry anthology: continued study

Historic or outdated representations of people that may portray inequality or injustice.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

What type of structure is there in 'Checking Out Me History'?

shows the attention and care Agard wants to give 

What is the effect of monosyllabic words in the poem 'Checking Out Me History'?

use of plosives - to show Agard's indignation

use of light imagery - to show Black figures as sources of inspiration

use of creole - to show he is proud of his heritage

What do the words "sunrise", "beacon" and "fire" from 'Checking Out Me History' have in common? What is the effect?

knowing who you truly are without knowing your history

In 'Checking Out Me History' what does Agard suggest is impossible?

Agard teaches us to shape our own identity

Agard teaches us to conform to society’s expectations

How is the poem ‘Checking Out Me History’ didactic?

they reflect his great admiration for black figures

they show that Eurocentric history is unimportant to Agard

Which of the below best explains Agard's inclusion of nursery rhyme and folk tale in 'Checking Out Me History'?

In the poem 'Checking Out Me History', who was Agard *not* taught about?

Agard moved to Britain in the 1970s and received a Eurocentric education here.

Agard was born and schooled in Guyana, where he received a Eurocentric education

Agard was schooled in Guyana and received a diverse and holistic education.

What is appropriate contextual link for the poem 'Checking Out Me History'?

When describing black figures in 'Checking Out Me History', Agard uses...

The tone of 'Checking Out Me History' seems to be both...

The last stanza of 'Checking Out Me History' reveals that Agard...

violence between indigenous people and colonisers

people who live in colonies not knowing about the history of their own ancestors

In 'Checking Out Me History' what does Agard reveal is one effect of colonialism?

Starter Quiz

In the poem 'Checking Out Me History', who was Agard not taught about?