Lesson video

Hello everyone.

How are you today?

I hope you're feeling good.

My name is Ms. Afsal, and I'll be a teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling really pleased about that because today in our lesson we'll be looking at a text by one of my very, very favorite authors.

Our lesson is called Comparing the Presentation of Perspectives in Non-Fiction Texts.

Our lesson comes from the unit of work Women's Writes Across the Ages: Non-fiction Reading and Writing.

So if you are ready to get into this topic.

To explore this author, who's one of my favorites.

If you have energy, focus, and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson now.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can draw comparisons between two texts and use conjunctions to present them clearly.

I hope that sounds interesting to you.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

I'd like us to go through them one at a time, saying them out loud, my turn, your turn.

Manifesto.

Galvanize.

Feminist.

Systemic.

Empower.

Good to hear those keywords out loud.

Let's take a look at their meanings.

Manifesto, this is a clear statement of beliefs, goals, or intentions, often published publicly by a person, group, or organization.

Galvanize means to stimulate or inspire action or change.

Feminist, someone who believes in and supports gender equality, advocating for the rights of all genders.

Systemic, something that is deeply rooted within a system or society.

And empower.

To give someone the power, confidence, or ability to do something, usually make them feel stronger.

These are our keywords.

Manifesto, galvanize, feminist, systemic, and empower.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

Let's think carefully about them.

They will be coming up in our lesson today.

our lesson is called Comparing the Presentation of Perspectives in Non-Fiction Texts, and it has two learning cycles.

Identifying similarities and differences and using conjunctions to compare texts.

Let's begin by identifying similarities and differences.

So, let's make sure our ears are listening.

In this lesson, we are exploring a text by the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie published in 2017, and she is the author at one of my favorites that I was mentioning earlier.

Its title is "Dear Ijeawele, "or a Feminist Manifesto in 15 Suggestions".

The text aims to challenge gender roles and the societal expectations placed on women.

It was originally written as a personal letter to her friend, Ijeawele, a new mother who wanted an instruction guide as to how to raise a feminist child.

In this extract, Adichie explores the issues of gender inequality through the experiences of motherhood.

So, as I said, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of my favorite authors.

Pause here and share with someone who is one of your favorite authors.

Thanks for sharing.

It's always good to get recommendations.

Let's consider the title in more depth.

"Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in 15 Suggestions".

I'd like you to have a discussion.

First of all, what is a manifesto?

It was one of our keywords, remember.

Next, what does this tell us about the purpose of the text?

And this book is both a manifesto and a personal letter.

What tone do you think the extract will take?

What types of language might it use?

So, pause here and have a discussion with someone around these questions.

Perhaps you talked about a manifesto being a clear statement of goals, beliefs, or intentions, often published publicly by a person or a group.

So, we're going to focus on how to compare two texts and their main ideas in this lesson.

Here are our two texts.

"Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in 15 Suggestions" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, published in 2017.

And "Freedom or Death" a speech by Emily Pankhurst, delivered in November 1913.

I'd like you to discuss, why do you think these two texts make for a good comparison?

What similarities and differences can you begin to identify using just this contextual information?

Pause here while you have this discussion.

Thanks for having that discussion.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

Both texts offer a feminist perspective on gender inequality.

Pause here while you decide.

Is this statement true or false?

Well done if you selected true.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.

A, Adichie and Pankhurst both deliver their messages through powerful speeches.

Or B, Adichie addresses the issue through a written manifesto, whereas Pankhurst delivers a speech.

Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement B.

Indeed, this justifies your earlier answer.

And now, it's time for your first task.

I'd like you to read the extract first suggestion from "Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and then complete the grid to begin identifying similarities and differences between the texts.

So, what we'll be looking at in terms of similarities and differences are the purpose of each text, the audience, the form, and the subject.

So, pause here while you read the extract "First Suggestion" and then complete the grid.

See you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you, so here's how you could have approached the task.

So, for the "Feminist Manifesto", the purpose was that it provides guidance and suggestions on how to navigate gender stereotypes and expectations as a new mother.

And for the speech, "Freedom or Death", the purpose is to galvanize everyone into taking action and advocate for women's rights.

For the "Feminist Manifesto", the audience is those interested in feminist issues, her friend Ijeawele, and a wider audience.

For "Freedom or Death", the audience was supporters of the women's suffrage movement and others who attended the speech.

For "Feminist Manifesto", the form was a manifesto and personal letter.

And for "Freedom and Death", the form was a speech.

And finally, for "Feminist Manifesto", the subjects were societal expectations of mothers, gender roles, and challenging systemic sexism.

And for "Freedom or Death", the subjects were the urgency and necessity in achieving women's rights and how to take action.

Well done if you approached the task and completed the grid in this way.

Well done for having a go at this task.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, using conjunctions to compare texts.

When comparing texts, it's important to use comparative sentence structures.

Comparative sentence structure will present either a similarity or a difference.

An effective way to construct comparative sentences is to use conjunctions.

Comparative conjunctions can be used to compare ideas in a sentence and show difference.

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words that work together to connect ideas in a sentence.

Comparative conjunctions can be used to compare ideas in a sentence and to show similarities and differences.

So, we've got idea one.

In her manifesto, Adichie challenges gender roles.

And idea two, in Pankhurst's speech, she challenges societal expectations of women.

And a comparative conjunction that we could use could be "likewise".

So, if we put this all together, in her manifesto, Adichie challenges gender roles.

Likewise, in Pankhurst's speech, she challenges societal expectations of women.

Let's take a look at another comparative conjunction.

So, idea one.

Adichie aims to empower women, specifically new mothers, to challenge stereotypical roles.

Idea two.

Pankhurst wants to galvanize women to challenge systemic sexism.

And our comparative conjunction, this time we could use "equally".

Let's put the whole thing together.

Adichie aims to empower women, specifically new mothers, to challenge stereotypical roles.

Equally, Pankhurst wants to galvanize women to challenge systemic sexism.

And did you notice that after the comparative conjunction, we have a comma.

And one more comparative conjunction.

Let's start with idea one.

Adichie explores feminist issues through the experiences of new mothers and the societal expectations placed on them.

And idea two.

Pankhurst's attention is on a woman's right to vote and political autonomy.

And our comparative conjunction this time is "whereas", because this time, we are focusing on a difference between the two.

Let's put the whole thing together.

Adichie explores feminist issues through the experiences of new mothers and societal expectations placed on them, whereas Pankhurst's attention is on a woman's right to vote and political autonomy.

Let's take a look at another comparative conjunction.

Again, where we're looking at differences.

Idea one.

Adichie gives advice on identity and motherhood, exploring the role of gender stereotypes and how to navigate them.

And idea two.

In Pankhurst's speech, she is more commanding, demanding women's right to vote and suggesting radical action.

Our comparative conjunction that shows us the difference this time is "however".

Let's put the whole thing together.

Adichie gives advice on identity and motherhood, exploring the role of gender stereotypes and how to navigate them.

However, in Pankhurst's speech, she's more commanding, demanding women's right to vote and suggesting radical action.

Great to see those comparative conjunctions, some showing similarity and some difference.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which one of these comparative conjunctions does not show difference?

A, whereas.

B, however.

C, likewise.

And D, contrastingly.

So, pause here while you decide which one of these comparative conjunctions does not show difference.

Well done if you selected answer C, likewise.

This comparative conjunction does not show difference.

This one shows similarity.

Whereas, "whereas", "however", and "contrastingly" all show difference.

Correlative conjunctions are useful for expressing similarities between texts.

They come in pairs.

So, we have Adichie's manifesto and Pankhurst's speech, and an idea.

So, we have Adichie and Pankhurst, and the idea that they aim to explore and challenge gender stereotypes.

correlative conjunctions that we could use here are both Adichie and Pankhurst aim to explore and challenge gender stereotypes.

Let's take a look at another example.

Here the idea is, shy away from revealing the realities of gender inequality and systemic sexism.

And this time, our correlative conjunctions are "neither" and "nor".

So, let's read the whole thing.

Neither Adichie nor Pankhurst shy away from revealing the realities of gender inequality and systemic sexism.

So, remember, with these correlative conjunctions, they come in pairs.

For example, "neither" and "nor" or "both" and "and".

Let's have a check for understanding.

Select the two sentences which use correlative conjunctions.

A, Pankhurst uses direct address.

Likewise, Adichie also addresses her readers directly.

B, whilst both Adichie and Pankhurst detail the problems with gender inequality, the speech has a greater urgency.

C, whether it's the right to vote or the challenges of motherhood, both texts aim to challenge stereotypes and societal expectations.

So, pause here while you select the two sentences which use correlative conjunctions.

Well done if you selected sentences B and C.

In B, we have the correlative conjunctions "both" and "and".

And in sentence C, we have the correlative conjunctions "whether" and "or".

And now it's time for your task.

I'd like you to write two comparative sentences, comparing Adichie and Pankhurst's intentions using conjunctions.

Use the sentence starters and key ideas to help you.

So, we have correlative conjunctions, both X and Y, neither X nor Y, whether X or Y.

And we've got comparative conjunctions.

However, contrastingly, on the other hand, whereas.

And here are some key ideas.

Adichie aims to provide guidance and support, Pankhurst wants to inspire direct action.

Both foreground the experiences of women.

Both want to address specific and wider audiences.

So, pause here while you write two comparative sentences, comparing Adichie and Pankhurst intentions using conjunctions.

Enjoy your task and I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

I hope you got on well with your task.

Let's take a look at Jun's sentences.

And what has Jun forgotten to do in his sentences?

Pankhurst seems to address her audience with urgency and impatience.

Adichie, on the other hand, communicates more gently and offers her audience advice.

Pause here and share with someone what has Jun forgotten to do in his sentences.

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps you notice that Jun has made some lovely points, however, he's forgotten to include any correlative conjunctions.

Can we help him pause here while you add in correlative conjunctions?

I wonder if you came up with something like this, here we can see that Jun has rewritten his sentences and included both correlative and comparative conjunctions.

Whilst both Adichie and Pankhurst can be said to be stirring their readers into action, Pankhurst seems to address her audience with urgency and impatience.

On the other hand, Adichie communicates more gently and offers her audience advice.

Well done for helping to add in the correlative conjunctions.

In our lesson, Comparing the Presentation of Perspectives in Non-Fiction Texts, we've covered the following.

Through the experience of motherhood, Adichie explores the issue of gender roles and stereotypes.

Both Adichie and Pankhurst present a feminist perspective on gender inequality.

Adichie and Pankhurst use different forms to address their audiences and achieve their different purposes.

A comparative sentence needs to make the link between the text clear.

For example, through a comparative conjunction.

Correlative conjunctions can be used to create close comparisons.

Well done, everyone for joining in with this lesson.

It was great to explore these important texts and of course, I was so happy that we were looking at the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

I've seen her speak a few times and she usually gets a rockstar's reception.

She's a very inspiring author.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.

I've really enjoyed teaching you and I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.

Bye for now.