How Simon Armitage writes about climate change in 'Futurama'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can respond to how Armitage presents ideas of the future and climate change in ‘Futurama’.
Key learning points
- Armitage was inspired to write ‘Futurama’ by the COP 26 climate crisis summit.
- Armitage suggests that ‘Futurama’ describes ideas of uncertainty and anxiety.
- Armitage suggests that writing from an individual perspective is important because we all have different opinions.
- Moreover, Armitage suggests that writing from a mass perspective can sound too much like political speech.
Keywords
Apocalyptic - showing or describing the total destruction and end of the world, or extremely bad future events
Uncertainty - a situation in which something is not known or certain
Anxiety - a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome
Perspective - a way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance
Metaphor - a word or a phrase used to describe something as if it were something else
Common misconception
You should try to speak for other people in your writing.
We all have slightly different opinions and ideas, so you should try to communicate your ideas and emotions to other people through your writing.
Teacher tip
Students should not feel as if they have to share their thoughts or words on climate change if it makes them feel uncomfortable.
Equipment
There is a copy of Simon Armitage's 'Futurama' in the additional materials.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.'Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns' is the definition of climate .
Q2.'A situation in which something is not known or certain' is the definition of which of the following?
Q3.'A word or a phrase used to describe something as if it were something else' is the definition of which word beginning with 'm'?
Q4.'A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome' is the definition of which of the following?
Q5.'Ethereal' means which of the following?
Q6.'Showing or describing the total destruction and end of the world, or extremely bad future events' is the definition of which word beginning with 'a'?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which emotions does Armitage say he was trying to represent in 'Futurama'?
Q2.Which of the following does Armitage compare 'Futurama' to?
Q3.Which of the following events inspired Armitage to write 'Futurama'?
Q4.Armitage suggests that poetry celebrates which of the following?
Q5.Is the following statement true or false: 'Armitage says he often tries to write from a mass perspective.'
Q6.Armitage suggests that news reports often lack which of the following?
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: How Simon Armitage writes about climate change in 'Futurama', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: How Simon Armitage writes about climate change in 'Futurama', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the Simon Armitage: writing your world unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.