Understanding how Nichols presents memories of home in 'Island Man'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Nichols presents the memories of home in ‘Island Man’.
Key learning points
- Grace Nichols was born in Guyana before immigrating to Britain as an adult.
- Nichol's poetry is often characterised by Caribbean rhythms and culture and influenced by Guyanese folklore.
- The poem's title 'Island Man' could reflect both the idyllic Caribbean island of his birth and Great Britain.
- The poem explores the life of a Caribbean born man, living in London.
- Each night, Island Man dreams of his idyllic island home.
Keywords
Migrant - a person who moves from one place to another, predominantly to find work or better living conditions
To heave - to lift or haul (something heavy) with great effort
Alienation - the feeling that you have no connection with the people around you or that you are not part of a group
Belonging - a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group
Womb - the organ in the body of a woman or other female mammal in which a baby develops before birth
Common misconception
That dreams aren't based on reality.
Dreams often draw on our previous memories or experiences.
Teacher tip
It would be useful to talk about migration and potential fears around loss of identity before reading the poem.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the Edexcel 'Belonging' anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following are typical connotations of the colour grey?
Q2.'A feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group' is the definition of .
Q3.Describing something as "his" implies which of the following?
Q4.Which of the following do we typically associate with the sea?
Q5.Which of the following do we typically associate with the colour green?
Q6.'The organ in the body of a woman or other female mammal in which a baby develops before birth' is the definition of .
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Nichols' 'Island Man' the man dreams of ...
Q2.Arguably, the word "metallic" implies ...
Q3.When you heave an object, you __________ it.
Q4.'A person who moves from one place to another, predominantly to find work or better living conditions' is the definition of a .
Q5.'The feeling that you have no connection with the people around you or that you are not part of a group' is the definition of .
Q6.Nichols' description of the Caribbean in 'Island Man' as a "womb" implies a sense of ...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding how Nichols presents memories of home in 'Island Man', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding how Nichols presents memories of home in 'Island Man', 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 4 English lessons from the 'Belonging' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.