Developing a personal response to an unseen poem
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can develop my personal response to an unseen poem.
Key learning points
- To form a personal response, you might start by asking how the poem makes you feel.
- You might then consider ideas of which word(s) or phrases stand out to you and which you don't understand.
- To develop your personal response, you might consider reframing your ideas.
- When reframing, you might talk about what is evocative, pertinent or ambiguous in the poem.
Keywords
Pertinent - relating directly to the subject being considered; relevant
Personal - belonging to or affecting a particular person rather than anyone else
Evocative - bringing strong images, memories or feelings to mind
Ambiguity - a situation in which something has more than one possible meaning
Reframe - to change the way something is expressed or considered
Common misconception
That your feelings about a poem are irrelevant.
How you respond to a poem forms the basis of your argument about a poem - it helps you to understand how a poet has created meaning.
Teacher tip
It might be useful for pupils to share their personal response to the poem to see how people respond differently.
Equipment
You will need a copy of Helen Dunmore’s ‘Next Door’ which is available in the additional materials.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Sign in to continue
Our content remains 100% free, but to access certain copyrighted materials, you'll need to sign in. This ensures we’re both staying within the rules.
P.S. Signing in also gives you more ways to make the most of Oak like unit downloads!
