Hello, everyone, my name's Ms. Keller and welcome to today's lesson.

In this lesson, we will be exploring how Simon Armitage uses language and structure in his poem, "Mother, any distance".

For this session, you'll need a copy of your AQA "Love and Relationships" poetry anthology.

So by the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to analyse how Armitage uses literary methods to portray the complexities of a mother-son relationship.

So let's explore today's key words.

We have temporal, explicit, implicit, vignette, and symbolism.

So what do these words mean? Well, temporal relates to the passing of time.

Explicit is when something is clearly stated or expressed without ambiguity.

Implicit is the opposite of explicit, is an antonym for that word, and it means that something is implied or understood though not directly expressed.

So explicit is our more obvious meanings versus implicit, which tend to be our subtler meanings.

A vignette is a brief descriptive scene that focuses on a particular moment, and symbolism is representing abstract ideas, themes, or concepts through concrete objects, actions, or images.

So how is today's lesson going to look? Well, in order to analyse "Mother, any distance", we are going to begin by thinking about how Armitage portrays distance.

And then later on we are going to zoom in on that mother-son relationship.

So to start off then, our Oak pupils have been identifying key quotations from "Mother, any distance" that linked this important idea of distance.

So Sam has identified the word centimetres.

Sophia is picking up on those pronouns, you and me, and Jun has zoomed in on that word unreeling.

So I'd like to hand over to you for a quick fire discussion.

Which type of distance does each quotation link to? So can discuss this with the people around you, or if you're working on your own, that's okay, just make a few notes on your paper or in your exercise book.

Pause a video for as long as you need to and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, so let's just see which type of distance each of these students was referring to.

So Sam then with the word centimetres, we could argue that Sam is picking up on a quotation that links to physical distance, the space or the centimetres, the distance that exist between the mother and her son.

Sophia then with these pronouns could be linking to emotional distance because the use of these are alternating pronouns to represent the two people emphasises how very different they are from one another.

And finally, Jun with that word unreeling.

Actually, we can link this to two different types of distance.

Firstly, temporal distance because it emphasises perhaps the time that's passed in this mother-son relationship from when the child was much younger to them now as an adult.

But also generational distance, which also deals with time in a different way because this distance could perhaps refer to the differences in beliefs and opinions and attitudes that exist in the mother and the son because they were born in two very different times.

So they have that generational distance that exists between them.

So let's explore how Armitage portrays distance in a bit more detail.

And I'd like to start by thinking about the words linked to measurements.

So take a moment to reread your copy of the poem and see if you can identify all the words linked to measurements.

Pause the video while you reread and when you're ready to continue, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

So many of you are starting to discover that there are quite a few words in this poem that link to measurements.

So let's start by plotting them onto this visual representation of the poem.

So in stanza one then, we could have found the following examples.

We had the word distance, span, measure and acres.

In stanza two then, we had tape, length, metres and centimetres.

And in that final stanza we had inch and endless.

So there are lots of words that link to measurements in this poem and it seems like it's a theme or an idea that Armitage is trying to emphasise.

So let's think about why that might be.

So physical distance and separation are woven throughout the earliest stanzas because if we look at these words plotted into each of the stanzas, we see that there are far more of these measuring words appearing in stanza one and two than at the end of the poem.

And we've got that word tape there from stanza two, which we could argue symbolises this ever increasing distance between them.

Because we see the mother and son unreeling this across the house.

So as well as measuring the physical distance between them in the house, we could argue that is symbolising the ever increasing emotional distance between them also.

And if we look at that last stanza then, the word inch is our only reference to distance there, and it could imply that the mother is clinging on to that final inch of this relationship that she feels that they have.

And if we compare that to the other word in this stanza endless, it almost contrasts with that tiny little inch that the mother's clinging onto because the distance ahead of the speaker, so their future, is actually immeasurable.

So we're getting this very different impression of perhaps the mother and the son at the end of the poem.

And I'd like to just focus on these three words there that I've highlighted in purple in those boxes.

So metres, centimetres, and inch.

What is interesting about these words? So pause the video while you have a think and discuss it with the people around you or make some notes.

And when you are ready for us to unpick this idea a bit further, click play and we'll continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Some really interesting interpretations that I overheard there.

Well done if you were picking up on this idea that these words use metric measurements and imperial measurements.

So in stanza two we've got metric measurements.

So a younger person, the speaker records the measurements using metric, which we know is a more modern form of measuring.

Compared to stanza three, which uses imperial measurements.

So the older person, the mother, is pinching or clinging onto the last remaining inch.

So again, this older form of measurement associated with our older person, which could imply that she's clinging onto the past.

And looking at these two different types of measurements, we could actually infer that Armitage is trying to emphasise the generational distance between them.

So we've got a forward thinking speaker who's using these modern terms versus our older person, the mother, who is using these imperial measurements.

So now I would like to focus on explicit and implicit ideas in the poem.

And remember, these are two of our key keywords from today's lesson, and they have opposite meanings.

So we've got explicit ideas which are more obvious, straightforward, direct meanings versus implicit ideas, which tend to be more subtle, perhaps open to interpretation, they are less direct.

So let's explore how Armitage uses both types of ideas in this poem.

So let's start with this vignette that we get at the beginning of the mother and son measuring the new house and how this could symbolise the distance in their relationship.

And remember that word vignette is when a writer vividly captures a brief and fleeting scene, we just get a snapshot of a moment perhaps.

So let's have a look at some explicit descriptions from this poem then.

We've got lines one to two there, which describe how larger distances need helping hands to measure them.

And then down in line six, we've got this idea that distance measured is the length travelled from a base, which is then reported back.

And then we've got lines 11 to 14, which describes how the tape measure stretches through the house, with the mother at one end and the son at the other.

And it emphasises this idea that it's just about reaching this distance.

So I would like to hand over to you, and in particular I would like you to think about what implicit meanings could be suggested by these explicit descriptions.

So thinking really carefully perhaps about the emotional messages and how these ideas could link or symbolise that mother-son relationship.

So pause the video while you discuss these ideas and when you are ready to feedback, click play.

Okay, another fantastic discussion.

There's really interesting ideas coming out of these discussions.

So let's just pick up on a few fantastic responses that I overheard, starting with this description from line one and two that the larger distances need helping hands to measure them.

So well done if you are also picking up on this idea that although it's good to be independent, you will always need the help and support of others.

So it's really drilling down into that idea of what it means to be independent.

It's great to stand on your own two feet, but there are always perhaps times in life where you will need the help and support of other people.

Down to line six then and this idea that distance measured is the length travelled from base, which is then reported back.

So distance is how far you've moved from one point and then the distance you've counted when you return back to that point.

So what implicit meanings could we draw out of this description then? Well, we could have picked up on this idea that it's through our independence that we leave home to create memories which we then share or report back as stories and anecdotes.

So it's through our distance away from perhaps that base or a home that we grew up in and our lives started in, that we then go out and create these memories in the world, which we can then bring back to that base to share as stories or anecdotes.

And finally then lines 11 to 14.

And we've got this idea that the tape measure was just about stretching across that distance in the house between the mother and the son.

So well done if you picked up on this idea that there's a limit to the distance, even the closest maternal bond can survive.

So we've got this idea that only so much distance can be between the mother and son or this relationship or this bond between them is still able to survive.

So now it is time to check our understanding so far.

So true or false, Armitage uses a simile to compare the physical and emotional distance between the mother and son.

Pause a video while you have a think and when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Okay, welcome back, and well done to those of you who said false.

So now it's time to justify our answer.

So have a look at these two potential explanations and decide which one best supports your response from that first section.

So click pause where you have a read and a think.

And when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Okay, welcome back and well done to those of you who said B, the comparisons are subtle and woven through the entire poem so this is an example of an extended metaphor.

And admittedly answer A there perhaps is valid to a point.

The comparisons don't use like or as, so they are metaphors and not similes.

However, answer B is far more detailed explanation.

So of the two, this is the one we should have selected.

So now it's time for our first practise task of today's lesson.

And what I'd like you to do is to use the images below to help you summarise how Armitage portrays distance in "Mother, any distance".

So we've got some images there that perhaps link to important parts of the poem and hopefully they'll be there to inspire you to think about how Armitage is portraying distance in this poem.

So I'd like you to think particularly about which types of distance we see in the poem and Armitage's use of explicit descriptions versus these implicit meanings that we were discussing earlier.

So pause the video while you make your notes and summarise how Armitage portrays distance.

And when you're ready to feedback your responses, click play and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

So here is an example of what you could have written.

Ideas of distance and separation are central to our understanding of "Mother, any distance".

Beginning with a vignette of a mother and son measuring up the son's new home, this poem uses physical distance to explore the emotional distance that can form in close familial bonds such as this one.

Armitage uses words from the semantic field of measurements throughout the poem, foregrounding the theme of distance and showing the mother and son moving further away from each other in the house.

Interestingly, the mother stays put holding the tape measure while the son moves up to the loft before looking out at the sky and contemplating his newfound independence.

This could symbolise the generational distance and detachment between the two.

The son is progressing in his life while the mother remains stationary watching and supporting her son as he grows up.

This seems supported by Armitage's use of metric and imperial measurements to symbolise the younger and older generations.

At the end of the poem, when the son has moved far away from his mother and the tape they hold is stretched almost to breaking, Armitage describes how the mother is clinging on to her end of the tape with her fingertips.

If we read these measurements as an extended metaphor signalling the generational gap between them, we could see her actions here as a nostalgic wish to hold on to the past.

So just take a moment to review your response and think really carefully about which types of distance you included and also whether or not you are reflecting on these explicit descriptions versus the implicit meanings.

So pause the video while you review and redraft your answer if you need to.

And when you're ready to continue, click play.

Okay, so we've made it to the halfway point of today's lesson, and I hope at this point you're feeling a bit more confident when it comes to discussing how Armitage portrays distance.

So now it's time to focus on how he portrays the mother-son relationship.

I'd like to start off with a discussion and particularly to hear your personal interpretations of this relationship.

Do you think the mother and son are close and crucially, why do you think that? So I'd like you to back up your opinions with some reasons and even better some evidence from the text.

So pause the video while you have a discussion or you make some notes.

And when you're ready to feedback, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

Some really fantastic debates taking place there.

And I always like say that the best types of discussions are ones where we don't necessarily all agree because this encourages us to justify our reasons and back up our ideas with evidence from the text, which is exactly what we need to be doing when it comes to analysing a poem.

So let's just discuss both sides of this argument then to reasons why we think they might be close and reasons why perhaps they might not be.

So let's start with yes, the reasons why the mother and son are close.

First of all then on line three we had this idea that the mother is there to help her son with his house move.

So the idea that she's come to help and support him suggests that they have a close relationship.

And we also get the idea that in this scene it is just the two of them.

So perhaps there are no other close family members that have come to help.

So we get this idea that perhaps this relationship is important because it's just the two of them.

And then there on line seven, we get this image of her unreeling the tape, which suggests that she actually encourages him to be independent.

So perhaps they have this close and supportive relationship and the mother knows the son yearns for his independence, and this is something that she is encouraging him to have.

And finally then on line 12, this pinch when she's holding on to the last little bit of the tape could be interpreted as her clinging onto the path.

So perhaps suggesting that she treasures memories of her son's childhood.

So then on the flip side then how could we interpret that perhaps they don't have a close relationship? So first of all, in this very first line and the very first word, mother, also in the title, it's very formal sounding, is not saying mom or mommy or perhaps anything that's a bit more informal.

So this idea that he uses a formal sounding term of endearment for his mother may imply that the relationship is a bit more detached.

On line two then, we've got this word requires, which could imply that although she's willing to help him, he needs her help and perhaps he doesn't necessarily want it.

And then if we jump a little further down the poem, we could argue that line eight actually emphasises the distance between them.

So as they're moving further apart physically in the house, this also symbolises the ever increasing emotional distance between them.

And finally, down on line 14, this word endless, the speaker looks out at the endless opportunities ahead of him now he's independent.

So this idea that perhaps now he stepped out of his mother's shadow, there are endless opportunities available to him, which suggests that our speaker here is perhaps showing preference towards this independent life, perhaps over a closer relationship with his mother.

So now we've got some evidence from the poem to support both sides of this argument.

I'd just like you to have another quick fire discussion based on this, has your opinion now changed? So take a moment to discuss this and when you're ready to continue, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

Really interesting to see that some of us remain firmly on the side we were on before, but others have completely changed their opinion.

So it is really interesting to see, and this is why it's so important to get into the practise of backing up our opinions with evidence from the text because perhaps how we might initially interpret a text when we read it the first time might actually change when we begin to unpick how the poet uses language form and structure a bit later on.

So I'd like to zoom in on stanza two and think about this idea of whether or not the second stanza signify some sort of turning point.

And what do I mean by that? Well, on line eight Armitage uses two one-word sentences.

We've got a reference to an anchor and a reference to a kite.

So I'd like you to have a think what could these two things symbolise? Thinking about what we know about the rest of the poem.

So pause the video while you make some notes or discuss this with the people around you and when you are ready to explore these ideas a little bit further, click play and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

Some really creative interpretations there.

I think most of us agreed that these two words could be used to symbolise the mother and the son.

So the anchor could symbolise the mother and the kite could symbolise our speaker.

Let's explore these ideas a bit further, starting with the anchor or the mother.

So the anchor could symbolise the speaker's perspective of his mother.

So let's start by thinking about what connotations do we associate with an anchor? So take a moment to discuss this or make some notes and we'll feedback responses when you're ready to click play.

Okay, lots of fantastic ideas there.

So well done if you picked up on any of these connotations that we associate with an anchor.

So first of all, an anchor weighs things down.

That is its function, it is on the side of a ship and it's used to weigh it down and it that to stop ships from moving or drifting and therefore its function is to encourage things to remain in the same place.

So based on these descriptions, what impression do we then get of the mother if she is likened to this idea of the anchor? So pause the video again while you think about how these ideas relate to the poem.

And when you're ready to feedback your responses, click play and we'll carry on.

Okay, so we could have picked up on this idea that this metaphor may suggest the speaker feels weighed down by his mother's involvement in his life and he craves independence.

So we're picking up on this idea that perhaps the mother has held him in one place and stopped him from moving away or drifting.

So now let's focus on this idea of the kite then and perhaps how that might relate to the speaker.

So arguably the kite could symbolise the speaker's feelings about their own life.

So let's do the same thing that we did with the anchor.

What connotations do we associate with a kite? Pause the video or you have a quick fire discussion about these connotations and click play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

So lots of people picking up on this idea that a kite can fly but not on its own.

It needs somebody to hold onto it.

And in that same vein that it has to be tethered to stop it flying away.

So if we look at that picture there, it needs that person to hold onto that string to stop it from flying away.

So looking at these two different connotations then and relating that back to the poem, what impression then do we get of the speakers feelings? So pause the video again where you have a think, discuss it with the people around you or make some notes.

And when you're ready to continue, click play and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

So we could have said that perhaps the speaker feels tethered to their mother, protected yet stifled from achieving their potential.

So we've got this perhaps acknowledgement that the speaker needed that support in order to fly because it could fly, but not on its own, but also that perhaps they're now tethered, they're stopped from flying away too far by this tether, this anchor, the mother holding them in one place.

So now let's have another look at stanza three because interpreting these two one-word sentences on line eight in this way could actually change our reading of the final stanza of the poem Because this last line and the choice to fail or succeed that Armitage puts forward, perhaps isn't a worry of the speakers as we might have first thought, but rather a risk they're willing to take, particularly if they're viewing their mother as somebody who's held them in the same place when they've wanted to go on ahead and fly and be free.

And we could pick up on this word reach then because that's actually the action that the speaker performs when they are contemplating their freedom.

So this could suggest rather than being worried or nervous to gain their independence, they're actually reaching for the opportunities rather than shying away from them.

So this might change our original interpretation of this verb, and it can also change how we view line 12 and the mother's pinch.

Because originally perhaps we were suggesting that it showed a nostalgic view, that perhaps the mother was nostalgic about the childhood memory she had with her son and she didn't want to let go of that.

However, if we're viewing her as this anchor, perhaps weighing the son down, maybe this pinch is a bit more desperate and even controlling and less nostalgic, she won't let go of her son even if it hurts him.

And we're getting that idea of perhaps a pain from the word pinch there.

So I would like to hand over to you for another discussion.

So having a look at all these things we've just discussed and thinking about whether the anchor and the kite could symbolise the mother and the son, how do you view the mother and son's relationship now? So scale your minds back to your original opinions.

Do they have a close relationship? And how do you feel now we've explored that evidence a bit further.

So pause the video while you discuss this with the people around you or make some notes.

And when you're ready to continue, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

And now it is time for us to check our understanding.

So comparing the mother to an anchor implies that the speaker views her as.

So have a look at the options and select as many as you think are relevant.

So pause the video while you have a think and when you're ready for me to reveal the correct answer, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

And I gave you a little bit of clue there in the way that I phrased it because there were actually two correct answers.

Because this comparison of the mother to an anchor could imply that the speaker views her as an obstacle to his freedom, but could also imply that the speaker views her as a figure who has helped him to stay on the right path.

Because remember, we had those two different connotations.

First of all, that she may have weighed him down and stifled his independence, but also in encouraging him to remain in the same place, she perhaps stopped him from drifting off of the path to success.

So now it's time for the final practise task of today's lesson.

And what I would like you to do is to complete a single paragraph outline, planning an answer to this question, how does Armitage present the mother-son relationship? So in your grid, you have got space for a topic sentence, which you need to write in a full sentence.

And I've given you a stem there to get yourself going if you need to, but don't feel that you have to begin your sentence in this way.

But this is your opportunity to introduce your main argument or your main inference or a key idea that you have drawn out of the text.

And then in the middle box there, you've got space to add your supporting detail, which you can do in note form, copy in up to four quotations or references to the text.

And then annotating this with identification of the writer's methods or perhaps some of those implicit meanings that you are able to pull out of the use of language.

And finally, you've got space for that concluding sentence.

So again, we need to be writing in a full sentence there and using this space to summarise your ideas that you've covered above.

And the best types of concluding sentences are the ones that link back up to those ideas in the topic sentence.

So take some time to give this a really good go and when you're ready to feed back your responses, click play, and we'll carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

So now it's time for you to review and self assess your single paragraph outline.

So let's have a look at this checklist.

And as we're running through, I would like you to consider whether you included each of those things in your plan.

So is your topic sentence clearly explained and linked to the question focus? Is your supporting detail accurate, relevant, and judiciously chosen? So is it copied out correctly? Have you only chosen as much as you need? And does it link to the point that you've made in your topic sentence? And does your concluding statement sum up your ideas and link to the writer's intentions? So take a moment to review your single paragraph outline, asking yourself these questions from the checklist.

And when you've done that, I would like you to set yourself a what went well and even better if for next time you complete a single paragraph outline.

So pause the video while you take some time to review your response.

And when you're ready to continue, click play.

Okay, so we've made it to the end of today's lesson.

So well done for all the effort that you have put in.

And I hope that you're feeling a lot more confident when it comes to analysing how Armitage uses language and literary methods in this poem.

So let's just summarise what we've covered today.

Armitage uses an extended metaphor to compare an expansive new house to the growing distance in a relationship.

Armitage uses symbolism to represent the bond between the mother and son that exists despite the growing detachment.

Armitage uses metaphors to convey the complex and nuanced maternal relationship in light of the physical separation.

And Armitage conveys how the speaker's future is uncertain without proximity and support of their mother.

So well done for all your efforts today, and I hope that you've enjoyed today's lesson as much as I have.

I look forward to seeing you again soon.