Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tweedie and I'm going to teach you today's lesson of poetry.

You'll need a quiet space to work and think, someone or the screen to talk to, and lots and lots of your brilliant ideas.

If you're ready, I'm ready.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can compare and contrast two poems depicting a rural setting.

Our keywords for today are here.

Let's do my turn, your turn.

Theme.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a text.

Imagery.

This is the use of vivid and sensory language that appeals to the reader's senses, creating vivid mental pictures and enhancing the emotional impact of the poem.

Compare.

This involves identifying similarities between two or more things, ideas, themes, or texts.

Contrast.

This involves identifying differences between two or more things, ideas, themes, or texts, and we're going to be comparing and contrasting between two poems today.

The first half of our lesson will be "Exploring 'Richmond Park'" and the second will be "Exploring 'The Old Farmer's Song.

'" Let's get started with part one.

"Richmond Park" was written by Joseph Coelho and released in 2017 as part of his poetry collection "Overheard in a Tower Block." Here is a photograph of Joseph Coelho.

You may have seen him and read his poetry before.

The accompanying illustration to the poem is by Kate Milner.

Joseph is an award-winning performance poet, playwright, and children's author.

He grew up in a tower block in Roehampton, in southwest London, with his mother and sister.

He wrote his first poem in Year Eight and kept writing from then on.

Wow, some of you will be in Year Eight very soon when you are in secondary school.

Joseph's poetry is known for using engaging and emotive themes such as identity, family, and friendship.

Emotive means starring up emotions in the reader.

In 2022, he was appointed Children's Laureate, a highly acclaimed and prestigious prize that is given to writers.

Richmond Park is the largest of London's Royal Parks and is a site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve.

You can see London on the map, here shown as the capital of England in Great Britain.

Richmond Park is known for its 25 permanent ponds, one of which is pictured here, Pen Ponds, its range of wildlife including wild red and fallow deer, and there's a photograph of some deer in Richmond Park on the right-hand side, and its open space for many sports and leisure activities.

If you ever come to London or indeed if you live in London, Richmond Park is a wonderful place to come and visit.

The poem "Richmond Park" contains some language which may be unfamiliar to us.

Let's go through some of it now.

Let's do my turn, your turn.

Veiled.

Well done, this means to obscure or cover up.

Arcing.

Well done, this means taking a curved shape or sweeping in an arch-like manner.

Irises.

Well done, an iris is the coloured part of an eye.

You can see a brown iris on the screen now.

Fronds.

Well done, you can see a photo of some fronds on a fern here.

They are the large divided leaves of ferns or other plants.

These are just some of the unfamiliar words in the poem "Richmond Park." You may wish to explore the meaning of others using a dictionary.

Let's check your understanding so far.

Match the new words to their definitions.

A, veiled; B, arcing; C, fronds.

Match the words to their definitions.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back, veiled means to obscure or cover up, arcing means taking a curved shape, and fronds are the large divided leaves of a plant, well done.

First, I will read the poem to you.

You can use the poem in the additional materials to follow along.

"Richmond Park." "A park, where trees veiled the aerials and satellite dishes, where the sweet scent of winter berries disguised the stench from the bins.

Where birdsong replaced shouts, where marshes replaced monsters.

I ran in my red trainers to Richmond Park.

Trees of every shade of green.

Horse chestnut trees with conkers, like fists, begging to be conquered, wanting to be knocked.

Richmond Park, arcing canes of blackberries, berries like black-eye clusters, like frogspawn, protected by inch-long thorns promising to prick.

Richmond Park, deer with chestnut eyes, their irises like black diamonds.

Richmond Park, danger and adventure wrapped in its dark fronds, and at its centre lay two deep ponds." I hope you enjoyed my recital.

Now it's time to watch Joseph Coelho introducing and reading "Richmond Park." Enjoy the real poet giving a recital of this wonderful poem.

<v ->When I was a kid, I grew up in a place called Roehampton,</v> known as the last village in London.

It's a very green area and I grew up in a big block of flats, but from my block of flats I could see a wonderful park called Richmond Park where there are ponds and deer and lots of wildlife, and I would go out to Richmond Park with my friends and family and explore the nature and the wildlife there.

This poem is called "Richmond Park" and it's inspired by my memories of that wonderful place.

"Richmond Park." "A park, where trees veiled the aerials and satellite dishes, where the sweet scent of winter berries disguised the stench from the bins.

Where birdsong replaced shouts, where marshes replaced monsters.

I ran in my red trainers to Richmond Park.

Trees of every shade of green.

Horse chestnut trees with conkers, like fists, begging to be conquered, wanting to be knocked.

Richmond Park, arcing canes of blackberries, berries like black-eye clusters, like frogspawn, protected by inch-long thorns promising to prick.

Richmond Park, deer with chestnut eyes, their irises like black diamonds.

Richmond Park, danger and adventure wrapped in its dark fronds, and at its centre lay two deep ponds." <v ->Welcome back.

Wasn't that a treat?</v> Now it's your turn for a discussion.

You're going to read the poem in the additional materials or on pages 40 to 41 of the accompanying text to this lesson.

To begin, read the poem silently in your head, then read out loud.

You might like to read it with a partner, one person reading the first verse, the second reading the next and so on.

Or you might take it in turns, one of you reads the whole poem and the other one reads the whole poem afterwards.

After you've done the recital to each other, we are going to discuss your first impressions of the poem.

You're going to tell your partner or the screen your first impressions of the poem, what you liked about it, and what it made you think of.

Enjoy reading "Richmond Park" aloud.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed that.

Izzy says, "I liked how the poet described the landscape.

They used lots of vivid imagery, appealing to the senses.

I liked the way they used the homophone of conkers and conquers." Nice spot, Izzy! "It made it sound like the trees were wanting to start a fight!" I wonder what your responses and initial impressions of the poem were, and if they were similar or different to Izzy's.

Remember, all our responses will be unique to us, and that's just right.

"Richmond Park" is a free verse poem.

It contains six verses, also known as stanzas.

Each verse has a different number of lines.

The poem offers contrasting views of the setting it describes.

Let's discuss again.

Refer back to the poem.

How does the first verse compare or contrast the speaker's view of the park and its surroundings? Remember, to compare is to draw similarities and to contrast is to draw differences between two things.

Pause the video now as you discuss this key question.

Welcome back.

Andeep says, "The first verse contrasts positive and negative imagery, such as the scent of the berries, a positive word, with the stench from the bins, stench being a negative word." Rubbish makes a stench.

Berries or fragrances make a beautiful scent.

Here you can see a photo of trees veiling the London skyline or covering up the London skyline.

That's another lovely piece of imagery that Joseph Coelho uses in the first verse.

The poem is written from the speaker's perspective as they run to the park.

The speaker could be the poet, as they grew up nearby.

Now it's your time to discuss, how do you think that the speaker or the poet Joseph Coelho feels about the park? Can you find any evidence in the text to support your response in the poem? And as you answer the key questions, think about whether the impression drawn by Coelho is on the positive end or the negative end of impressions in your mind.

Pause the video now as you answer the key questions.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? I hope you enjoyed that discussion.

This child says, "The speaker or poet might have mixed feelings about the park." Yes, I agree with this.

"They refer to the park as full of danger, a more negative word, and adventure, a more positive word." And that's just like life, isn't it? Often, one place or one person or one setting can make us have different feelings.

This child says, "I think Joseph Coelho is fascinated by the park.

He describes how wild it is.

The blackberries, with their thorns, and the deer, with their eyes shining like diamonds." Yes, absolutely, you get the impression and the sense that this is a wild, very natural space, not manicured by humans but let to roam free and grow freely.

Let's check your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Nature is one of the themes present in the poem.

Pause the video as you decide.

Welcome back.

This was true.

Now let's justify our answer.

How do we know that nature is one of the themes present in the poem? Which is the best justification? A, the poet uses vivid imagery to describe the trees, plants and animals in Richmond Park.

Or B, the poet describes the park using positive and negative imagery.

Pause the video now as you decide whether A or B is the better justification.

Welcome back.

A was the best justification for why nature is one of the themes present in the poem.

Coelho uses vivid or bright or descriptive imagery to describe the trees, plants, and animals in Richmond Park.

This shows us that he's thinking carefully about nature and presenting nature to us, the reader or listener.

It's time for Task A.

First, think about this key question.

Do you have a green space which you enjoy exploring near you? Perhaps that's a park.

Perhaps that's a playground space.

Perhaps that's a garden.

Now discuss.

Think about the green space with your partner or the screen or somebody near you.

Together, come up with two lines of poetry based on a place near you.

You might like to create a simile, where you compare your green space to something else using the words like or as.

You might like to create a metaphor where you compare your green space by saying that it is something else.

You might like to use personification.

That's when we describe a non-living thing, your green space, as if it acts or feels like a human.

Everyone's ideas, experiences, and places they have chosen are unique to them, so each will be described in different ways.

Think of your green space, and then with somebody near you or to the screen come up with your two lines of poetry based on it.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? That was such a creative and free-flowing task.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Did you create a simile, a metaphor, an example of personification, one or two or a combination of all of these? Here are some examples.

"Trees stand like guardians, their branches wide and strong." Oh, I love that.

We have the example of a simile here where the word like has been used to compare the trees to guardians.

"The pond is a mirror, reflecting the sky's endless height." Wonderful example here of a metaphor.

The pond is not really a mirror.

We are saying it is a mirror for effective description.

"Flowers dance with joy in the midday sun." Oh, a lovely example here of personification.

Flowers don't really dance, humans do, but we are describing the flowers as dancing to show their positive image of being joyful in the sunshine.

Were these similar or different to your responses? Pause for a moment as you reflect on your own lines of poetry and whether you enjoyed that task.

Well done.

It's now time for our second part of our lesson, "Exploring 'The Old Farmer's Song.

'" "The Old Farmer's Song" is a poem written by Matt Goodfellow, a different poet to Joseph Coelho.

It can be found in Matt Goodfellow's collection "Let's Chase Stars Together." Matt Goodfellow was born in Withington, Manchester, and grew up in Cheadle, in Stockport.

You can see Manchester here is pictured on the map.

It's in the North of England.

Matt has won several awards and been shortlisted three times for the prestigious CLiPPA poetry award.

Wow, three times he's been shortlisted for that award.

He's a fantastic poet.

His poetry is known for expressing a wide range of emotions and experiences which readers can connect and empathise with.

Now, before we read the poem, what does the title "The Old Farmer's Song" make you think of? What words or images come to mind? Discuss this with a partner near you or to the screen and pause the video now.

Welcome back.

This child says, "The title makes me imagine a farmer looking back on their life." Oh yes, I see where he's coming from.

"The Old Farmer's Song," he's using old as an adjective to describe the farmer and his age and thinking that that farmer is looking back on their life.

"Perhaps that farmer is thinking about the changes that have happened in farming since they began working on the land." Ah, yes, and here are some photographs on the right of the screen to illustrate this.

Perhaps the black and white photo depicting what farming in a different decade might look like to farming today in the bottom picture.

Was your response similar or different to this example response? And thinking a little bit more deeply, are these positive or negative images? The poem "The Old Farmer's Song" contains some language which may be unfamiliar to us.

Just like before in "Richmond Park," let's use my turn, your turn to go through some of this language.

Calloused.

Well done.

This is developing thick and toughened areas on the skin, typically due to repeated friction or pressure.

And on the right-hand side you can see a photograph of a calloused hand.

You can see it gripping on to a piece of wood, as if this repeated friction or pressure has developed thick or toughened areas on this person's skin.

Shears.

Well done.

These are a cutting tool typically used for trimming or pruning, especially in relation to sheep farming.

That might give you a clue as to what's coming up in this poem.

Flanks.

Well done.

These are the side areas of an animal's body between the ribs and the hip.

Heave.

Well done.

This is a strong and vigorous lifting or pulling movement.

A farmer might have to do lots of heaving in their day-to-day farming work.

Well done.

Let's check your understanding so far.

Which of the following statements are true? A, Matt Goodfellow was born in Liverpool.

B, Matt Goodfellow's poetry does not contain emotions.

C, Matt Goodfellow grew up in Cheadle, Stockport.

Pause the video now as you decide which of these are true.

Welcome back.

Well done, C is true.

Matt Goodfellow grew up in Cheadle, Stockport.

First I am going to read the poem "The Old Farmer's Song" to you.

You can follow along on pages 63 to 64 of the accompanying text to this lesson or in the additional materials.

"The Old Farmer's Song." "At the edge of the world, I graze my sheep, where storm clouds swirl and the valley cuts deep.

I've farmed this land for 50 years, calloused my hands on shovels and shears, raised my cattle as best I could, a constant battle in thick bog mud.

But a soaring hawk, a hare on the run, an early walk with the rising sun, a horse's flanks as they heave and steam, frost on the banks of a snow-melt stream make my old heart beat to the rhythm of the farm, the low pig grunts and the cows in the barn.

Till I'm ash and dust, till I'm dead and gone, I'll be in these hills and I'll sing this song." I hope you enjoyed that.

Now it's your turn to read the poem on pages 63 to 64 of the accompanying text to this lesson or in the additional materials.

Like before, begin by reading silently in your head, then read out loud with a partner, and afterwards you're going to discuss with your partner or the screen what your first impressions of the poem were and what you liked about it.

Enjoy reading the poem "The Old Farmer's Song" and pause the video now.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed reading aloud.

Weren't the words wonderful to read in your mouth? Aisha says, "I really liked the rhythm of the poem as I read it out loud.

I noticed the rhyme for mud was different depending on the accent of who was reading." Yeah, absolutely, Aisha.

Sometimes our accents really change the way that the words sound, and that's okay.

Matt Goodfellow's poetry references both places and locations, as well as the Northern dialect.

Some of Matt's poems reflect this in terms of how they are written and the rhymes that they use.

Remember that Matt is from the North of England, so his accent and dialect will have a Northern sound.

Now it's time to watch Matt Goodfellow reading in his accent "The Old Farmer's Song." What a treat that we get to hear the real poet reading aloud his poem, enjoy.

<v ->This is a poem called "The Farmer's Song."</v> I wrote this poem quite a few years ago now and it's about the hills in between Manchester and Sheffield that I used to cross all the time when I was a kid going to see my grandparents.

"The Old Farmer's Song." "At the edge of the world, I graze my sheep, where storm clouds swirl and the valley cuts deep.

I've farmed this land for 50 years, calloused my hands on shovels and shears, raised my cattle as best I could, a constant battle in thick bog mud.

But a soaring hawk, a hare on the run, an early walk with the rising sun, a horse's flanks as they heave and steam, frost on the banks of a snow-melt stream makes my old heart beat to the rhythm of the farm, the low pig grunts and the cows in the barn.

Till I'm ash and dust, when I'm dead and gone, I'll be in these hills and I'll sing my song." <v ->Welcome back, wasn't that fantastic? Thanks, Matt.

</v> "The Old Farmer's Song" can be described as a fixed verse poem.

It contains seven verses of two lines each.

The end of each line rhymes with the one that follows.

Hopefully you felt that when you read the poem aloud just a moment ago.

Similarly to "Richmond Park," "The Old Farmer's Song" describes a rural countryside setting.

Now rural means anywhere in the countryside.

The opposite to rural is urban, which means city-like or in the city.

"The Old Farmer's Song" describes a rural setting.

Imagery is used to depict scenes from the farmer's life.

Refer back to the poem now and discuss with a partner or to the screen, which example of imagery do you think is most effective, and why? Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

Andeep says, "I think the image conveyed in the final verse is most effective.

It makes it seem as though the farmer has a deep connection to the land." I absolutely agree with Andeep.

You really feel that this farmer, who's the speaker of the poem, has connected very deeply to the land through their farming of it, and that is a common theme between farmers up and down the country.

They are very proud of the land that they have farmed and looked after, almost like guardians until the next generation takes it on.

I wonder if your response was similar or different to Andeep's.

Remember, our personal reflections will all be individual.

In "The Old Farmer's Song," perseverance is central to the farmer's life.

Let's say that word together.

Perseverance.

Well done.

This is all about never giving up and carrying on, whatever the weather.

The poem highlights his 50 years of toil or work on the land.

The perseverance is not just physical for the farmer, but emotional.

We get the feeling by the end of the poem that he has that strong emotional connection to the land that he's farmed.

Time for another discussion.

Refer back to the poem and with your partner or to the screen discuss this key question.

How is the theme of perseverance depicted in the poem? Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

This child says, "The farmer's hands are calloused, which means they have endured many years of hard work.

They also describe how they did the best that they could when raising cattle." Two excellent points here and a direct reference to the text as well to justify this answer of how perseverance is depicted in the poem.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following themes are present in the poem? A, urban life.

B, connection to nature.

C, technology.

D, perseverance.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back, you're right, B and D, connection to nature and perseverance are themes present in the poem, well done.

Now when we compare and contrast, remember there's two of our keywords, we are focusing on similarities, things that are similar, and differences, things that are different.

Similarities are things that are alike or the same in two or more things.

Differences are things that are not the same.

By comparing, we can find how things are alike, which helps us see patterns and connections.

When we contrast, we notice differences, and this helps us see unique details or aspects that make each thing special.

Let's match the following keywords to their definitions.

Which of the definitions on the right means compare and which means contrast? Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

Compare involves identifying similarities between two or more things, ideas, themes, or texts.

And contrast involves identifying differences between two or more things, ideas, themes, or texts.

Well done for your effort.

It's time for Task B.

In this task, we're going to explore the similarities and differences between the two poems, "Richmond Park" and "The Old Farmer's Song." You're going to discuss with your partner or with the screen or with somebody near you, how do the poets depict the rural settings? Are they described in a similar or different way? Compare and contrast the poems by filling in notes in the corresponding boxes on your worksheet.

You may wish to refer to the themes, descriptions of the settings, each poem's structure and use of imagery.

Refer to both the poems in the additional materials or your accompanying text to this lesson to support you.

Compare and contrast the two poems, "Richmond Park" and "The Old Farmer's Song," by completing this table.

On the left, in differences in "Richmond Park," you're going to outline all the differences in the poem "Richmond Park." On the right, differences of "The Old Farmer's Song," you're going to note all the differences between "Richmond Park" and "The Old Farmer's Song" in the poem "The Old Farmer's Song." That means in the middle box, the similarities box, you're going to note down all of the similarities between the two poems. You can do this by writing into the boxes from the worksheet, or you can do this simply as a discussion task with your partner using the boxes as a frame for your discussion.

Good luck and enjoy your task.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

Well done.

"Richmond Park" is written in free verse.

This is a key difference of this poem.

The poem "Richmond Park" also has a tone of wonder and discovery.

In terms of similarities between the two poems, both of them describe the harshness and beauty of rural life.

The speaker or poet in both have connections to the place they are describing.

And in "The Old Farmer's Song," differences include that this poem has a consistent rhyme scheme, unlike "Richmond Park," and it has a tone of reflection, more reflection than wonder and discovery, where the farmer is looking back on their life.

Now these are just some of the ideas you might have had when you were framing your discussion or writing into your boxes for similarities and differences between the two poems. Your ideas might have been completely different or very similar, and that is just okay.

The main thing is that you enjoyed your discussion task and that you really explored the language and the themes of both of these wonderful poems. Let's summarise our learning.

"Richmond Park" is a free verse poem.

The poem offers contrasting views of the setting it describes.

The poem is based on a place which is near to where the poet grew up.

"The Old Farmer's Song" can be described as a fixed verse poem.

It has a consistent rhyme scheme.

Imagery is used to depict scenes from the farmer's life.

Both poems describe the harshness and beauty of rural life.

We can compare and contrast poems with similar themes or messages, noticing the impact that they have on us as readers.

I really enjoyed teaching you these two fabulous poems by Joseph Coelho and Matt Goodfellow today.

I hope you enjoyed the lesson too, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Remember, keep reading and enjoying lots and lots of poetry.

Bye-bye for now.