Lesson video

Hello everyone.

My name is Mr. Brown, and I am here with your English lesson for today, and you and I are going to be performing.

We're gonna be performing a poem, and the poem is, "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" by Joseph Coelho So we are bringing that poem to life by performing it.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can perform the poem, "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" by Joseph Coelho.

The keywords we'll use are volume, atmosphere, pace, gesture.

Let's say this together.

My turn and then your turn.

Volume.

Atmosphere.

Pace.

Gesture.

Perfect.

Let's look at the definitions.

So volume is the loudness or softness of the voice when speaking or reading a poem.

Atmosphere means the mood created in a section or whole of a text.

Pace is the speed or rhythm at which a poem is read or performed, and gesture is a movement that helps express an idea or meaning.

We'll start today's lesson by preparing to perform and then move on to performing a poem.

Today going to be performing.

We're going to perform Joseph Coelho's poem, "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" In today's lesson, we'll focus on bringing the poem to life by performing it to an audience.

Performing in poetry refers to the act of presenting or reciting a poem in front of an audience.

Now, an audience is a group of people gathered together to watch or listen to a performance.

When preparing for a performance, we need to carefully think about how we will deliver our poem.

We can use our voice, gestures, and expression to bring the poem to life and have an effect on the audience.

What is the name for a group of people gathered together to watch a performance? Is it A, a team, B, an audience, or C, a panel.

Pause the video and decide now.

Welcome back.

So the name for a group of people gathered together to watch a performance is of course an audience.

Well done if you said B.

Let's remind ourselves of the poem by reading "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" again.

Read it out loud with a partner reading one verse each and then swapping.

Over to you.

Pause the video and read "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" by Joseph Coelho once more.

Off you go.

And welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed that fabulous poem.

When performing a poem, we need to decide what atmosphere we want to create.

The atmosphere is the mood created in a section or whole of a text.

Therefore, when performing a poem, the atmosphere is the mood or feeling we want to create through the performance.

Discuss with a partner which atmosphere you want to create when performing the poem, "There are Things that Lurk in the Library," and explain why.

The atmospheres you might choose are happy, sad, exciting, scary, magical, calm, and wondrous.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner which atmosphere you want to create and why.

Off you go.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at Izzy's answer.

So Izzy says, "The atmosphere I am aiming to create for my performance is a magical one.

I want the audience to feel that books are magical and alive, and therefore libraries are very special and unique places." I think that is a very fitting atmosphere for this poem, Izzy.

Well done.

Now we must think about how we will create the desired atmosphere.

We will achieve this by using these three things, volume, pace, gesture.

Our use of voice can greatly affect the performance of a poem.

We must speak clearly so that the audience can understand every word we say and use volume as an important tool in creating our desired atmosphere.

Volume refers to the loudness or softness of the voice when speaking or reading a poem, allowing for variations in intensity and expression.

We can vary our volume to create different effects.

A loud volume could show excitement or intensity, whilst the softer volume could show calmness or mystery.

Read through the poem and decide which lines or phrases should be read with a louder or softer volume.

Discuss your decisions with a partner and have a go at performing the poem, varying the volume for your chosen lines and phrases.

Pause the video and have a go at this task now.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at an example answer.

So Lucas says, "I read the word lurk in a softer voice to create an atmosphere of mystery." I love that idea, really good.

Ah, and then Aisha says, "I read the word compelled in a louder voice to create an atmosphere of power." If you're compelled to do something, you have to do it.

As well as varying how loud or soft we speak during our performance, we can also vary how fast or slow we are.

This is known as pace.

Pace refers to speed or rhythm at which a poem is read or performed.

Increasing the pace at which we perform means speaking faster, and this leads to an exciting feeling for the audience.

Slowing the pace down leads to a calmer, more peaceful feeling.

Our facial expressions and body language can help to convey meaning as we perform.

We can show surprise, or wonder, or mystery with our expressions or with body movements, actions, and gestures.

A gesture is a movement that helps express an idea or meaning.

We can use gestures to express lots of different things such as size, so how big or small something is.

For example, you may say, use this for big, this for small.

Speed, how fast or slow something is moving.

And again, you could use your arms to describe how fast or slowly something was moving.

Emotions, so using gestures to show how sad or happy someone is, how something moves or is done.

It's time for you to reread the poem.

Are there any words or phrases in the poem that you think would benefit from a particular action or gesture? Discuss your ideas with a partner and explain why you feel a gesture could be added for that particular word or phrase.

Pause the video and have a go at this task now.

And welcome back.

Let's have a look at Alex's answer.

He says, "I'm going to draw a line in the air with my finger when I read the word spine to help the audience understand that I'm referring to the binding of a book." Really nice idea.

I like that.

So drawing a line in the air shows that you are running your finger down the spine of the book.

Very good.

Time for a practise task.

Think about the different elements of performance you have practised so far.

Which element has improved your performance the most and why? Think about how you have varied the volume at which you speak, how you varied the pace at which you perform the poem, and how you have used gestures, including facial expressions and body language.

Pause the video and complete this task now.

Welcome back.

I hope you had a good think about the different elements that you have included.

Let's have a look at an example answer.

"I think by adding gestures to my performance, it will make it much more exciting to watch and will help the audience to follow." Or, "I think speaking certain words and lines more softly will draw the audience into my performance and create a sense of magic." Let's move on to performing a poem.

Performing a poem to an audience that creates a suitable atmosphere is something that requires time rehearsing.

Now, rehearsing means practising something for a later performance.

You should rehearse using the techniques we have practised to help you feel confident.

So that's pace, volume, and gesture.

Rehearse these techniques so that you feel confident when you come to using them in your performance.

So it's time for you to rehearse.

Rehearse your poem by practising it several times.

Practise performing it several times to a partner.

Ask for feedback so you can improve each time.

Make sure you are improving and listening to that feedback and then adding it to how you perform the next time you do.

Here's an example of some feedback to help you.

"I liked when you increased the pace of your performance as this created an exciting atmosphere." Really good.

That's really positive feedback.

Or, Izzy is saying here, "I think you could use more gestures to make your performance more interesting." So some feedback that might be constructive, that might help somebody to improve something.

Okay, it's over to you now.

Spend some time rehearsing with your partner so that you are ready to perform later in the lesson.

Pause the video and get rehearsing now, and welcome back.

I hope that time rehearsing was productive.

Let's just, for a moment, think about before we perform our poems to an audience, let's take a moment to think about what is expected of us when we are part of the audience ourselves.

So an audience member is always expected to be paying attention by watching and listening to the performance attentively.

An audience member is always expected to keep quiet and avoid talking, sit still so you don't distract others, clap politely to show respect and appreciation.

Let me just check your understanding of that.

Which of these should an audience member always do? Is it A, pay attention by watching and listening to the performance, B, walk away if the performance isn't interesting, or C, keep quiet and avoid talking? Which of these should an audience member always do? Pause the video and decide now.

Welcome back.

Let's see if you managed to find the two correct answers.

Well, they were A and C.

You must pay attention by watching and listening to the performance and of course keep quiet and avoid talking.

We don't want to distract the performers.

Okay, it's over to you now.

I want you to perform the poem, "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" by Joseph Coelho to an audience.

You could perform the poem individually, in a pair, or in a group.

Think about varying the volume, varying the pace, using those gestures and movements, and showing expression and emotion.

It's over to you now.

Enjoy the experience of performing a poem because you are going to be performing "There are Things that Lurk in the Library" by Joseph Coelho.

Pause the video and have a go at this task now.

Welcome back fresh from your performance.

I am really interested for you now to take a moment to just reflect on that performance.

Did you speak clearly and deliver your performance with confidence? Have a think.

Did you create a suitable atmosphere for the poem? If you're not sure, you can always ask your audience.

Did you vary your volume to have an effect on the audience? Did you vary your pace? Did you use any gestures such as facial expressions or body language? And probably most importantly, did you enjoy performing? Performing poetry should be fun.

It should be something you enjoy doing.

So I really hope you enjoyed it.

Let's summarise the learning we've done today.

Performing poetry to an audience is an important part of the process of creating poetry.

When performing poetry, you can vary your volume, pace, and use gestures to have an impact on the audience.

Deciding upon and creating a desired atmosphere is important when performing poetry.

we can improve our performances of poetry through practise.

Well done.

You have performed a fantastic poem and I'm sure you brought it to life excellently.

I will see you again very soon.