Lesson video

Hello everyone, my name is Mr. Brown and I am your English teacher for today's lesson.

And as part of our work on Joseph Coelho, we are going to be today doing something a little bit different.

We are going to be learning and reciting a poem by heart.

Now, this might be something you haven't heard of before.

This could be new for you.

So, let's dive into this lesson and I will teach you how to be able to learn and recite poetry by heart.

An amazing skill to have.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson is, I can learn and recite a poem by heart.

The keywords we'll be using are recite and by heart.

Let's say this together.

My turn then your turn.

Recite, by heart.

Fabulous, let's look at the definitions.

Recite means to speak or perform a poem aloud from memory, and by heart is to learn something in such a way that you can say it from memory.

So, we are not going to be holding the poem and reading it today, we're going to be doing it from memory.

That's the skill.

We'll start by looking at learning a poem by heart and then we'll move on to reciting the poem, In this unit so far, we have read and responded to different poems by the British poet Joseph Coelho.

The poems we have read include "Miss Flotsam", "There Are Things That Lurk In The Library", "MORERAPS".

"If All The World Were Paper", and "I Am A Writer".

after we have read a poem and responded to it, through discussions, we can learn the poem by heart and recite it.

So, this is the next part of our journey on responding to these poems. We read them, we responded to 'em.

We're now going to learn them and recite them.

Do you know what learning something by heart means? We've touched on it briefly already, but can you remind me, what does learning something by heart mean? Hmm.

Do you know what reciting something means? Why don't you pause the video, have a chat with the person next to you.

What does learning something by heart mean, and what does reciting something mean? Off you go.

And welcome back.

Okay, learning something by heart means to learn something in such a way that you can say it from memory.

There are lots of times when a person might have learned or needed to learn something by heart, such as poems. Poems are one of the most famous things that we learn by heart.

We learn to be able to recite them, reciting poetry.

Nursery rhymes, of course, that's one of the first things you do in your life.

You learn nursery rhymes and you learn them by heart.

Songs, of course, there are so many songs that we know without having to look at the words, because you know them, you have learned them by heart.

Lines for a show, absolutely.

I'm sure you've done productions at school before where everybody gets their scripts with their lines and everybody has to learn their lines by heart so that they're not holding their scripts during the show.

Prayers, of course.

Lots of people who follow different religions learn prayers as part of that religion.

And times tables, exactly.

We learn our times tables by heart so that we can answer them quickly without having to draw or use a calculator or work it out.

And presentations, now this is more of a grownup one.

Perhaps you haven't done this in school yet, but adults might have to give presentations as part of their work.

So, they have to learn them by heart.

And of course, a really important one, addresses and phone numbers.

If for any reason you are lost and need to get back home, you need to be able to know your address and your parents' or family members' phone number so that you can call them.

The phone numbers of parents, carers, family members they are crucial to know, because if for any reason you need to contact someone, it's important you know them.

Have you ever learned any of these by heart before? Discuss with a partner why it was so important you knew something by heart.

Pause the video and have that discussion now.

Welcome back.

Okay, let's have a quick check shall we? Which of these might a person learn by heart? Is it A, instructions for toys, B, poems, C, songs for a show? Pause the video and decide which of these might a person learn by heart.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

Okay, let's have a look at the correct answers.

So, we know that poetry is really important to learn by heart and songs for a show.

You don't wanna do a show and have everybody holding the lyrics to the songs.

Not instructions for toys.

This is not something we would need to learn by heart.

If your toy broke, you would use the instructions to be able to repair it.

You don't need to learn them by heart.

Learning something by heart is a positive thing to achieve for many reasons.

Sharing with others.

So, knowing something by heart means you can quickly and easily share it with others.

You don't have to wait to be able to go and get the text.

Confidence, so knowing something by heart will help you to feel confident when sharing it.

Understanding, yeah.

Knowing something by heart means you will develop a much greater understanding of the content.

Learning, knowing something by heart will help you with your learning in school, because you can use that knowledge to answer questions.

To learn a poem by heart, here are some different steps we can follow.

Step 1, hear it.

Listen to the poem being read aloud.

Step 2, read it.

Read the poem aloud yourself.

Step 3, check it.

Check and test your knowledge of the poem.

And step 4, practise it.

Practise reciting the poem.

These are the four steps to follow to be able to learn something by heart and then recite it.

All of these steps can be more effective by repeating them over and over, which means doing them again and again, repeating them.

You could read the poem several times or practise it a few times a day for a week.

The more you practise, the more you repeat these steps, the more confident you will be, and the quicker you will be able to learn a poem by heart.

Which of these are steps to follow when learning a poem by heart? Is it A, read it, B, check it, C, change it.

Which of these are steps to follow when learning a poem by heart? Pause the video and decide now.

And welcome back.

Okay, let's have a look.

So, when you are learning a poem by heart, reading it and checking it are essential.

So, these are the things that you need to follow.

Not changing it.

We need to decide which poem we are going to learn by heart.

You're going to choose your favourite Joseph Coelho poem to learn.

The poems we have read are, let's remind ourselves again one more time.

"Miss Flotsam", There Are Things That Lurk In The Library", "MORERAPS", "If All The World Were Paper", and "I Am A Writer".

So, you will choose which Joseph Coelho poem you want to learn by heart, and it's completely up to you.

Which one was your favourite? Have a moment to think.

I'd now like you to choose a poem by Joseph Coelho to learn by heart.

Discuss with your partner why you chose that poem.

Pause the video and decide now.

And welcome back.

Let's have a look at an example answer from Andeep.

He says, "I have chosen to learn 'Miss Flotsam' by heart, because I think she's similar to my teacher." That's a lovely idea and I wonder if any of you chose "Miss Flotsam" too.

The poem I'm going to learn by heart is a poem I wrote, which follows the "MORERAPS" structure.

So, in a previous lesson, we looked at the "MORERAPS" poem, we learned the structure, and I wrote this poem.

This is the one I'm going to be learning by heart.

I'll read it to you now.

"The Sun".

"The Sun, a blazing torch illuminating the world.

Pavements sizzle as it burns down.

Burning bright, a blinding light.

A symbol for joy and hope.

Rising and setting, rising and setting.

A golden globe gleaming above.

Gazing down proudly upon the green lands.

The Sun, burns on like a blazing bonfire." Okay, we are now going to complete step 1 and step 2 on our four-step process of being able to learn a poem by heart.

Now, we know step 1 is to hear it.

Listen to the poem being read aloud.

And step 2, to read it.

Read the poem aloud yourself.

So, I would like you to hear it and listen to your chosen poem being read aloud so you can ask a friend or your teacher to be able to read your chosen poem to you.

So, pause the video and hear your poem being read aloud now.

Welcome back.

So, did you listen carefully? Do you think you know your chosen poem a little better after listening to it? I hope you do.

I am now going to read it.

I will read my poem aloud.

I know this is the second step after hearing it.

Now, of course, I read this just a minute ago in the lesson and that's absolutely fine.

Remember what I said about repeating these steps.

The more times you repeat them the better you are going to be at learning this poem by heart.

Okay, "The Sun, a blazing torch illuminating the world.

Pavements sizzle as it burns down.

Burning bright, a blinding light.

A symbol for joy and hope.

Rising and setting, rising and setting.

A golden globe gleaming above.

Gazing down proudly upon the green lands.

The Sun, burns on like a blazing bonfire." Now, you might have noticed I didn't need to look at the poem so much.

I'm starting to know it by heart.

I'm starting to be able to remember what the words are.

Now, it's your turn to read it and read your chosen poem aloud.

So, pause the video and read your poem now.

And welcome back.

Let's reflect on how that went.

Did you read your poem aloud? Do you think you know your chosen poem a little better after reading it? Take a moment to think about the answer to those questions.

You may want to read your poem a few more times to help you learn it.

I think this is a brilliant idea.

If you have the time right now, pause the video and read that poem again, maybe once, twice, three times.

We'll now focus on step 3, which is, of course, to check it.

Check it, check and test your knowledge of the poem.

We'll be checking how well we know our poems by filling in missing words in the poem.

For example, here are the first two lines of my poem.

"The Sun, a blazing torch illuminating the world." and "Pavement sizzle as it burns down." Can you remember what the missing words are? So now, I've got two missing words.

The Sun, a blazing torch, something, the world.

And then I've got a new line, something, sizzle as it burns down.

Can you remember what the missing words are? Hmm.

Shout 'em out at me.

Let me hear.

Ah, interesting.

Okay, so we have, "The Sun, a blazing torch illuminating the world." Well done, thank you for helping me with that.

And what, sizzles it is, of course, "Pavements sizzle as it burns down." Ask a partner to write out a line of the poem you're learning, but leave a blank space where a word should be.

For example, we have a line of a poem written down.

My partner will write the line out with a missing word.

They should try and choose a word they think I might not remember.

So, looking at this line, "Gazing down proudly upon the green lands." If I am writing this out for my partner, hmm, which word do you think they might forget? Well, how about gazing down, something, upon the green lands? So, I've taken out proudly, and that will be the challenge that I would set for my partner.

Gazing down, mm, upon the green lands.

My partner has removed the word proudly and I need to try and remember it.

If I can't remember it, my partner will tell me and I should be able to remember it for next time.

So, it's okay if your partner doesn't know, then you can tell 'em that word and it'll help them to remember for next time.

Time for a check.

Work with a partner to check each other's knowledge of their poem using the missing words exercises.

For example, the Sun burns on like a, something, bonfire.

Hmm, what could that be? The Sun, burns on like a, is it bright bonfire? Blazing bonfire? Hmm.

I think the missing word is blazing.

That's what Andeep thinks.

Brilliant work, Andeep.

So, over to you.

Pause the video and work with a partner to check each other's knowledge of their poem using the missing words exercises we've looked at.

Pause the video and have a go now.

And welcome back.

I hope that time was useful and it helped you to be able to learn your poem by heart, because your task is to be able to practise saying your poem aloud.

We know that's step 4, practising saying your poem.

Practise reading your poem as many times as possible.

Each time you should feel more confident and begin to know it by heart.

Just that little bit more.

So, pause the video, and complete step 4, practise it.

Practise saying your poem out loud as many times as you can now.

Well done and welcome back.

I wonder how many times you were able to practise saying your poem.

Let's reflect on what it was like to practise saying your poem by heart, and you can discuss with a partner.

How many times were you able to practise saying your poem? What did you notice about each time you practised? And how confidently do you know your poem now? Take a moment to discuss and reflect with a partner.

Pause the video and have that discussion now.

Welcome back.

Okay, let's have a look at an example from Andeep.

So, "I practised saying my poem aloud three times.

And I noticed that each time I did, I became more confident I made fewer mistakes." That is brilliant to see Andeep.

And that's exactly why we are doing this.

Each time you will improve, and that is what we are looking for, improvement.

Practise, practise, practise.

Okay, let's move on to reciting the poem.

Poetry is often created to be shared with others by being read aloud.

When this happens, it is called a poetry recital.

A recital means to speak or perform a poem aloud from memory, allowing the words and rhythm to be heard and appreciated.

Being able to confidently recite poetry is an important skill to have.

We recite a poem after we have spent time learning it by heart.

So, we first spend the time learning it by heart, and then, the final thing to do is to recite it.

When reciting poetry, we must ensure that we are doing the following things.

We must make sure that we are speaking at a suitable volume for the space we are in and ensuring we are loud enough for everyone to hear.

Bringing the poem to life by speaking with expression, varying the pace at which we read.

Which of these should we do when reciting poetry? Is it A, move around a lot, B, speak with expression, or C, speak loud enough for everyone to hear.

Which of these should we do when reciting poetry? Pause the video and decide now.

Welcome back.

Okay, which of these should we do when reciting poetry? We should speak with expression and speak loud enough for everyone to hear not move around a lot, that might be quite distracting.

Now, it's time to recite your poem by heart.

When reciting your poem, remember to speak at a suitable volume for the space you are in and ensure you are loud enough for everyone to hear.

Bring the poem to life by speaking with expression and vary the pace at which you read.

Okay, it's over to you now.

It's time for you to recite your poem by heart.

Pause the video and have a go now.

And welcome back.

Let's take a moment to reflect, pause, and reflect.

Did you recite your poem by heart successfully? How did you get on? Did you manage to get all the way through? Or did you have some moments where you had to stop or maybe look at the text? Did you feel confident when reciting your poem? And do you know why? Why did you feel so confident if you did? Did you enjoy the process of learning a poem by heart and reciting it? Because of course, poetry should be enjoyed.

And so, I really hope you did.

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

After we have read and responded to a poem, we can learn it off by heart.

Learning poetry by heart means being able to say it from memory.

Once we have been able to practise and perform several times, we can perform the poem aloud in a recital.

Excellent work today.

Being able to learn poetry by heart and recite it is an incredible skill to have, and I'm glad that you now know the steps to take to be able to secure that skill.

I'll see you again very soon.