Lesson video

Hello everybody, how are you? I hope you're doing really well today.

My name's Ms. Afzal.

I'm doing pretty good because I'm really excited that we're going to be sharing some poetry together today.

The poem we'll be looking at is "When the Wind Blows" by John Foster.

So I'm going to pause here for a moment while you go and grab your copy of the poem.

Great to see you, you're back.

You've got your copy of the poem.

What else have you got? Have you got lots of creativity? Have you got some ideas and enthusiasm? I really hope so.

Let's explore this poem together.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can generate additional ideas about the wind that mirror a poem's structure.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them one at a time.

My turn, your turn.

Verse.

Atmosphere.

Repetition.

Fantastic, I heard those loud and clear.

Let's find out more about what these words mean.

A verse refers to a single line or a group of lines within a poem.

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

Repetition is the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases, or structural elements that are repeated for emphasis or for a particular effect.

So these are our keywords.

Let's be on the lookout for them.

Let's listen out for them.

Let's be curious about them.

Let's think about these keywords.

In our lesson today, reading and responding to "When the Wind Blows" by John Foster, we'll be covering the following, exploring the poem "When the Wind Blows" and mirroring the poem.

Let's begin by exploring the poem "When the Wind Blows." So what do we know about the poem "When the Wind Blows?" It was written by John Foster, who was born in 1941.

He grew up in a village called Scotby near Carlisle, which is in the North of England.

And we can see it on the map of the United Kingdom there where Carlisle is.

It's in an area called the Lake District, which is a very beautiful place.

John Foster is a contemporary poet who writes poetry for children on a wide range of themes.

"When the Wind Blows," describes the impact of the wind on our environment.

Check for understanding, true or false.

John Foster grew up in the South of England.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer.

John grew up in a village called Scotby near Carlisle.

John Foster is a contemporary poet who writes poetry for children on a wide range of themes.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected the first statement.

Indeed, John grew up in a village called Scotby near Carlisle.

And this is related to your earlier answer.

The second statement is true, but it doesn't really connect to your answer from before.

Before we read the poem, what does the title, "When the Wind Blows," make you think of? What words or images come to mind? Pause the video while you share with someone nearby.

What does this title make you think of? What words or images come into your mind? Let's hear from Sam.

"The title makes me think of strong blustery gales buffeting trees, causing them to sway in the wind." Buffeting means to be hit repeatedly.

We can see that image is actually really showing us exactly what Sam is talking about.

This wind that is causing, causing the trees to sway.

Here's Andeep.

"The wind blowing reminds me of a gentle breeze, blowing seeds across a field." Thank you, Andeep.

And we can see that image there of some seeds just gently floating through the breeze.

Two really quite different responses to "When the Wind Blows." I wonder what kind of response you had and are these positive or negative images? Hmm, pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Are these positive or negative images of the wind? And also, what about the image you came up with? Was it positive or negative? Thanks for sharing about those.

Whether the images were positive or negative.

And Sam's, yeah, maybe a little bit more negative with that word buffeting, being hit repeatedly could seem negative and Andeep's image of the gentle breeze seems more positive.

And I wonder what your images were like.

More positive or negative? Now it's time to read the poem.

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

You might like to read it with a partner with one person taking the repeated line and the other it's response.

So pause the video here while you, first of all, read the poem silently in your head, and next, read it loud, perhaps with a partner.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed reading that poem.

And also maybe with the repetition of it, perhaps you're getting more and more of a feel and a sense for this poem.

What it means, how it feels.

And now I'm going to give my initial response to the poem.

I'm going to share what I liked about the poem and if there are any questions that I have about it.

I liked the poet's use of repetition in the poem.

So when things were repeated again and again, so we have that line that is repeated.

I noticed that the poem contrasted the chaos and noise outside caused by the wind with the sense of shelter and calmness indoors.

I wonder why the poet chose to do this.

It's quite curious.

And now it's your turn.

It's your turn to give your initial response to the poem.

What did you like about the poem and do you have any questions about it? So pause the video here, turn to someone nearby and share with them what do you like about the poem? Do you have any questions about it? What is your initial response? Okay, it's good to be back with you.

I hope you enjoyed sharing with each other what you liked about the poem and any questions you have, and maybe some of those will get answered as we move through the lesson.

The structure of a poem is the way it is ordered, including its pattern of lines, verses, rhyme.

And verses is one of our keywords refers to a group of lines in a poem.

They can also be referred to as stanzas.

The poem is split into six verses with two lines each.

The final verse has three lines.

There are rhyming words at the end of some lines which cross the verses.

Check for understanding.

Can you identify the pairs of rhyming words in the verses, verses one and two, verses three and four, and verses five and six.

So pause the video while you refer back to the poem and identify the pairs of rhyming words in the verses.

Okay, so did you spot in verses one and two, the words flutter and mutter, in verses three and four, scatter and clatter, and in verses five and six, rattle and battle.

Well done, if you identified these pairs of rhyming words.

Lots of the rhyming words used by the poet imitate the sound they represent.

This is called onomatopoeia.

Flutter imitates the sound of something moving quickly and lightly.

It suggests a gentle wavering motion caused by the wind.

Mutter mimics a low murmuring sound.

It conveys the rustling or whispering sound of leaves being moved by the wind.

The poet also uses personification to give natural elements such as branches, human characteristics, because they groan.

So personification is when we give human qualities or characteristics to something that is non-human.

Poems can convey positive or negative emotions by the poet carefully choosing specific words, phrases, and creating imagery that makes readers feel a certain way.

So let's find out on the scale of positive to negative, what kind of responses the this poem is conveying.

Here's Aisha.

"When things scatter, it can make a mess.

I imagine paper flying up into the air." That could get really messy.

Alex says, "The window shaking and rattling makes me think there's a storm outside." Yeah, so both of these are on more on the negative side.

Considering the words, phrases, and imagery, we could say that the poem might convey a negative view of the wind.

The poet describes being inside as a haven while outside is a battle.

So haven is somewhere very peaceful, a place where you can be safe.

So really quite the opposite of outside with that, start with that wind raging.

Check for understanding.

what atmosphere is created in the poem? And remember, atmosphere, one of our keywords is the mood that is created.

So is it calm and peaceful, noisy and powerful, or quiet and reflective? Pause the video while you decide what atmosphere is created in a poem.

Well done if you selected noisy and powerful.

And here's Jacob.

"The wind is powerful because it forces other things to happen, for example, moving bins and slamming doors." Yeah, absolutely, Jacob.

The wind really does have a great effect and impact on the environment around.

And now it's time for your first task.

Now we've explored the meaning of the poem and the atmosphere created within it, we can read it aloud with fluency and meaning.

I'd like you to read the poem aloud in your performance voice.

Remember to do the following.

Show the atmosphere, the mood of the poem through your expression.

Emphasise the sound of key words.

Show the contrast in the final two lines of the poem.

So pause the video here while you have a go at reading this poem aloud in your performance voice.

Enjoy the experience.

Okay, it's great to be back with you.

So did you enjoy reading it aloud? I really hope so.

Let's gather some responses.

Here's Laura.

"I liked adding emphasis to the rhyming words.

It helped me add a rhythm to my reading." Yeah, I like that, Laura.

I think that would've been really engaging for your listeners as well.

Here's Izzy.

"I liked doing actions alongside the lines to show how disruptive the wind can be." Oh my goodness, talk about engaging.

That would really draw your listeners in.

I love that.

Well done Izzy and Laura, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this poem out loud.

And next, let's explore mirroring the poem.

We are now going to create our own version of the poem using "When the Wind Blows" as a template.

This can be referred to as mirroring.

Rather than making the wind seem negative, we know it is described as strong, powerful, and like a battle, we're going to mirror the poem and create a poem that makes the wind seem positive.

Here are some beautiful images where we could imagine the wind creating a beautiful, gentle breeze and just those lovely clouds in the sky, hot air balloons, gently sailing in the wind.

Oh my goodness, these images are really making me feel good already.

There are many words about the wind, which can make it sound positive or negative.

Let's hear some of the negative words.

Blustery, howl, bitter, gust, boisterous, turbulent, unpredictable, and tempestuous.

Like something who's very stormy, maybe even angry.

There are also a lot of positive words about the wind.

Let's hear these.

Refreshing, soothing, revitalising, cleansing, freeing, invigorating, and gentle.

Oh, and here's another lovely one, tranquil, which means peaceful.

Feel very peaceful just looking at that image.

You might like to note down words that you want to use in your own poem.

So pause the video here while you do that.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following are positive words about the wind, energising, harsh, breathtaking, violent.

Pause the video while you decide which of these are positive words about the wind.

Well done if you selected energising and breathtaking.

I wonder when you've had an experience where you found something to be energising or breathtaking.

Just take a moment to reflect on that.

I hope you enjoyed remembering a time when something was energising or breathtaking.

Let's generate ideas for writing positively about the wind.

First, we need to think of some positive ideas that happen as a result of the wind.

What do you associate with the wind? Some positive things to do with the wind.

And pause the video while you reflect on this.

Okay, let's gather some ideas.

Blowing through hair.

Oh yeah, that's a really lovely one.

Dancing leaves, seeds dispersing, swaying trees, flying birds, surfing, sailing ships, drying clothes, flying kites, hot air balloons.

I love these ideas.

So many positive associations with the wind.

Next, let's explore some words and phrases that we could use.

A soothing sigh, whirling dance, whistling, gently rustling through trees, melodic rustle, whispering wind, gentle breeze.

Oh, I'm feeling really quite calm and soothed and peaceful, just hearing and reading these words.

Wonder how you're feeling.

You might like to note down specific words or phrases that you want to use in your own poem.

So pause the video while you do that.

Finally, we can use some of our ideas with a repeated line similar to "When the Wind Blows." Here's one based on the line, "On a windy day." On a windy day, kites fly, swirling, soaring.

On a windy day, trees dance, rustling, swirling.

On a windy day, surfers watch the waiting waves.

On a windy day, clothes dry, amid the haze.

So we can see there, we've got our repeated line on a windy day, on a windy day each time, and then followed by a specific positive association with the wind.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following examples of imagery about the wind are positive.

Chilling breeze sends shivers down the spine, trees dance rustling, whirling, a howling abyss, wailing in despair.

Pause the video while you decide which examples of imagery about the wind are positive.

Well done if you selected trees dance, rustling, whirling.

And now it's time for your task.

For this task, you are going to create a short poem, your own poem.

You can use the repeated line from John Foster's poem "When the Wind Blows," or you might like to use your own repeated line.

Here are some other examples.

On a windy day, in the wind's embrace, as the wind whispers, with every breath of wind.

You can include rhyming words, but this is not necessary.

Poems don't need to rhyme, so it's really up to you.

So pause the video here while you have a go at creating your own poem with your line that is repeated again and again.

Enjoy your creation.

Okay, it's great to be back with you.

So what I would like you to do is to read your completed poem aloud to a partner, and then ask your partner what was their response and what was their favourite verse or image.

So pause the video here while you read your completed poem aloud to your partner and gather in their response and their favourite verse or image.

Okay, well done, great to be back with you.

I hope you enjoyed sharing your poems and gathering those responses.

Let's take a look at a poem.

In the wind's embrace, the world comes alive.

In the wind's embrace, trees sway and dance with grace.

In the wind's embrace, leaves rustle and whisper secrets.

In the wind's embrace, birds take flight with effortless ease.

Hmm, there's such a lovely calming, beautiful feel to it, this poem, very positive.

And here's Lucas.

"I really liked how my partner described the leaves rustling as if they were whispering secrets." Thank you, Lucas, for sharing your response.

And I really hope you enjoyed sharing your responses to these fantastic poems. Great job team.

In our lesson reading and responding to "When the Wind Blows" by John Foster, we have covered the following.

"When the Wind Blows," describes the impact of the wind on the environment.

The structure of a poem is the way it is ordered, including its pattern of lines, verses, and rhyme.

The poem is split into six verses with two lines each.

The final verse has three lines.

In the poem, repetition is used at the beginning of every other line.

Considering the words, phrases, and imagery used in a poem, we could say the atmosphere created is negative.

We can be inspired by a poem and create a mirrored version of it.

It was really great to be with you today for this lesson.

I loved hearing your responses to "When the Wind Blows" by John Foster and I especially loved your creations.

Well done for being such fantastic, inspiring poets.

I look forward to seeing you at the next lesson.

Bye for now.