Lesson video

Hello everybody.

I'm Miss Afzal, and I'm really happy to be here with you because we are going to be exploring a poem by Christina Rossetti called "Who has Seen the Wind?" So I hope you've got your copy of the poem nearby, and let's get into finding out more about this amazing poem.

The outcome for today's lesson is, I can give a personal response to the poem and give some evidence to justify my ideas.

There are some key words in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Repetition, rhetorical question, elusive, personification.

Fantastic.

It was good to hear those words loud and clear.

Let's find out more about them.

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

A rhetorical question is a question asked that does not expect an answer but rather to make a point or create emphasis.

A rhetorical question is a question asked that does not expect an answer but rather to make a point or create emphasis.

Something elusive is something that is difficult to catch, find, or achieve, often because it is quick or hard to grasp.

Personification is describing a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human.

It is a type of figurative language.

So these are our key words.

They will be coming up in our lesson today.

Let's make sure we look out for them.

Let's listen for them.

Let's think about them.

Let's be curious and maybe even excited about them.

So here's our lesson.

Reading and responding to "Who Has Seen the Wind?" by Christina Rossetti.

We'll begin with an introduction to the poem and the poet, and next we'll be exploring structure and imagery.

But first, introduction to the poem and the poet.

Christina Rossetti was born in 1830 in London, England, and lived during the Victorian era.

She was part of an artistic family, and she wrote a number of books of poetry.

Her poems explore themes such as love, death, and the natural world.

Her poetry was influenced by her beliefs and experiences, and her observations of the world around her.

One poem that she wrote was named "Who Has Seen the Wind?" And we are going to be exploring that poem.

And this image that we can see on the screen is showing us part of London during the Victorian era.

A time when Christina Rossetti was alive.

Check for understanding.

Select the statements that are true.

Christina Rossetti was born in 1830 in London, England.

Christina Rossetti lived in Tudor times.

Christina Rossetti lived during the Victorian era.

Christina Rossetti grew up in the countryside.

So pause the video while you select the statements that are true.

Did you select this first one? Christina Rossetti was born in 1830 in London, England.

Well done if you did.

And Christina Rossetti lived during the Victorian era.

Well done if you selected these two statements.

So before we read the poem, what does the wind make you think of? What words or images come to mind? So pause the video, and turn to someone nearby, and just tell them what does the wind make you think of.

So pause the video while you turn to someone nearby and share with them what the wind makes you think of.

What words or images come to your mind? Let's hear from Aisha.

"Sometimes the wind is ferocious and knocks the lids off bins and all the leaves off the trees." Yeah, sometimes it does that.

And here is Jacob.

"I think of the words gust and blustery when I think of the wind." Okay, thank you so much for that sharing.

And now I'm wondering, are these positive or negative images? What do you think, and what is it that came into your mind? Does it have more leaning more towards the positive or negative side of things? Okay, it is time for us to read the poem.

Here it is.

I'm gonna read this poem.

So this is "Who has Seen the Wind?" by Christina Rossetti.

"Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you, but when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I, but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by." Should we hear it one more time? Let's do it.

"Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you, but when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I, but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by." Let's go into our responses to this poem.

So first of all, I'm going to give my initial response to the poem, and then it will be your turn.

So let's think about what is it that we liked about the poem, and do we have any questions about it? Hmm, okay, so let me begin.

So I liked the repetition in the poem, quite like that when we get the repetition, and I was surprised that it was quite short.

It's your turn.

Okay, so what did you like about the poem and do you have any questions about it? So pause the video here.

Just take a moment, first of all, to think.

Think about what is it you liked about the poem.

Do you have any questions? And now share with someone nearby.

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

I wonder what did you like? Did you like the repetition same as me? Did you like the language? Did you like the rhythm, the rhyme? What did you like, and what are you wondering about? I'm wondering about what you are wondering.

There's a lot of wondering going on.

And now let's move into the meaning of this poem.

Let's explore the meaning.

So how about this bit here at the beginning, "Who has seen the wind?" So we've got that question.

"Neither I nor you." So what this is meaning is that we've both not seen the wind.

So neither of us have seen the wind.

"The leaves hang trembling." So the leaves are moving slightly, not a lot, but they're just trembling, maybe delicately.

Now onto the second verse, "Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I." Again, we have both not seen the wind, and when the trees bow down their heads, so this means the tops of the trees are bent down, bowing down their heads.

Check for understanding.

Tick the statements that are expressed by the poem.

Everyone has seen the wind.

The wind makes leaves tremble.

The wind makes the tops of trees bend down.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements are expressed by the poem.

Well done if you selected B.

The wind makes leaves tremble.

Yeah, we got that in the first verse.

And also C, the wind makes the tops of trees bend down.

That statement was expressed in the second verse.

And now let's move on to thinking about how did this poem make you feel.

What impression of the wind did the poem create? So pause the video while you reflect on these two questions.

How did you feel after hearing this poem? And what's the impression of the wind created by the poem? Pause the video and tell someone nearby.

Okay, I wonder how are you feeling? What impression do you have of the wind? Let's hear from Jun.

"This poem made me feel calm.

It made me think how we can feel the wind and we can see how it affects the things around us, but we can't actually see the wind itself." Yeah, great points there, Jun.

You're looking pretty calm, too.

Okay, how about Alex? "I think the wind seems mysterious and elusive, and that nature and the trees are alive." Yeah.

Thank you for sharing that impression of the wind, Alex, something elusive that you can't quite catch hold of.

You can't quite capture it.

Elusive means hard to catch or find.

So what about you? How did the poem make you feel? What impression of the wind did it create? Remember, our impressions and personal responses to the poem will be different because we are all unique.

I hope you enjoyed sharing your impression of the poem with someone nearby.

Okay, it is time for your first task.

I would like you to create a mind map of the words or phrases that you associate with the wind from reading this poem.

So we'll begin with the wind in the centre, and then we can draw some lines coming out from that.

And here's one to get us going.

Leaves trembling.

So that's something I am associating with the wind after reading this poem.

So I'd like you to pause the video now while you create your own mind map and fill it up with words and phrases that you associate with the wind from reading this poem.

Pause the video here.

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

I am so curious, what have you come up with? Have you filled your mind map? Let's see, what have you got? We have the trembling leaves.

What else? Bending branches, yeah.

It's quiet, mysterious, invisible, magical, elusive.

We can't quite catch it.

We can't find it.

We know it's there, but we can't quite hold it.

I wonder were these similar or different to your ideas.

Well done for filling your mind map with words and phrases.

Great job, team.

And now let's move on to exploring structure and imagery in the poem "Who Has Seen the Wind?" by Christina Rossetti.

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

Verses refer to a group of lines in a poem.

They can also be referred to as stanzas.

So here is our poem.

Let's take a look at the lines.

Here we go.

So we can see those lines there.

And let's take a look at the verse.

So remember, a verse is a group of lines.

So those group of lines together makes the first verse, this verse of lines, or we could call it a stanza.

And down below, there is verse two.

So there are two verses with four lines each.

That is the structure of this poem.

Rhyme is the use of similar or the same sounds in words, usually at the end of lines.

Which words rhyme? Here is our poem.

Can you identify the rhyming words? Pause the video and tell someone nearby which words in each verse or stanza rhyme.

Okay, so what about in the first verse? Did you get these two words? You and through.

They've both got that same ooh sound at the end.

And in the second verse, it's I and by.

Both have the I sound at the end.

Well done if you identified these rhyming words.

And rhyming words can create a musical quality within the poem, enhancing the flow.

Repetition involves repeating the same words or phrases for emphasis and rhythm.

Here's our poem.

Can you identify the repetition? Where is there repetition in this poem? Well done if you identified that question at the beginning of each verse.

The rhetorical question is repeated at the start of each verse.

And remember, rhetorical question is not one that is seeking an answer.

In fact, it may be making a point.

And there are other repeated phrases in each verse too.

Repetition in a poem can reinforce a key point.

Check for understanding.

Fill in the blanks to describe the structure of the poem.

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

I'll read through this text.

The poem "Who Has Seen the Wind?" has two mm made up of mm lines each.

The poem has mm rhyming words in each verse.

The mm who has seen the wind is repeated at the start of each verse.

So pause the video while you discuss with someone what should go into each of the blank spaces to describe the structure of the poem.

Okay, I wonder, did you get this? First of all, the poem "Who Has Seen the Wind?" has two verses made up of four lines each.

The poem has two rhyming words in each verse.

The rhetorical question, "Who has seen the wind?" is repeated at the start of each verse.

Well done if you filled in the blanks with these words.

Poets can use imagery to create a picture or impression of something in the reader or listener's mind.

Poets can use a range of poetic techniques to do this, including descriptive or figurative language.

Figurative language can include use of simile, metaphor, personification.

Are any specific techniques used in this poem? So pause the video while you discuss with someone nearby.

Can you spot any specific techniques such as simile, metaphor, or personification? Did you spot this use of personification? The leaves are not actually trembling the way a human may tremble, and the trees are not bowing down their heads, but this is how Christina Rossetti has presented them.

Poets choose precise vocabulary to create a specific impression.

Let's explore this line with personification.

"When the leaves hang trembling," sometimes it can be helpful to determine the effect of a particular word by substituting it for a different word.

What is the different impression created in these alternative versions? When the leaves hang shaking, when the leaves hang dancing.

And here's our original version.

"When the leaves hang trembling." Pause the video while you decide what kind of impression do we get of the leaves if they're shaking, or dancing, or trembling.

Okay, what did you come up with? Maybe something like this.

So when leaves hang shaking, it's a large movement.

So maybe we get the idea that the wind is forceful.

When the leaves hang dancing, they could be spinning around.

It seems, like, quite happy and fun.

And when the leaves hang trembling, these are small, subtle movements.

Seems quite delicate.

So we can see that quite a different impression created by just the use of one specific word.

And now it's your turn.

I would like you to try with the second example of personification.

So what impression is created by the line, "When the trees bow down their heads." Use these alternative versions to help you.

When the trees cower down, are bent down, bow down their heads.

So pause the video and share with someone nearby the impression that is created by each of these versions of the line to do with the trees.

Okay, let's see.

Did you get something like this? Cower gives the impression of being scared.

Are bent down.

This is kind of neutral.

It's just a neutral description of what happens.

Whereas bow down their heads creates an image of a tree bowing, like a person may bow down to a king or a queen.

It suggests the wind is more powerful or important than the trees.

Really great noticing of what a difference just one or two words can make.

So we have explored the structure and imagery in the poem.

Now I'd like you to read the poem aloud and try to emphasise the repetition and rhyme through the rhythm and flow of your reading.

Try to read with expression and emotion.

You can show the mysterious and elusive nature of the wind through your reading.

And rereading poetry aloud helps us to develop our reading fluency.

So it's a win-win situation, I think we'll find.

So pause the video here while you have a go at reading the poem aloud.

Enjoy.

Okay, and now it's time for your next task.

What impression of the wind was created in the poem? And try to justify your response with reference to an aspect of structure or language used in the poem.

You may like to begin your sentence something like this.

The wind seems, and then give a reasoning because.

So pause the video now while you share with someone nearby your impression of the wind that was created in the poem.

And remember to justify your response referencing the structure or language used in the poem.

Okay, so how did you get on with that? I am wondering, what's your impression of the wind created in the poem? Let's see what Aisha has to say.

"The wind seems mysterious and elusive.

The repetition of the rhetorical question, 'Who has seen the wind?' emphasises this.

Nobody has seen the wind." Yeah, absolutely.

Really great point there, Aisha.

And let's see what Izzy says.

"The wind seems powerful because it makes the leaves tremble and the trees bow down." Yes, very powerful.

Thank you for sharing those ideas and impressions, and I hope you've enjoyed sharing your impressions of the wind in this poem.

What an amazing poem.

Thank you for your engagement.

In our lesson today, reading and responding to "Who Has Seen the Wind?" by Christina Rossetti, we have covered the following.

"Who Has Seen the Wind?" is the short, simple poem that explores the invisible and mysterious nature of the wind.

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

The poem uses rhetorical questions to demonstrate the mysterious nature of the wind.

Personification is describing a non-living thing as if it is a person.

Thanks everyone for joining in with this lesson.

I really enjoyed exploring this poem together, and I loved hearing your impressions, and seeing your mind maps, and it's just a really fantastic poem.

So I'm feeling quite excited about next time I go outside, and I'm kind of hoping it's gonna be windy and I get to experience the mystery and the power of it.

I'll see you in the next lesson, everyone.

Bye for now.