Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you doing today? I hope you're really good.

My name is Ms. Afzal.

I'm feeling good today, because we're gonna be exploring some poetry.

In particular, we'll be going to be exploring some poems which have the theme of resilience.

Such an amazing quality to focus upon.

So I think we should get started, don't you? The outcome for today's lesson is "I can read and reflect on poetry about resilience." We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme.

Resilience.

Enjambment.

Let's find out what these words mean.

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

Resilience is overcoming challenge, staying strong, and seeking positive change.

Enjambment is when a line in poetry continues onto the next line without pause or punctuation, creating a sense of flow.

These are our keywords.

Let's look out for them.

Let's listen out for them.

They're coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson, "Exploring themes of resilience in 'One of These Days' and 'Being Heard'" has two parts to it.

First of all, exploring "One of These Days," and next, exploring "Being Heard." Let's begin by exploring "One of These Days." "One of These Days" and "Being Heard" are poems found in the poetry collection, "Being Me: Poems about Thoughts, Worries and Feelings." The collection contains poems written by Liz Brownlee, Matt Goodfellow, and Laura Mucha.

Illustrations are made by Victoria Jane Wheeler.

"Being Me" features a diverse range of poems that explore various aspects of what it means to be ourselves, including topics like individuality, friendship, family, and personal growth.

Through the poems in "Being Me," readers are encouraged to celebrate their differences, embrace their strengths and weaknesses, and navigate the challenges of growing up.

What a helpful book.

Before we read the first poem, what does the title "One of These Days" make you think of? What words or images come to mind? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

Here's Andeep.

"It sounds a little bit like a warning, like 'One of These Days' something will happen." Here's Sofia.

"I wonder if the poem is more hopeful.

The speaker might be saying it to themselves to inspire them to change after a long time waiting." Were these similar or different to your responses? Were your responses positive or negative? And it's really fine whatever your response was.

The poem we're looking at today uses enjambment.

Enjambment is when a sentence or phrase runs over into the next line of poetry without punctuation.

Enjambment can be used to create a sense of flow, as well as to emphasise certain words or ideas.

It allows the poet to control the pacing and rhythm of the poem, guiding the reader's attention from one line to the next without interruption.

Let's have a look at an example of enjambment.

"I packed my bags said goodbye to familiar streets where memories lingered echoing with bittersweet." Enjambment helps maintain the momentum of the speaker's actions as they transition from packing their bags to bidding farewell to "familiar streets." Do these four lines include an example of enjambment? "With every step the distance grew wide between me and the place where I used to reside." Pause the video while you decide whether these lines include an example of enjambment.

Well done if you selected "yes".

They do indeed.

And why? Well, each line in the example continues over from the previous one, without punctuation breaks or pauses.

And now I will read the poem "One of These Days" by Matt Goodfellow to you.

"I was born far away from the place I should be in a cloud-covered town by a cold iron sea where an oil-slick of boredom chokes everything through holes in dead phone-boxes biting winds sing but sometimes at night on a treacly tide white lights of freedom call me to dive into black water to shed this old skin and one of these days I swear that I'll swim." Next let's hear Matt Goodfellow read the poem.

<v ->This is a poem called "One of These Days,"</v> and it's about, sometimes you just have a day where, like, stuff doesn't feel right and you can't really understand why it is.

"One of These Days." "I was born far away from the place I should be in a cloud-covered town by a cold iron sea where an oil-slick of boredom chokes everything through holes in dead phone-boxes biting winds sing but sometimes at night on a treacly tide white lights of freedom call me to dive into black water to shed this old skin and one of these days I swear that I'll swim." <v ->Great to hear Matt reading the poem.

</v> And now it's your turn to read the poem.

The poem is available in the additional materials.

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

You might like to read it with a partner, taking turns to read every three lines.

So pause the video here while you read the poem.

Okay, so how did you get on? Did the poem match your expectations from thinking about its title? Why or why not? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Here's Andeep.

"The poem was less of a warning, more a desire from the speaker to change things.

I think the speaker wants to leave their hometown and follow the lights to a place that offers more hope." Thanks for sharing, Andeep.

"One of These Days" is a fixed verse poem.

It contains eight lines and follows the AABBCCDD rhyme scheme.

I would like you now to refer to the poem.

What effect does enjambment have on you as a reader or listener? Pause and share with someone nearby.

Here's Sam.

"The use of enjambment made me feel like the poem had a sense of urgency, as if the speaker is longing to escape." And here's Jun.

"Enjambment helped me to find a rhythm when reading aloud.

It made me anticipate each line." Yeah, so helpful! The poem uses vivid imagery to describe the speaker's hometown.

I would like you to refer to the poem.

Which was your most vivid image, and what impression does it give you of the speaker? Pause the video or you share with someone nearby.

Here's Izzy.

"I really liked Matt Goodfellow's use of metaphor, where he compares the feeling of boredom to oil spreading across the water.

It makes it feel like boredom is suffocating the speaker and their town.

It reinforces the speaker's desire to leave." Thanks for sharing, Izzy.

I wonder what your most vivid image was.

In the final four lines, the poet describes that one day, they will be free.

The water they must swim through to leave their town is described as treacle, a thick, sticky, dark syrup, which you can see being poured there.

Now I'd like you to discuss, why do you think the water is described in this way? What effect might diving into the water have on the speaker? Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

Here's Lucas.

"Describing the water as treacle made me think of how determined the speaker would have to be to swim through it and leave their town.

By diving into the water, the speaker might have a chance of a fresh start, as they shed their skin." Aw, I love that.

Great to hear from you, Lucas.

True or false? The speaker describes their hometown in a positive light.

Pause the video and decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.

"Wind blows through broken telephone boxes in the town by the sea." "The speaker feels drawn to leave their hometown by the bright lights." Pause the video, decide which of these best justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement A.

This best justifies your earlier answer.

And now it's time for your first task.

The theme of resilience is presented in the poem "One of These Days." Resilience, that's a noun, means overcoming challenge, staying strong, and seeking positive change.

I'd like you to refer to the poem and answer the following questions.

How is the theme of resilience conveyed in the poem? What do you think will happen next? You can begin your answers in this way.

"Resilience is shown when, or through.

." "I predict.

." Share what will happen next.

Pause the video here as you answer these questions.

Share them with someone nearby.

Okay, good to be back with you.

So, how is the theme of resilience conveyed in the poem, and what do you think will happen next? Let's take a look at some answers.

Here's Aisha.

"Resilience is shown through the speaker's determination to break free from their surroundings and pursue a better future.

They've not managed this yet, but it seems inevitable." Here's Jacob.

"I think that the speaker will persevere and find success in leaving.

Perhaps they might move to somewhere more rural, or a bigger city." Yeah, interesting.

They could go either way, couldn't they? Really, really interesting ideas.

Were these responses similar or different to your own, I wonder? The end of the poem is open to interpretation.

The speaker may have encountered setbacks and not been able to leave.

And now let's move on to exploring "Being Heard." Now it's time to read another poem that explores the theme of resilience.

It's called "Being Heard" by Liz Brownlee.

The poem is also available in the additional materials.

"When no one listens to your view your good ideas the truth of you know they're the waves that rise and crash all spent in one big noisy splash you are the ripple that rides inland and leaves your tracks upon the sand." So what were your first impressions of the poem? What do you like about the poem? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

Here's Sofia.

"I liked the positive message that the poem contains.

It tells me that you do not always have to have the loudest voice to be heard." Great point, Sofia.

"Being Heard" is a fixed verse poem, split into 12 two-line verses, also known as stanzas.

The poem has a steady rhythm, due to its short lines and syllable structure.

Like "One of These Days", it also includes enjambment.

How are the two groups of people in the poem described? Pause the video share with someone nearby.

Here's Laura.

"The poem uses the terms 'they' and 'you'.

'They' are compared to 'waves' which make a big noise as they crash into one another.

'You', the reader, is described as a 'ripple', which is longer-lasting and reaches the shore, leaving a mark upon the sand." The poem is written to you, the reader.

It describes encounters with other people who are not giving space for your voice.

Refer to the poem.

How do you think the speaker might be feeling? How do you know? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

Here's Sofia.

"I think that the speaker might be feeling frustrated as they have great ideas, but their classmates do not recognise or value them.

I think this is about how talking over other people can sometimes cause them to hide and not value themselves.

This is something I've felt before.

It makes me feel seen by the poet." It's tough that that happened to you, Sofia, but I'm glad that you feel seen.

Which of the following is true about the poem "Being Heard"? And refer to the poem to support you.

The poem makes the reader feel valued by their peers.

The poem makes the reader feel undervalued by their peers.

The poem compares the reader to a wave.

The poem compares the reader to a ripple.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements about the poem "Being Heard" are true.

Well done if you selected statements B and D.

Indeed, the poem makes the reader feel undervalued by their peers, and the poem compares the reader to a ripple.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to refer to the poem "Being Heard" and answer the following question.

How is the theme of resilience conveyed in the poem? Pause the video while you do this.

After that, I would like you to refer to both poems and answer this question.

Are there any similarities or differences in how resilience is portrayed in the two poems? So pause the video here while you answer these two questions.

Good to be back with you.

So how is the theme of resilience conveyed in the poem? And, any similarities or differences in how resilience is portrayed in the two poems? Let's hear from Andeep.

"Resilience is shown in the poem 'Being Heard' by it encouraging the reader or listener to value their ideas and truth in the face of louder voices who might want to drown them out." Really well-explained.

Thank you, Andeep.

Here's Jun.

"A similarity I noticed was that both poems remain hopeful in the face of challenge.

A difference that I noticed was that one challenge is physical, leaving a town, and the other is emotional, feeling valued." Wonderful observations.

Thank you, Jun.

The same theme can be represented in poems in similar or different ways.

In our lesson, "Exploring themes of resilience in 'One of These Days' and 'Being Heard'", we've covered the following.

"One of These Days" and "Being Heard" are two poems in a collection that share themes of resilience.

Both poems include enjambment.

Enjambment is when a sentence or phrase runs over onto the next line of poetry without punctuation.

Enjambment can be used to create a sense of flow, as well as to emphasise certain words or ideas.

Same theme can be represented in poems in similar or different ways.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

Loved hearing your responses around resilience in these two fantastic poems. And let's all be inspired by these poems and stay resilient in the face of the inevitable challenges of life that come and go.

Wishing you well, and I'll see you soon.