Lesson video

Hello everyone.

How are you feeling today? I hope you're feeling good.

My name's Ms. Afzal.

I'm feeling good as well because today we are going to be exploring some more poetry.

Today we're looking at a poem which has the theme of sadness within it.

So yeah, it's gonna be a lot about feelings coming up today.

So we begin exploring.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can reflect on poetry with themes of sadness, writing a personal response to a poem.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them my turn, your turn.

Symbolism.

Imagery.

Interpretation.

Personal response.

Good to hear those words, let's find out what they mean.

Symbolism is the use of objects, actions, or ideas to represent deeper meanings or concepts.

Imagery is the use of language to create a mental picture or sensory experience for the reader or listener.

Interpretation, this is the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem.

Personal response, reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it.

These are our key words.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson today, exploring themes of sadness in "The Land of Blue" has two parts to it.

There is exploring "The Land of Blue" and writing a personal response to a poem.

Let's begin by exploring "The Land of Blue." "The Land of Blue" is a poem 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.

Sounds like a very helpful book to me.

And now it's time for a discussion.

Before we read the poem, we can reflect on the colour that's mentioned in the title.

What does blue make you think of? What connections can you make to the word? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Maybe you had some ideas like these.

Feelings, sadness, calmness, tranquillity.

Water.

Nature.

Sky, ocean, flowers, animals.

Technology.

Bluetooth, blue screen.

Eyes.

or maybe you had some other connections to the word blue.

And are these positive or negative images? And did you think of any other connections? The poem we are looking at today uses symbolism.

Symbolism in poetry involves the use of symbols, objects, images, or actions that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.

In "The Land of Blue," symbolism links colours to feelings and emotions.

Colours can symbolise a range of feelings and emotions.

A common example is yellow, which is widely recognised to symbolise joy and optimism.

Some colours may have multiple meanings.

For example, red can represent anger, hate, love, and danger.

Match the following colours to their commonly associated feelings or emotions.

Green, blue, and yellow and the emotions happiness, positivity, jealousy, good luck, sadness, calmness.

Pause the video while you match the colours to their commonly associated feelings or emotions.

Did you match green to jealousy, good luck? Blue to sadness, calmness.

And yellow to happiness and positivity.

Well done if you matched the feelings and colours in this way.

It is important to remember, colours can represent more than one feeling and emotion.

Now I will read the poem, "The Land of Blue" by Laura Mucha to you.

The poem is available in the additional materials.

"Across the valley, it waits for you, a place they call The Land of Blue.

It's far and near, it's strange yet known and in this land, you'll feel alone, you might feel tears roll down your cheek, you might feel wobbly, weary, weak.

I know this won't sound fun to you, it's not, this is The Land of Blue.

It's blue, not gold or tangerine, it's dark, not light, not bright or clean.

It's blue, and when you leave, you'll see the crackly branches of the tree, the golden skies, the purring cat, the piercing eyes, the feathered hat and all the other things that come when you escape from feeling glum.

Across the valley, it waits for you, a place they call The Land of Blue and going there will help you know how others feel when they feel low." Next, let's hear Laura Mucha read the poem.

<v ->I'm gonna share a poem with you</v> that is in each of these two books.

It is a poem that I wrote a week after I had cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest is when your heart goes beep, beep, beep.

So it's a bit dramatic.

And I went to the National Gallery.

There was an exhibition about colour and it was a poetry workshop.

And they said, "You have to sit yourself in front of a painting and write a poem." And I found a painting in the blue room and there was a big valley and lots of things in the painting and I wrote this.

And it came out pretty much as I'm about to read it but I did edit it a lot.

And I don't think I even realised that I was feeling sad until I wrote this poem.

It's called "The Land of Blue." "Across the valley, it waits for you, a place they call The Land of Blue.

It's far and near, it's strange yet known, and in this land, you'll feel alone.

You might feel tears roll down your cheek, you might feel wobbly, weary, weak.

I know this won't sound fun to you, it's not, and this is The Land of Blue.

It's blue, not gold or tangerine, it's dark, not bright, not light or clean.

It's blue, and when you leave, you'll see the crackly branches of the tree, the golden skies, the purring cat, the piercing eyes, the feathered hat, and all the other things that come when you escape from feeling glum.

Across the valley, it waits for you, a place they call The Land of Blue, and going there will help you know how others feel when they feel low." <v ->I'd like you now to discuss,</v> did the poem match your expectations from thinking about its title? Why or why not? Pause and share with someone nearby.

Here's Alex.

"I thought that land might be described as a peaceful place as I find blue a calming colour.

I've heard of the phrase feeling blue, which can describe someone who is feeling sad.

I think it might link to this poem." Yeah, a good point, Alex.

"The Land of Blue" is written by Laura Mucha.

It is a fixed verse poem.

It contains six verses, also known as stanzas.

Four of the verses follow the AABB rhyme scheme.

And now refer to the poem.

What do you think the message of the poem is and why? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Here's Aisha.

"I think the poem's message is an empathetic one.

It describes sadness as a place that everyone might visit from time to time.

It is waiting for us.

The poem ends hopefully by saying that through experiencing a range of emotions, we can support other people who may be going through similar situations." Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Aisha.

I think that's such a lovely point that when we experience things, it gives us more empathy and we can be there for others in a way that maybe we couldn't before when we didn't have that understanding.

The poem is rich in imagery that paints a picture of the emotions associated with "The Land of Blue." Refer to the poem.

Which colours are mentioned in the poem do they contrast with one another? Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

Here's Lucas.

"Laura Mucha mostly mentions blue, linking it to emotional imagery such as tears and feeling weary.

In contrast to this, she mentions gold and tangerine.

These are more vibrant, brighter colours, usually representing warmth, happiness, and positivity." Bit of a contrast.

When reading "The Land of Blue" aloud, it has a clear rhythm and flow.

In poetry, each word syllables can be stressed or unstressed.

The arrangement of a stressed and unstressed syllables creates a rhythmic pattern.

This is known as metre.

As the speaker takes us on the journey to "The Land of Blue," the emphasis changes on different words.

You might like to explore this when rereading the poem.

Which of the following feelings are referred to in the poem? Upset, loneliness, excitement, fear.

Pause the video while you decide which of these feelings are referred to in the poem.

Well done if you selected upset and loneliness.

And now we've explored the poem, we're going to reread the poem aloud.

So for your task, I would like you to read "The Land of Blue" aloud.

Remember to use the following tips when reading aloud.

Expressive voice.

Vary your volume.

Emphasis on keywords to show meaning.

Facial expressions, and gestures.

Perhaps explore the rhythm by tapping or clapping along, noticing where the syllables are stressed or unstressed.

So pause here and enjoy reading "The Land of Blue" aloud.

So how did you get on with reading the poem aloud? Check that you've used the reading aloud tips.

Did you use an expressive voice? Did you vary your volume? Did you emphasise any key words for meaning? Did you use your facial expressions and gestures? Did you notice any changes in the rhythm of the poem? Well done for reading the poem aloud.

Hopefully you used some of these tips and next we will write a personal response to the poem.

Here's the next part of our lesson, writing a personal response to a poem.

We can respond to a poem by writing a personal response to it.

Personal responses are reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it.

To effectively convey your thoughts and feelings about a poem, you can focus on the following.

Your personal reflection, how the poem made you feel, and the atmosphere it created.

Aspects of the poem you liked.

A particular line or phrase or a poetic device used.

Your interpretation.

A key theme in the poem or your take-away idea.

These are just some ways you can respond to a poem.

There are many more.

Now I'm going to personally reflect on the poem.

The poem made me understand that it's okay to feel a range of emotions including sadness.

In doing so, it can help us better empathise with others.

And now it's your turn.

How did the poem make you feel? What atmosphere did you feel it created? Pause the video here while you share with someone nearby your answers to these two questions.

And did you include how the poem made you feel and the atmosphere it created? I hope so.

Next, I'm going to describe an aspect of the poem that I liked.

I really liked how Victoria Jane Wheeler used imagery of her own to represent the poem.

A girl with a melancholic expression is depicted climbing over a fence.

As readers, we do not know whether she is entering or leaving The Land of Blue.

And now it's your turn.

Which aspect of the poem did you like? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

And did you include a favourite line? Did you notice any poetic devices? Well done for sharing.

And I'm now going to give you my interpretation of the poem.

A take-away idea that I had after reading the poem was that sadness can sometimes make us feel negatively about ourselves.

However, I know the feeling will pass and we can make our way back from "The Land of Blue." Over to you.

What's your interpretation of the poem? Pause the video.

Share with someone nearby.

What themes did you notice and did you have a takeaway idea? I hope you enjoyed sharing.

We can structure our written personal response in the following way.

First of all, introduce the poem.

Begin by providing some context about the poem such as its title and poet.

Then, summarise the content of the poem briefly.

And next, a personal reflection.

How did the poem make you feel? Describe its atmosphere.

After this, an aspect of the poem.

Was there a particular line or poetic device that you liked? And next, interpretation.

What themes and takeaway ideas did you discover from reading the poem? Finally, the summary.

End with a final reflection or insight.

So this is how we can structure our personal response to a poem.

Let's take a look at an example from Izzy.

"'The Land of Blue' is a poem written by Laura Mucha.

The poem paints a picture of a place where someone may feel alone and overwhelmed by feelings of sadness.

Reading a poem made me feel as if I was going through the emotions alongside the speaker.

I liked how the poem repeated the title in the verses.

It made me think about how it's important to acknowledge sadness when we feel it.

The poem offers hope by asking readers and listeners to recognise others who are going through similar experiences and support them.

"The Land of Blue" serves as a gentle reminder to approach both ourselves and others with kindness and understanding." Oh wow.

I love that response, Izzy.

It was so much in that, it was very moving to read.

I'd like you now to sequence the following parts of a personal response to a poem.

Which order do these go in? We have summary, final reflection.

Clue there.

Introduce the poem and poet.

Aspect of the poem you liked.

Personal reflection.

Interpretation, themes, take-away ideas.

So pause the video here and put the following parts of a personal response to a poem in the correct sequence.

Okay, so did you start with introducing the poem and poet? Next, a personal reflection.

Aspect of the poem you liked.

Your interpretation.

And finish with the summary.

Well done if you sequenced the parts of a personal response to a poem in this way.

Okay, I think you probably guessed this was coming.

It's time for you to write your own personal response to the poem for our final task, and use the below structure to support you.

So first of all, introduce the poem.

Begin by providing some context about the poem such as its title and poet.

Then summarise the content of the poem briefly.

Next, what's your personal reflection? How did the poem make you feel? Describe its atmosphere.

Write about an aspect of the poem.

Was there a particular line or poetic device that you liked? What's your interpretation? What themes and take-away ideas did you discover from reading the poem? Finally, the summary, end with a final reflection or insight.

So over to you to write your personal response to the poem, "The Land of Blue" by Laura Mucha.

Pause the video here.

How did you get on? I wonder, did you introduce the poem and the poet? Include a personal reflection? Comment on a particular aspect of the poem you liked? Mention any themes or take-away ideas? End with a final reflection or insight? I hope so.

Such a rich, beautiful, meaningful poem.

So much to take away.

I hope you enjoyed exploring it.

In our lesson, exploring themes of sadness in "The Land of Blue," we have covered the following.

"The Land of Blue" is written by Laura Mucha and illustrated by Victoria Jane Wheeler.

The poem uses symbolism.

Symbolism in poetry involves the use of symbols, objects, images, or actions that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.

The poem references colours.

These can symbolise a range of feelings and emotions.

A poem can have multiple meanings and interpretations.

Each person's response can be different and unique to them.

We can respond to a poem by writing a personal response to it.

Personal responses are reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it.

Thank you everyone for sharing your personal responses to this really incredibly moving poem, "The Land of Blue." And I hope you can take away knowing that it's okay to have all kinds of different feelings and also even if we have some feelings that maybe feel a little difficult, but they can help us with is to have empathy for others that also have these feelings, so we can be understanding.

We can be good friends and good people to be around.

Wishing you well, everyone.

Bye for now.