Lesson video

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

My name is Miss Afzal, and I'm doing pretty well because we're going to be exploring some poetry today, and I love poetry.

We're going to be looking at some poetry from a book entitled, "Being Me: Poems about Thoughts, Worries, and Feelings." So I'm gonna pause here for a moment while you go and collect your copy of the text.

All right, it's great to see you again.

You've got your copy of the text, you've got some poetry, you've got hopefully lots of ideas, lots of enthusiasm and openness to learn and discover and share.

Let's get started.

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 key words in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Symbolism, imagery, interpretation, personal response.

Fantastic.

Great to hear those loud and clear.

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

So 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 is the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem.

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

These are our key words.

Let's make sure we are on the lookout for them.

Let's listen out for them.

Let's think carefully about these words.

Our lesson today is all about exploring themes of sadness in "The Land of Blue." The lesson is two parts, 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.

The 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.

It sounds like a really important book, covering such essential themes important to all of us.

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? So pause a video and share with someone nearby.

What does blue make you think of? What connections do you make to this word? Okay, let's hear about some of these connections to blue.

Feelings such as sadness, also maybe calmness or tranquillity, water, nature, the sky, the ocean, some flowers, and, incredibly, some animals, technology, may have heard of things like Bluetooth or blue screen, and eyes.

As simple as eyes are blue.

And now I wonder, do you find these to be positive or negative images? And did you think of any other connections? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Okay, thank you so much for sharing.

Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? Even with the feelings, for example, some of them may feel more positive, like calmness or tranquillity, where sadness could feel more negative.

The poem we're looking at today uses symbolism.

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

So the literal meaning is the most basic meaning of a word.

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

Colours can symbolise a range of feelings and emotions.

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

Have a look at that picture of the sunflower.

How do you feel just looking at that yellow, that rising up, up towards the sky? I'm feeling quite joyful looking at that.

Some colours may have multiple meanings.

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

So you may have noticed many signs, such as a Stop sign appear in red.

Check for understanding.

Match the following colours to their commonly associated feeling or emotion.

So we've got the colours, green, blue, and yellow, and the emotions, happiness and positivity, jealousy and good luck, sadness and calmness.

So pause the video while you match the colours to their commonly associated feeling or emotion.

Well done if you connected green with jealousy and also with good luck, if you connected blue with sadness and calmness, and yellow with happiness and positivity.

It's important to remember colours can represent more than one feeling and emotion.

And now it's time to read the poem.

I'd like you to refer to pages 12 and 13.

To begin, read the poem silently in your head.

Next, try reading it loud.

You might like to read it with a partner.

So one person taking the first two lines, the other, the next two lines, and so on.

So pause the video while you read the poem.

Two times, once silently and once out loud.

Okay, I hope you enjoy reading that poem.

And now, did the poem match your expectations from thinking about its title? Why or why not? Pause a video and share your answers with someone nearby? Let's hear from Alex.

"I thought that the 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." Yes, I think you've got it, Alex.

In this poem, the blue is more referring to sadness though.

Yeah, I can totally get that for you.

You were thinking, "Oh, it's gonna be about somewhere peaceful," as, of course, blue can also be a very peaceful and calming colour.

And I wonder if this poem matched your expectations.

Where were you going with the blue? Was it more towards sadness or calmness, I wonder? "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.

So that's the rhyming pattern that they follow.

I'd like you now to refer to the poem.

What do you think the message of the poem is and why? Now pause video, refer to the poem, and answer these questions.

Share your answers 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." Thank you for sharing that, Aisha.

It's a really lovely message, isn't it, to have this sense of empathy, to feel for another, to feel another's feeling for their perspective.

It is hopeful, isn't it, to think that even something like feeling this emotion of sadness that could feel quite tough to feel actually what's helpful as that it can help us relate to others when they're feeling this way.

I hope you enjoyed sharing your responses.

Maybe something similar to Aisha's, maybe something different.

The poem is rich in imagery that paints a picture of the emotions associated with "The Land of Blue." And imagery is the use of language to create a mental picture or a sensory experience for the reader or the listener.

I'd like you now to refer to the poem, which colours are mentioned in a poem? And do they contrast with one another? So there may be perhaps a kind of opposite to one another.

Pause the video while you refer to the poem and reflect on these questions.

Share your answer with someone nearby.

Here's Lucas.

"Laura Mucha primarily 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." Yeah, good spot there, Lucas.

Noticing those other colours, the gold, the tangerine, and, yeah, there really is quite a contrast there, isn't it, from the sadness of the blue to the warmth positivity of these brighter colours.

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

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

So a stressed syllable is the one that receives more emphasis.

This could be through our volume or our tone or our pitch.

And unstressed is the one that receives less emphasis.

The arrangement of 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.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following feelings are referred to in the poem? Upset, lonely, 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 lonely.

And now, it's time for your first task.

Now that we've explored the poem, we are going to reread the poem aloud.

So I would like you to read "The Land of Blue" aloud.

Remember to use the following tips when reading aloud.

Expressive voice, vary volume, emphasis on keywords to show meaning, facial expressions and gestures.

And perhaps explore the rhythm by tapping or clapping along, noticing whether syllables are stressed or unstressed.

So pause the video here while you have a go at rereading "The Land of Blue." Hope you enjoy your reading.

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

How did you get on with reading the poem aloud? I'd like you to check that you used the following reading aloud tips.

Did you use an expressive voice? Did you vary your volume? Did you emphasise any key words for meaning? And did you use facial expressions and gestures? Did you notice any changes in the rhythm of the poem? I hope you made use of these fantastic reading aloud tips.

And now we will write a personal response to the poem.

So let's move into writing our response to the 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, and that's one of our key words.

To effectively convey our thoughts and feelings about a poem, we 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 a poem or your take-away idea.

An interpretation, one of our keywords, is the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem or to a text.

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

There aren't many more.

So let's have a go.

My turn, your turn.

So I'm gonna 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.

It can help us to understand others.

And now's your turn.

How did the poem make you feel? What atmosphere did you feel it created? So pause video here while you share your personal reflection on a poem, how the poem made you feel, and what atmosphere you felt it created.

Okay, thanks for sharing that.

I wonder, 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 and then it will be your turn.

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

A girl with a melancholic expression that's a sort of a deep sadness is depicted climbing over a fence.

As readers, we do not know whether she's entering or leaving the Land of Blue.

And that's your turn, which aspect of the poem did you like? Pause the video and share this with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing.

Now just checking, did you include a favourite line? And did you notice any poetic devices? Next, I'm going to give 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 is your interpretation of the poem? Pause the video and share this with someone nearby.

What themes did you notice? Did you have a take-away idea? I hope you enjoyed sharing those.

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

First of all, 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, a personal reflection.

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

Aspect of the poem, was there a particular line or poetic device that you liked? And how about your interpretation? What themes and take-away ideas did you discover from reading the poem? And finally, end with a summary, end with a final reflection or insight.

Let's look at an example.

Here's 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 the 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." Thank you so much for sharing that, Izzy, what an amazing example of a personal response.

You've really included everything that goes into a personal response.

Check for understanding.

Sequence the following parts of a personal response to a poem.

I've got the summary, final reflection, introduce the poem and poet, aspect of the poem you liked, personal reflection, interpretation, themes, take-away ideas.

Pause video while you sequence these parts of a personal response to a poem.

Well done if you started with introduce the poem and poet.

Next, give a personal reflection, aspect of the poem you liked, your interpretation, and conclude with the summary.

Well done if you sequence them in this order.

And now it's time for your task.

I would like you to write your own personal response to the poem.

Use the below structure to support you.

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, share your personal reflection.

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

After that, aspect of the poem.

Was there a particular line or a poetic device that you liked? And then your interpretation.

What themes and take-away ideas did you discover from reading the poem? And finish with the summary, end with a final reflection or insight.

Pause video here while you write your personal response to the poem.

Great to be back with you.

I hope you enjoyed writing your own personal response to the poem.

Just checking, 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, and end with a final reflection or insight? I hope you managed to include all of these in your personal response.

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 joining in with this lesson.

I really enjoyed finding out your personal responses and your interpretations to this poem, and what a meaningful and helpful poem this was to explore.

I look forward to seeing you at the next lesson.

Bye for now.