Lesson video

Hi there, my name is Mr. Charlesworth and I'm really looking forward to working with you today in this reading lesson.

We're going to be focusing on the poem, "The Listeners," which is written by Walter de la Mare.

We're going to be exploring the poem, the poet, and the themes in more detail.

I hope you're looking forward to learning more about poetry.

Let's get started.

The lesson outcome is, I can use strategies to identify key vocabulary and begin to understand the poem further.

The key words are my turn, your turn, narrative poem, context, word class, reading fluency.

Let's try those once more.

Narrative poem, context, word class, and reading fluency.

Well done.

A narrative poem tells a story with characters, plot and elements of a narrative.

The context is the surrounding details that help you understand what you are reading.

Word class is a name we give to different types of words that are used to form sentences.

And finally, reading fluency refers to the ability to read a text accurately, smoothly, and with appropriate expression.

Don't worry if you're unsure about any of the keywords, we'll be exploring them throughout the lesson.

In today's lesson, we'll be looking at and exploring new vocabulary in the poem, "The Listeners" by Walter de la Mare.

We are going to begin by looking at understanding new vocabulary and finding out a few strategies to help us with this.

Before we then move on to reading the poem with fluency.

Let's get started by looking at how we can understand new or unfamiliar vocabulary.

Here's a quick recap about what we've learned about Walter de la Mare and the poem, "The Listeners" so far.

Walter de la Mare is an English poet, short story writer and novelist.

He lived from 1873 to 1956.

Much of de la Mare's work tends to explore themes of imagination, childhood, and the mysterious or supernatural.

The listeners is a narrative poem that tells the story of a mysterious Traveller who arrives as an empty house.

The poem uses vivid imagery to create an eerie atmosphere.

Well remembered, imagery is the idea of picturing something inside your head, using your imagination to do so.

The poet can use language to help the readers imagine what the setting and scene and characters are actually like.

Today we're exploring new or unfamiliar vocabulary in the poem.

Some of these words are antiquated, which means that they're not in common use anymore.

You might refer to antiquated language as old fashioned.

It's not of the current time.

Let's re-read the poem and identify any words that we are unsure about.

Note down any new or unfamiliar words as we read.

"'Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller, knocking on the moonlit door and his horse in the silence champed the grasses of the forest's ferny floor.

And a bird flew up out of the turret, above the Traveller's head, and he smote upon the door again a second time.

'Is there anybody there?' he said." I'd like you to note down which words were new or unfamiliar to you.

Pause the video now, whilst you do so.

Well done, I picked out the following.

There's champed, the horse in the silence champed the grasses, and I wasn't quite sure of the term ferny floor.

It's referring to the forest.

We'll find out and discover more about those later.

In the second set of lines, I wasn't sure about the term turret it's above the Traveller's head, and then there's something here that he smote upon the door.

I wonder if we can work out what those mean through our lesson today.

Let's continue by reading the next section of the poem.

"But no one descended to the Traveller, no head from the leaf-fringed sill leaned over and looked into his grey eyes, where he stood perplexed and still.

But only a host of phantom listeners that dwelt in the lone house then stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight to that voice from the world of men." Which words here were unfamiliar or new to you? Pause the video now whilst you note them down.

In this section of the poem, I drew out the words descended, leaf-fringed sill, and perplexed.

And in the next four lines, terms host, phantom, dwelt and lone.

I wonder if these were similar or different to yours? Let's continue to explore the poem and identify any more new or unfamiliar words.

"Stood thronging in the faint moonbeams on the dark stair that goes down to the empty hall, hearkening in an air stirred and shaken by the lonely Traveller's call.

And he felt in his heart, their strangeness, their stillness, answering his cry while his horse moved, cropping the dark turf, 'neath the starred and leafy sky." I wonder which words here were new or unfamiliar to you.

Pause video now whilst you note them down.

Well done, you might have picked out thronging and hearkening in the first four lines of this section, and in the next part, cropping, turf and 'neath.

There's a piece of punctuation near here.

I wonder if that'll help us.

It's an apostrophe.

Hmm, we'll explore this later.

Let's read the final section of the poem.

"For he suddenly smote on the door, even louder and lifted his head.

'Tell them I came, and no one answered.

Tell them I kept my word.

' he said.

Never the least stir made the listeners, though every word he spake fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house from the one man left awake: Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup, and the sound of iron on stone, and how the silence surged softly backward while the plunging hoofs were gone." I'd like you now to note down the final few words that were new or unfamiliar to you.

Pause the video now whilst you note them down.

Well done, you might have noticed the repetition in the top four lines of the word smote, so I know I'm already going to be finding out about that word.

In the second four lines, I put down the word spake, and in the final four lines of the poem, stirrup, surged and plunging.

We've now got quite a collection of new or unfamiliar words.

We're going to explore how we can work out what these might mean by using a range of different strategies.

The reading strategies that we'll be using to support understanding of new vocabulary are identifying the word class, reading around the word, and skipping the word and replacing it with another.

We can use these strategies to support us in understanding what words mean.

It's important to remember that of course, you can refer to a dictionary to find definitions of words.

However, these do not always reflect antiquated language, and sometimes it can interrupt the flow of reading.

Using these strategies means that you can do it as you're reading the text and try to work out what the word might mean without exploring a dictionary.

Here's our first check for understanding.

Which of the following can be useful strategies to use when discovering new or unfamiliar vocabulary? Is it A, skipping the word, B, ignoring the context, C, identifying the word class, or D, reading around the word.

There may be more than one.

Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Well done, did you find all three? It's A, C and D.

It's really important when finding out new or unfamiliar vocabulary that we don't ignore the context.

We need the context that's the surrounding details to help us understand what we are reading.

Let's explore the first strategy, which is using word classes to help us.

Every word belongs to a word class, which summarises the ways in which it can be used.

Well noticed, it's one of our key words.

The major word classes in English are noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, determiner, pronoun, and conjunction.

There are eight.

In today's lesson, we're going to be focusing on the following, noun, which is a naming word for people, places, or things.

Verb, which is a doing, being or having word, adjective, which describes a noun, and adverb, which describes a verb.

Knowing the word class can help us understand the meaning of new vocabulary.

We're going to try this out using some of the words we noted down earlier from the poem.

In the example, it says, "And his horse in the silence, champed the grasses of the forest's ferny floor." So we have the two new words or unfamiliar words, which are champed and ferny floor.

The horse is described as being in the silence, doing something to the grass.

The word champed is likely to be a verb.

It ends with an -ed and it's written in the past tense.

His horse in the silence champed the grasses.

It's doing something to the grass in the past tense.

Well, I know that horses usually eat grass, so champed is likely to be a similar verb to eat.

By identifying the word class as a verb, we can then re-read the sentence to see if it makes sense.

And his horse in the silence ate the grasses of the forest's ferny floor.

Hmm, it fits.

The verb, champed means to make a noisy, biting or chewing action.

We are right, well done.

Let's now turn our attention to the second part of the lines, "And his horse in the silence champed the grasses of the forest's ferny floor." We know that the horse is biting or chewing the grass now.

It's described as being on the forest's ferny floor.

Well, I know that forest is a noun and also floor is a noun.

Ferny is describing the noun, so it's likely to be an adjective.

Floor is another word for ground or surface, so that means that it's eating something off the forest's ferny floor, the ground.

If the floor is situated in a forest, ferny is then likely to describe a plant or creature.

The forest's ferny floor definitely sounds like a plant that's maybe carpeting the floor of the forest.

Ferny is an adjective which describes something as consisting or overgrown with ferns.

Here's our next check for understanding.

Can you match the following word classes to their definition? We've got noun, verb, adjective and adverb.

Pause video now whilst you match them up to their correct definition.

Well done, let's see if you got them correct.

I know a noun refers to a person, place, or thing, and a proper noun describes something specific, a specific person, place or thing.

So noun is a naming word for people or places or things.

A verb doesn't describe a verb and it doesn't describe a noun.

So a verb must be a doing, being or having word.

I remember adjective from the forest's ferny floor.

Ferny was describing the noun.

So an adjective must describe the noun and therefore adverb must describe a verb how something's performed.

Well done if you've got them all correct.

Let's have a look at another strategy that we can use when we're trying to uncover the meaning of new or unfamiliar vocabulary.

When we encounter new vocabulary, another strategy we can use is to read around the word that means reading a sentence or lines before and after to see if we can uncover the meaning.

By doing this, we get a better understanding of the context of the word.

Well noticed, it's one of our keywords.

The context are their surrounding details, the additional information.

Let's have a look at an example.

"But no one descended to the Traveller." I wonder, can you locate this line in the poem? Read the lines before.

Try to work out what's happening on the run up to it.

Pause the video now while you locate and read the lines just before the line we're looking at.

Great reading, I want you to discuss with your partner what's happening at this moment in time in the poem.

Answer the question with your partner.

Pause the video now whilst you do so.

Well done, by reading around the word, we know that the Traveller has just knocked on the door of the house for a second time and he's looking up at something called a turret.

That must have something to do with the house.

There was no one who descended to the Traveller.

This might mean that no one answered the door, but we know he's also glancing upwards.

He might be expecting someone to come downstairs to meet him.

There might be more than one level of this house, so descended might mean to come down the stairs.

Now I'd like you to read the following lines that follow the extract.

Pause the video now whilst you locate and read the lines that follow this line.

Well done, I'd now like you to discuss with your partner what you think happened next after no one descended to the Traveller.

This can help us with our understanding.

Pause the video whilst you discuss the question.

Well done, following the line, no one descended to the Traveller.

No head from the leaf-fringed sill.

Well sill means to me, it sounds a bit like a window sill, so perhaps no head is seen at the window and this window sills covered in leaves, which perhaps means that the forest started to grow into the house as well.

Then we've got something leaning over and looking into his grey eyes.

The grey eyes are referring to the Traveller and it's saying where he stood quite perplexed and still.

That might mean that he's standing still quite confused or maybe wondering.

When you stand still and you are thinking, you can be perplexed.

So perplexed might be like puzzled.

Let's have an example from Alex.

Alex has read around the word and said that no one has answered the Traveller.

I think you'll get quite frustrated.

He must have travelled here for a reason.

I wonder if the discussion with you and your partner was similar.

Here's our next check for understanding.

True or false, reading the line before and after an unknown word can support understanding of new vocabulary.

Is that true or false? Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Well done, it's one of our strategies, so it must be true.

And now I'll let you to justify your answer.

Is it because A, reading around the word can help readers predict what might happen next, or B, reading around the word can add context and help readers uncover meaning.

Which one best links back to the original statement? Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Well done, we know that reading around the word can help predict what might happen next, but in terms of understanding new vocabulary, it's the second justification.

It adds context which helps us understand and uncover new meaning by looking at the surrounding details.

Well done if you got it correct.

A final strategy that we can use is skipping a word or replacing it with a known word.

It can be a helpful strategy when encountering new or unfamiliar words because it allows readers to maintain the flow of their reading and grasp the overall meaning of a line.

Using our understanding of word class can support in replacing another suitable known word.

Let's practise the strategy with the following section.

Let's read it together.

"But only a host of phantom listeners that dwelt in the lone house then stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight to that voice from the world of men." I wonder, can you work out what word class the highlighted words are from? Check the context of the sentence carefully as some words can fit into multiple word classes depending on where they are in the sentence.

Pause video now whilst you answer the question.

Well done, let's see if you're correct.

It can help to use the skipping strategy to help us in our identifying the word class too.

Let's have a look at the first line, but only mm of phantom listeners.

Well host might sound a bit like a group, but only a mm of phantom listeners.

I think that's referring to a noun, a person, place or thing.

It's referring to a group of something.

So I think that's a noun.

The phantom listeners, well, the listeners is another noun.

So phantom must be describing the noun.

So it's an adjective, that dwelt in the lone house then.

Well dwelt, let's try that skipping strategy again.

That mm in the lone house then.

I think that must be a verb because it's a bit like living.

Living in the lone house that lived.

Dwelt, I think must be a verb.

And in the lone house then I know house is a noun.

So lone could be an adjective, it's describing the house.

That dwelt in the mm house then.

Yes, I think lone must be an adjective.

Let's have a look at the answers.

Host is indeed a noun, phantom, an adjective.

Dwelt is a verb and lone is an adjective.

We can have a go at replacing these words with known words now.

We can then re-read to check for clarity.

I've already mentioned that host reminds me a little bit of group, a group of phantom listeners.

The word phantoms makes me think of ghosts.

So to describe the listeners, I could use ghostly listeners.

Now the verb dwelt.

If something dwelt in the lone house, it might live or maybe it stays there.

So I could use the verb stayed, that stayed in the lone house.

Lone reminds me of the adjective alone, so maybe I could use alone or isolated or maybe perhaps it's empty.

It's a quiet atmosphere, so I'll use the term empty.

Let's re-read it now to check for clarity.

But only a group of ghostly listeners that stayed in the empty house then stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight to that voice from the world of men.

Yes, it still retains its meaning and it helps us understand what was going on in the group of lines.

I'd like us to use this strategy to answer the next check for understanding.

The extract from the poem says, and he smote upon the door again for a second time.

We can skip the word to help work out its word class and he mm upon the door again for a second time.

Well, the Travellers doing something to the door, therefore, it's likely to be a verb.

I wonder, which of the following could you replace smote with? Re-read the sentence to check for clarity.

Is it A, opened, B, knocked or C, leant? Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Well done, I don't think the answer's A, because we know that the Traveller hasn't opened the door.

No one's come down descending the stairs to open the door for him.

It's likely to be knocked because we know that he's knocking on the door wanting someone to answer and it's unlikely the poem hasn't mentioned him leaning.

It's mentioned him standing perplexed and puzzled.

So the answer is B, knocked.

We can use the skipping and replacing strategy to help us when we encounter new words in the same way.

To smote means to strike with a firm blow.

So when the Traveller is smoting on the door, he's really wanting to have someone answer.

In this task, I'd like you to use the strategies that we've learned today to uncover the meaning of these words.

A, cropping, B, 'neath, C, spake, and D, stirrup.

You can use the strategies that we've used in the lesson so far, which is to identify the word class, to use reading around the word to help add context and to skip the word or replace it with a known other word.

It's really important to remember that discovering definitions of new vocabulary can be a really fun way to explore the English language and it gives you new words that you can use in your own writing.

Pause video now whilst you complete the task.

Great work, I hope you enjoyed finding the definitions or possible meanings of these words.

I wonder, which strategy was most effective for you for finding each word? Was it the same strategy for each of them, or did you find you needed to use a range of strategies to help you? Let's go through the definitions.

Cropping is a verb.

It ends in ING and it means to cut.

The horse was cutting the grass short.

'Neath is a preposition.

It's a shortened form of underneath.

Remember, it uses the apostrophe for contraction.

It's mentioning underneath the starry sky, so below the starry sky.

Spake is a verb, which is to speak, it's used in the context of every word he spake, so every word he spoke.

And finally, stirrup is a noun.

It's mentioned as being attached to the horse.

The rider's foot goes into this, so it's part of the saddle that the foot goes into to keep the rider stable.

Well done if you've got all of those correct.

We're now going to have a go at reading the poem with fluency, that's ensuring the poem flows, has rhythm, and engages an audience.

Now that we've explored the meaning of some of the new vocabulary, we can now read with greater fluency.

This is because we've got a better understanding of the vocabulary used and the content of the poem.

Knowing the atmosphere and emotions of the poem can inspire readers when performing poetry out loud.

There are some key things to remember when reading aloud.

You should have an expressive voice.

You should vary your volume so you're not just shouting or whispering, but using a range of different volumes.

You should have emphasis on key words.

In poetry, this might be words that rhyme, and you should make sure that you're using a range of facial expressions, perhaps adding emotion to the poem.

Here's our final check for understanding.

Which of the following should we use when reading aloud? Is it A, a similar volume throughout, B, to read with appropriate expression, C, to use facial expressions, or D, to add emphasis on keywords.

There may be more than one.

Pause video now whilst you decide.

Well done, it's B, C, and D.

You should vary your volume so you don't have the same volume throughout.

This helps to engage your audience.

Reading with appropriate expression, facial expressions and emphasising keywords, will mean that your audience remains engaged and the poem is performed well.

In our final task, I'd like you to re-read the poem aloud using expression.

Remember to use the following reading aloud tips, to have an expressive voice, to vary your volume, to use emphasis on keywords.

So for "The Listeners," that might be at the end of every second line, and to use a range of facial expressions, perhaps you could change your facial expression if the Traveller is confused or perplexed or mentioning ghosts and phantom listeners.

Pause the video now whilst you re-read the poem aloud to your partner.

Well done, I hope you really enjoyed performing the poem aloud and that you understood it a lot more following our lesson today.

Can you check with your partner to see if you used an expressive voice, varied your volume, added an emphasis on keywords, and used a range of facial expressions.

I wonder, did a better understanding of the poem affect your performance? I hope it made it better.

Discuss the following points with your partner.

Pause the video now whilst you reflect.

Well done, I hope your feedback was really constructive and helpful and that you had a really good time performing the poem and understanding it better.

Today's lesson has all been about understanding new vocabulary in "The Listeners" by Walter de la Mare.

we found out that we can use a range of strategies to support readers in understanding new vocabulary.

We know that knowing the word class of new vocabulary can help readers understand the meaning.

We've also understood that reading around a word can provide the reader with a better understanding of the context.

The final strategy we looked at was skipping or replacing a word.

This allows readers to maintain the flow of their reading and grasp the overall meaning.

Finally, it's important to remember that readers can always refer to a dictionary to find definitions of words.

However, these don't always reflect antiquated language.

I hope you really enjoyed exploring new or unfamiliar vocabulary with me today.

I'm really looking forward to continuing to explore the poem with you soon.