Lesson video

Hello everyone, how are you doing today? I hope you're feeling really very good.

My name is Miss Afzal and I'm feeling pretty good today, because we're going to be exploring some of the songs of Lord Kitchener.

In particular today, we'll be looking at the song called, "London is the Place For Me", and you will need your copy of the lyrics to this song.

So let's pause the video here.

I'll wait for you while you go and get your copy of the lyrics.

Okay, so you're back, you've got your copy of this song.

What else do you have? Maybe some curiosity, what is this song going to be about? Who is Lord Kitchener and what else? Maybe some ideas, some enthusiasm.

That sounds great, great mix.

I think we're all ready to begin.

Let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is, I can develop understanding of a song by exploring the artist's use of structure and language.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

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

Form.

Rhyme scheme.

Semantic mapping.

Impression.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

Form is the way that a text can be presented.

Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming words or sounds at the end of each line in a song, often represented using letters to indicate the rhyme pattern, e.

g.

AABB or ABAB.

Semantic mapping is a visual technique used to organise and represent the relationships between concepts or ideas.

Impression, initial feelings about the person, place or thing gained from reading a text.

These are our keywords, let's be on the lookout for them.

Let's think carefully about these words that will be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson today is called, "Exploring Structure and language in 'London is the Place for Me'." It has two parts to it, exploring structure and exploring language.

Let's begin with exploring structure.

So what do we know so far? We know that "London is the Place for Me" was written by Aldwyn Lord Kitchener Roberts in 1948.

It was not recorded until 1951.

Aldwyn Roberts was born on April the 18th, 1922 in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago.

Roberts adopted the stage name Lord Kitchener after the British military figure Horatio Kitchener.

In 1948, Aldwyn migrated to England aboard the Empire Windrush.

His arrival coincided with a period of significant change in Britain.

And we can see an image of Lord Kitchener on our screen, perhaps getting ready to perform his song, "London is the Place for Me".

"London is the Place for Me" is a fixed verse song.

It contains four verses each with five lines, these are known as quintains, and a repeated refrain.

Let's reread and explore the structure of the poem.

I'd like you to locate verse one and identify the rhyming words.

So pause the video while you take a look at verse one and share with someone nearby which words rhyme.

Okay, so we can see in verse one the first and second lines end in words that rhyme.

The third and fourth lines end in words that rhyme and the fifth line is a similar refrain across all verses.

We can discover the rhyme scheme of the verses by assigning a letter of the alphabet to each set of rhyming lines.

So the first line ends in the word me.

We can put an A beside this line.

The next line ends in the word city, so we've got again that E sound, so again, we'll put an A there.

The next line ends in the word America.

That's a different sound, so we'll put a B.

The next line ends in the word Australia.

Again, we've got that a sound, so we'll put a B and the final line ends in the word city, so we go back to that same E sound at the end, which means we'll place an A beside that.

So what this shows us is that the first verse can be described as following the rhyme scheme of AABBA.

The refrain rhymes with the first two lines in verses one and two.

Like poetry, not all songs have a strict rhyme scheme.

The rhyme scheme varies in verses three to five.

Check for understanding.

The rhyme scheme in the first verse of the song, "London is the Place for Me" is ABCAB, ABABC, AABBA.

Pause the video while you decide which of these represents the rhyme scheme in the first verse of the song, "London is the Place for Me".

Well done if you selected answer C.

AABBA is the rhyme scheme for the first verse of the song, "London is the Place for Me".

Each set of lines in a verse should be carefully checked as some may not follow the same rhyme scheme throughout the entire song.

Structure in poetry and music refers to the way a poem or song is organised or put together, including elements such as verses, lines and rhyme scheme.

These all relate to its form and how it is presented.

Here are some examples of different structures you may find in songs.

Verse-chorus form consists of verses that build up to a repeated chorus.

Strophic form is a repetition of a musical unit, a stanza or verse, set to similar music.

These are just some of the forms found within songs, there are many more.

"London is the Place for Me" can be described as being in strophic form.

It uses the same melody repeated for each verse.

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

What effect does having the same melody for each verse have? So pause the video, listen to the song, enjoy listening to the song and share with someone nearby.

What effect does having the same melody for each verse have? So you've heard the song, I'm wondering what did you think about the effect that the same melody for each verse has? Let's hear from Alex.

Using the same melody for each verse made me focus more on the lyrics and what Lord Kitchener was saying.

Yeah, really interesting, it can help with that, can't it? Just to really focus you in on the lyrics.

Thanks for sharing that, Alex.

Check for understanding, true or false.

"London is the Place for Me" can be described as being written in strophic form.

Pause video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer.

The song has a repeated verse set to similar music.

The song has a refrain which changes slightly across the verses.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected the first statement.

Indeed, the song has a repeated verse set to similar music.

And now it's time for your task.

Now that we've explored the structure of the song, we can read it aloud with fluency and meaning.

I would like you to read the song aloud in your performance voice.

Remember to do the following.

Show the atmosphere of the poem through your expression.

Emphasise any keywords.

Show the contrast in the refrain of each verse.

And you may wish to tap or clap your hands to a steady beat to develop rhythm.

So enjoy your task, enjoy reading the song aloud in your performance voice, and I will see you after your performance.

Okay, here we are, your performance is done.

How did it go? Did you enjoy reading the song aloud? Let's hear from Sophia.

I liked adding emphasis to the refrain.

It made me reflect on how enthusiastic Lord Kitchener was about London in his lyrics.

How about Lucas? I liked including a steady beat to support my reading of the song.

It made me realise the difference in syllables between each line.

I love those different ideas there and what you brought to your performances and I hope you enjoyed your performance as well.

And now let's move on to exploring language.

While reading, we might encounter new or unfamiliar words.

There are a few strategies we can use to help us to understand the meaning of the word.

Look for a word within a word.

For example, joy in enjoyment.

Remember, if it has a capital letter, it's the name of a place or person.

Read around the word to look for other clues.

Identify the word class of the word.

Is it a noun, a verb, an adjective and so on? Replace the word with another word.

Use illustrations if applicable to give you a clue.

We are going to explore the following words using a range of strategies.

Broad-mindedly, mother, residence.

You may also wish to explore the meaning of words using a dictionary.

Always a great strategy.

So first of all, I would like you to locate the word broad-mindedly.

It can be found in verse two of the song.

So pause the video while you do this.

Okay, now we can identify smaller words within the word.

So we've got the word broad, minded and then we end with the L-Y.

So broad means wide or extensive.

Minded is having a particular mindset or way of thinking.

And ly turns the word into an adverb.

Therefore, we might say that broad-mindedly could mean thinking or acting in a way that is open and inclusive.

Check for understanding.

Refer to the lyrics.

Which meaning best describes the use of broadmindedly in the context of the song.

Lord Kitchener is offering his opinion openly.

Lord Kitchener wants the listener to believe him.

Lord Kitchener is speaking loudly.

Pause the video while you decide which of these meanings best describes the use of broad-mindedly in the context of the song.

Well done if you selected the first statement.

Indeed, Lord Kitchener is offering his opinion openly.

Lord Kitchener refers to the UK as his mother.

Locate the word mother.

It can be found in verse two of the song.

So pause the video while you do this.

Okay, so now you found the word.

To better understand the term, we can use semantic mapping.

Semantic mapping is a visual technique used to represent the relationships between words and ideas.

Semantic mapping is a technique used to explore the rich meaning of a word or phrase by creating a visual diagram that connects it to related words or ideas.

So let's begin with our word that we will be mapping, that is mother.

And then we're going to explore how it's connected to some related words or ideas.

So we have connected to mother the idea of a mother being loving, nurturing and caring for, taking care of, kind, caring, and protective.

Ooh, what lovely, lovely words.

And then we could also bring in some words or ideas that have a slightly different perspective.

So for example, authoritative.

So with authority, in charge, bossy, powerful, impressive, controlling.

So we can see quite a range of words, related words or ideas that are connected to the word mother.

Some more positive and some less positive.

Check for understanding, true or false.

Describing the country as a mother only conveys a positive image.

Pause the video while you 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 the following statements.

Describing something as mother means it is nurturing and loving.

Connections can convey both positive and negative imagery.

So pause the video while you decide which of these statements best justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement two.

Indeed, connections can convey both positive and negative imagery, and this relates to your earlier answer.

In the final verse, Lord Kitchener refers to Hampton Court as his residence.

I'd like you to locate the word residence.

It can be found in verse five of the song.

Pause the video while you do this.

Replacing the word with a known word is a strategy that involves finding a familiar synonym or a simple phrase to make an unfamiliar word easier to understand.

In the song, Lord Kitchener describes being very comfortable, adding his residence is Hampton Court.

Hampton Court is capitalised.

This means it is a proper noun, a specific name given to a particular person, place or thing.

And here is an image of Hampton Court, pretty impressive.

This is a royal palace located in South-West London.

We can think of some familiar words that might suit in the context of the verse.

These might include home, house, place where I live.

We can then replace the word in the same context.

Say the lines out loud replacing the word residence with the examples.

Pause the video while you have a go at this.

If the terms make sense, it is a likely synonym for residence.

Well done for having a go at this.

We can check our definitions by practising with another example.

His residence is in a big city.

His home is in a big city.

We can say in the context of the song that Lord Kitchener is describing his home or the place where he lives as Hampton Court.

He may be making a comparison here, using the metaphor to describe his regal home.

These are just some of the strategies that can be used to develop comprehension of new or unfamiliar words.

Words can be understood using multiple strategies.

You may wish to explore the meaning of words using a dictionary.

Always a great strategy.

Check for understanding.

Match the word to the reading approach we practised.

Mother, broad-mindedly and residence, and the strategies we used were replace the word with another word, semantic mapping, looking for a word within a word.

So pause the video while you match the word to the reading approach we practised.

So for the word mother, we used semantic mapping.

And broad-mindedly, we looked for a word within a word.

And for residence, we replaced the word with another word.

Well done if you matched the words and the reading approaches in this way.

And now it's time for our final task.

Having developed our understanding of language used in the song, answer the following questions.

What impression do you get of the country by it being referred to as a mother? And secondly, why do you think Lord Kitchener described his home as Hampton Court? What effect does it have on a reader or listener? You may wish to refer to the lyrics to support your responses.

So pause the video here, refer to the lyrics if that's helpful and then answer these two questions.

What impression do you get of the country by it being referred to as a mother? And why do you think Lord Kitchener described his home as Hampton Court? What effect does it have on the reader or listener? I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, how did you get on? So what impression do you get of the UK by it being referred to as a mother? Let's hear from Sam.

I get the impression that the United Kingdom is like apparent to Aldwyn's home country.

They have a close relationship due to the fact that the British Empire once ruled and governed his home country of Trinidad and Tobago.

Okay, thank you for your answer, Sam.

And what about the second question? Why do you think Lord Kitchener described his home as Hampton Court and what effect does it have on the reader or listener? Here's Sam again.

Lord Kitchener might have described his home as Hampton Court to convey a sense of luxury, making London sound more appealing and exciting to the reader and listener.

Hmm, really interesting idea there, thank you, Sam.

And thank you for sharing your ideas with each other.

In our lesson, "Exploring structure and language in 'London is the Place for Me'", we have covered the following.

"London is the Place for Me" is a fixed verse song.

It contains four verses each with five lines and a repeated refrain.

The first and second verses can be described as following the rhyme scheme of AABBA.

The rhyme scheme varies in verses three to five.

"London is the Place for Me" can be described as being in strophic form.

It uses the same melody repeated for each verse.

While reading, we might encounter a new or unfamiliar word.

There are a number of strategies we can use to help us to understand the meaning of the word.

Impressions can be formed about a song once readers or listeners have a secure understanding of the language used.

Well done everyone for exploring structure and language in this song, "London is the Place for Me".

I loved hearing your ideas, interpretations and impressions and I'm looking forward to exploring more in future lessons.

Bye for now.