Hello, everyone.

My name's Ms. Keller and thanks for joining me in today's lesson.

We are going to be exploring the poem, "Climbing My Grandfather" by Andrew Waterhouse, which is one of the poems in the AQA Love and Relationships poetry cluster.

So, by the end of today's lesson, we will be able to explain how Waterhouse presents the multifaceted experience of reflecting upon memories of a loved one.

Now, don't worry at this point if you don't know what the word multifaceted means.

That's okay, because it is one of the keywords of the lesson.

So, let's have a look at those keywords.

We have reminiscing, memories, ambiguous, multifaceted, and reassuring.

Reminiscing means reflecting on past experiences with fondness.

Memories are recollections of the past that shape our history and identity.

Ambiguous is something that's open to interpretation, because it could have multiple meanings.

Multifaceted, that word from the learning outcome, is having various aspects or layers.

And if we look at that definition for multifaceted, it's quite easy to see how we're going to be able to link it to that idea of something being ambiguous, something being unclear or uncertain, because it is multifaceted.

And that last word, reassuring, offering comfort, support, or confidence to alleviate concerns.

So, in order to understand "Climbing My Grandfather", we need to do three things.

Firstly, we need to think about who Andrew Waterhouse was by looking at the wider context of the poem.

Then, we need to think about what "Climbing My Grandfather" is about.

So, we'll read the poem.

We'll think about the key ideas, events, and messages that the poet's trying to convey to the reader.

And then, last of all, we're going to look at how the speaker of the poem views their grandfather.

Let's start by thinking about the wider context.

It's often being said that this poem is semi autobiographical.

So, I'd like to take a moment to discuss what the word autobiographical means.

Don't worry if you don't know.

Perhaps think about breaking it down into the different parts of the words that you can see.

Take a moment to discuss this with the people around you, or if you're working on your own, that's fine.

Make a few notes on your paper or your exercise book.

Pause the video, and then when you are ready to resume, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

I could hear lots of great responses and I just wanna pick up on some of the really good ideas that I overheard.

It was really great to see that lots of people were breaking that longer word down into the smaller parts in order to try and build up an idea of what it means.

And this actually is a really, really great technique to use when you encounter a word that's unfamiliar to you.

Look for the familiar parts and then put them together.

So, the first interesting discussion that I heard was a discussion of this prefix auto.

We see auto in words such as automatic, which means that something works by itself.

Auto is a prefix that means the self.

And then, if we have a look later in the word, we've got this idea of graph, a word that perhaps we might have seen in different subjects such as maths or science.

Graph actually means writing.

So, if we put these two words together, we get very close to the meaning of the word autobiographical, self writing.

Autobiographical writing is when somebody writes about their own life.

This could be a memoir or this could just be something like a diary.

So, let's learn a little bit about who Andrew Waterhouse was.

He was a keen environmental campaigner, which means that the environment was close to his heart and he was very passionate about nature.

And this poem draws on his interest in the natural world.

He was also a keen walker who wrote many guidebooks.

And many of his poems reflect on family relationships.

Let's stop here then and check our understanding of the wider context.

Which two statements below about Andrew Waterhouse are correct? Pause the video while you read the statements, and when you think you know which two you want to choose, press play and we'll feed back the answers.

Welcome back.

Congratulations if you said B and C.

Andrew Waterhouse was a keen environmental campaigner and he also wrote many guidebooks.

Don't worry if you said A, I actually chose this answer, because it covers a common misconception that people might have about the poet.

Because the poem is entitled, "Climbing My Grandfather", I can understand if you saw the word climber and you assumed that this was correct.

Now, we've learned a little bit about Andrew Waterhouse and his influences.

I'd like to start making some links between that contextual information and what happens in the poem.

Let's start by just looking at the title.

What do you predict the poem, "Climbing My Grandfather", will be about? I'd like you to create a mind map and use some of that contextual information to help you develop your ideas.

Let's have a look at that example response there on the left.

So, I've said the word climbing could link to adventure and exploring.

And what I know about Waterhouse is that he was a keen walker and he wrote those expert guidebooks.

So, take a few minutes to have a think about this title and have a think about that context information that we've covered.

Pause the video, and then when you're ready to continue, press play and we'll feed back some responses.

Okay, welcome back.

Lots of fantastic ideas there.

I'm really pleased to see that we're getting to grips with this contextual information and using it to make some really, really great predictions.

I'd just like to pick up on some of the ideas that I overheard.

So, the first one also linked to this word climbing.

And somebody said that it could link to childish behaviour, which suggests that the speaker could be reminiscing about the childhood.

I really like this idea, because it's starting to give us a bit of an image of the sort of speaker that we're going to be hearing from.

And then, another great response I overheard was that Waterhouse wrote about family relationships and they were linking to this idea that the poem could be semi autobiographical.

What I particularly liked about this idea was the use of the word could.

Could is tentative language, which is really important.

Because we can't actually know why Andrew Waterhouse wrote the poem.

We can just make an informed prediction.

We know that he wrote poetry about family relationships, so we may assume that he's writing about his own life.

So, let's move on then to thinking about what the poem is all about.

So, first things first, we need to read it.

While you're reading, I would like you to think about the following questions.

What are your initial thoughts of the poem and what feelings or emotions do you get while reading it? Read it through once or twice, perhaps underlying keywords and phrases as you go along.

And then, take some time to discuss your initial thoughts with the people around you, or if you're working on your own, make some notes ready to feed back.

Pause the video, and then when you're ready to continue, press play.

Welcome back.

Let's discuss what this poem is all about.

So, here's what some of our Oak students said after reading it for the first time.

Have a look at these responses.

I'd like you to decide who you most agree with.

So, on the left there, we've got Lucas who says, "The speaker compares his grandfather to a mountain." In the middle, we've got Jacob, who says, "The speaker uses nature to describe his grandfather's appearance." And then, over on the right, we have Sofia, who says, "The speaker's memories of his grandfather are positive." So, pause the video, discuss this with the people around you or make a few notes, and then press play when you are ready to discuss it.

Well, welcome back.

Some absolutely fantastic discussions taking place there.

So well done.

I'd just like to discuss some of these responses in a little bit more detail.

So, lots of you were debating Lucas and Jacob's views, because they're quite similar, but there were some key differences.

So, Lucas says the speaker compares his grandfather to a mountain, which is accurate.

That's what happens in the poem.

However, could Lucas have added a little bit more detail to this response? Yes, he could.

And it seems as though that's what Jacob's trying to do.

So, Jacob says the speaker uses nature to describe his grandfather's appearance.

So, already, Jacob has taken his response just a step further.

Because actually, the poem does describe how his grandfather is like a mountain, but using lots of different elements of nature.

And these elements of nature are mostly used to describe his grandfather's appearance.

So, the poem picks up on different parts of his grandfather's body, for example.

However, this was where Jacob's response didn't quite hit the nail on the head, because not only does the poet describe his grandfather's appearance, but he also focuses on some aspects of his personality.

So, let's just move on to Sofia's response there on the right, because a lot of people were picking up on some of the things that she said.

So, she thought the speaker's memories of his grandfather are positive.

A lot of people around the room were agreeing with that, because yes, the poet does create a peaceful, a tranquil scene.

However, the speaker's climb up his grandfather's body is not entirely positive.

And this is something that I'd like to come onto now as we discuss the journey of the poem.

Before we do that, let's just stop and check for understanding.

So, the speaker's memories of his grandfather are mostly but not entirely positive.

Have a think about your opinions on this statement and decide if you think it is true or false.

Pause the video while you're thinking, and then click play when you want to reveal the answer.

Well done if you said that this statement was true.

So, now, have a look at these two explanations and decide which one you think best justifies your answer.

Again, pause the video, and when you are ready to reveal the answer, click play.

The correct answer was B.

As the poem progresses, the climb becomes increasingly difficult and dangerous.

Yes, at the beginning of the poem, the climb and the exploration seems easy and peaceful, but we have that bit in the middle where the poet starts to link to ideas of risk, danger, and challenges.

And that's something that we are now going to look at in a little bit more detail.

So, let's track the journey of the poem, thinking about what is happening at each stage.

At the beginning, the speaker feels safe and excited to explore.

They describe it as an easy scramble and they don't take a rope or net on their climb.

Now, remember, the poem is an extended metaphor for climbing the mountain, but really, the speaker is using this metaphor to reflect on climbing up their grandfather's body as a child.

So, no, they wouldn't take an actual rope or an actual net, but we can see the rope or the net here as symbolic for protection.

So, the speaker feels that this climb will be easy and also that they don't need protection, which suggests that the grandfather is a familiar figure to them.

However, as they climb, it becomes increasingly difficult.

The higher they scramble up their grandfather's body, they look down and realise that climbing has its dangers.

So, here, we do have that idea of risk and challenge.

But by the end of the poem, when the speaker reaches the summit, their grandfather's head, they are exhausted but triumphant, they are proud that they have made it.

So, they lie back looking at the birds circling in the sky and gasping for breath.

So, it has been a difficult climb to make it up to the top, but they're rewarded at the end with that peaceful experience.

So, it's interesting to think about the layers of meaning here.

We have the idea that Waterhouse is talking about climbing a mountain, and we already know that this is an extended metaphor for describing what it was like as a child to climb up their grandfather's body.

But we could also consider another layer of meaning here, that this journey could also represent what it's like for our speaker in the present day to reflect on this childhood memory.

Perhaps when they first think about this moment, it feels safe and exciting for them to remember.

However, this memory is not entirely positive.

And as they remember, there are moments that the speaker finds challenging or difficult, but by the end, they're glad that they did.

They're glad that they remembered this experience with their grandfather, even if it was a little bit more difficult and challenging than they thought it was going to be.

So, I'd like to stop for a moment of discussion.

I'd like you to think really carefully about what each part of this poem and the speaker's journey to climb suggests about their feelings for their grandfather.

Pause the video for a few moments and discuss this or make some notes.

And when you are ready to feed back your answers, click play.

Okay, welcome back.

Some absolutely fantastic discussions taking place again.

It's so great to see that you're all getting to grips with this poem.

So, let's have a look at the beginning of the poem and how this suggests the speaker feels about his grandfather.

I heard lots of people picking up on this idea of it being an easy scramble.

The adjective easy here obviously suggests that this is something that the speaker has good feelings about.

They're not worried at this stage, which could suggest that the grandfather is a familiar and safe and comfortable figure to the speaker.

I overheard some people picking up on this idea of it being a scramble as well.

As we said at the beginning, this word scramble does make us think of that childish behaviour of somebody scrambling up their grandfather's body.

But it also links to this idea of the grandfather is a familiar figure, because even a child wouldn't scramble all over their grandfather's body if they didn't feel comfortable and familiar with them.

So, they're moving on to the middle of the poem and how the climb becomes increasingly difficult.

So, this could suggest two things really.

First of all, in a literal sense, it emphasises the difference in size between our childhood speaker and our adult grandfather.

Now, we've grown up a little bit.

It's hard for us to remember quite how enormous everything seems when you are little.

So, it really emphasises this idea of the child wanting to be adventurous, wanting to explore, but scrambling halfway up his grandfather's body and looking down and thinking, uh-oh, I'm higher up than I thought I would be.

But we also have this idea of worry and the speaker feeling perhaps a little bit worried about the grandfather at this stage too.

And then, at the top, we've got the idea that the speaker is exhausted but triumphant.

So, again, we're emphasising this idea of the enormity of the adult grandfather over the childhood speaker, because the climb has been a difficult one.

They're gasping for breath, they're exhausted by the time that they've made it to the top, the grandfather's head.

But also the tranquil and peaceful image that Waterhouse gives us at the end of the speaker lying back and watching the bird's circle suggests that being up at the top right up there with the grandfather's head and his face and his brain and his personality perhaps is something that the speaker feels is rewarding.

So, let's check our understanding of what happens in the poem.

How does the speaker feel at the beginning? Have a look at the three options.

Decide which one you think most accurately describes the speaker's feelings at the beginning of the poem.

And then, when you are ready to continue, let's pause here then and check our understanding of what happens in the poem.

How does the speaker feel at the beginning of the poem? Pause the video, have a look at the options, and decide which one you most agree with and when you are ready to go through the answer, click play and we'll continue.

Well done if you said C.

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker feels safe and excited to explore.

So, let's put this knowledge of the poem to the test.

I have a practise activity for you all to try.

So, what I would like you to do is find a quotation from the poem that supports each of the statements in this table.

So, we are thinking about what we've just discussed, how the speaker feels at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the poem.

So, read through the poem again, pause this video for as long as you need to to give this a really good go.

And when you've completed all the boxes, press play and we'll have a look at some of the quotes you could have chosen.

Okay, welcome back.

I was really pleased to see so many of you giving this task a really good go.

So, let's have a look at what you could have written.

So, the first statement was in the beginning, the speaker views his grandfather as safe and familiar.

So, some example quotes that you could have written were the idea of that easy scramble or the fact that the speaker climbs without a rope or a net.

The second box then, as he climbs further, the speaker becomes concerned about the risks.

You could have written the fact that he was not looking down.

Perhaps he'd got so high that it was a bit too scary to look down at the floor at that point.

And also the idea that climbing has its dangers, because that word danger is linking to the idea of a challenge or a risk.

And then, the last statement, by the end of the poem, the speaker is exhausted by his climb, but feels triumphant and content.

And again, we've got that idea that they were gasping for a breath, they were exhausted, but they could only lie watching the clouds and birds circle.

So, we have that lovely image coupled with the speakers exhaustion at the difficulty of the climb.

Fantastic.

So, we are well over halfway through the lesson and we are moving on to this last section, where we'll be thinking about how the speaker views their grandfather.

I'd like to start this part of the lesson with another discussion, and I'd like you to think about what words you might use to describe Waterhouse's grandparent.

So, pause the video for as long as you need to.

Have another read through the poem and discuss it with the people around you or make some notes on your paper.

Press play when you're ready to continue and we'll feed back some of the responses.

Okay, welcome back.

Some absolutely fantastic discussions taking place again.

So, well done.

I was overhearing lots of amazing words and vocabulary that people were using to describe the grandparent, and in particular, some people draw in on those keywords from the lesson.

So, well done if you picked up on the idea that the grandfather is an ambiguous figure.

It's not clear or certain exactly how we might describe him, because there's lots of different sides to him that are shown to us in this poem.

He is familiar and reassuring at the beginning of the poem, for example.

And the speaker describes how climbing his body is a safe and exciting adventure.

Yet at other parts in the poem, we get this idea that he is wise and mysterious, because of the life experiences that he has had.

So, the descriptions of the grandfather are multifaceted since they tell us about his appearance and about his personality, and they give us these different sides to him.

Again, we're seeing that link here between the word multifaceted and ambiguous, because the descriptions of the grandfather are complex and they have these layers, they're multifaceted.

We are then able to perceive him as an ambiguous figure, a character that we can't quite describe succinctly perhaps in one single word.

So, if we just have a look at a few of these quotes, then that link to this idea of the grandfather being wise and mysterious.

So, we have earth-stained hand, a glassy ridge of a scar, which both suggest that he has a mysterious past.

The idea of somebody's earth-stained hands suggests that they've got their hands dirty, they've had some life experiences, and they haven't just remained in a bubble where they've not experienced the world.

And again, this idea of a glassy ridge of a scar.

The grandfather's skin is a map or a collage of his life experiences and the scars that perhaps he's collected along the way.

Now, we may all have different scars that we've collected over the course of our life, perhaps scrapes that we got into when we were little.

And although not all of these memories are positive, they're still memories of experiences that we've had and we've learned from all of them.

So, this links to this idea that he would be wise.

But then also, we have descriptions that show us he's familiar and reassuring, such as smiley mouth or the slow pulse of his good heart.

He's a reassuring and familiar presence, because he's smiling, he's somebody that the speaker views as a positive character.

And we also have this idea that he has a good heart.

And that phrase that somebody has a good heart usually means that they're genuine, they're kind and compassionate.

So, let's just pause and check our understanding again.

Which of these quotes suggests a grandfather is a reassuring figure? Have a look at the quotes below.

Pause the video for as long as you need to to decide, and then when you are ready, click play and we'll discuss the answer.

Congratulations if you said B, the slow pulse of his good heart.

Remember this idea of somebody having a good heart means they're genuine, they're kind, they're compassionate, which could suggest that the speaker views them as a reassuring figure.

Let's have another go then.

Which of these quotes suggest the grandfather is a mysterious figure? So, we're thinking about that other side to his character.

So, pause the video again, have a look at the quotes, and then click play when you are ready to continue.

So, well done if you said C, because remember that idea of the earth-stained hands suggests he's gone out in the world, had some life experiences, and got his hands dirty in the process.

So, onto our final task of the lesson.

What I would like you to do is to write an answer to the question, how does the speaker view their grandfather? So, we're bringing together all this knowledge from the lesson.

So, we are thinking about our speaker's feelings towards their grandfather, what we know happens in the poem, and perhaps any of that relevant contextual information from the beginning.

And what we'd like you to do also is to challenge yourself to use as many words from this vocabulary bank as you can to help you add detail to your response.

So, if you feel that this is something that you want to challenge yourself with, then go ahead and get started, and pause the video for as long as you need and then click play when you are ready to feed back your response.

Or if you're not quite sure how to get going, then feel free to use these sentence starters.

Use as much or as little of this writing frame as you need to get you going with your answer.

Again, pause the video for as long as you need to, and then when you are ready to get started, click play and we'll continue.

Okay, welcome back.

If any of your hands are hurting from all that writing, make sure that you give them a good squeeze.

But be rest assured, a sore hand is often the sign of a good and detailed answer.

So, let's have a look at a response that Sofia wrote answering this question.

As we're reading, I would like you to compare it to the answer you've written and think really carefully about whether you have included everything on the checklist.

So, Sofia said, "The speaker views their grandfather as a reassuring presence.

This is evident at the beginning of the poem, when the speaker describes how they climb without a rope or a net.

This suggests they feel safe around their grandfather and know he will protect them since they're not worried about falling.

Waterhouse was known for writing about family relationships, so it's likely this heartwarming description is semi autobiographical." So, first of all, it was really great to see Sofia using lots of those words from that vocabulary bank.

So, now, let's have a look at her answer and see how well she included the things on the checklist.

So, did she answer the question? Well, yes, she did there in the first sentence, the speaker views their grandfather as a reassuring presence.

Remember our question was, how does the speaker view their grandfather? A really good way to make sure that you answer the question is to use some of those keywords from it and move them around for your sentence starter, which is exactly what her Sofia has done here.

Did she include evidence? Yes, she did.

And we can actually see that with the key word evident there on line three of her response.

This is evident at the beginning of the poem, and then she includes a quotation.

Did she develop her ideas? Well, yes, she did.

She said this suggests that they feel safe around their grandfather.

So, she developed her ideas by making an inference about the quotation.

And last of all, did she link to context? Well, yes, she did write there in that last sentence, Waterhouse was known for writing about family relationships.

So, it's likely this heartwarming description is semi autobiographical.

So, at this point, pause the video again and compare Sofia's response to your own.

Did you include everything on the checklist? If you did, fantastic.

If not, don't worry.

Take a moment and add a sentence or two to make sure that you have included everything.

So, there we are.

We've made it to the end of today's lesson.

Let's just summarise what we've learned.

The speaker of the poem is reminiscing about a childhood memory of climbing their grandfather's body.

And they compare this journey to climbing a mountain.

It's likely that this poem is semi autobiographical.

The grandfather is presented as an ambiguous figure who is reassuring yet mysterious.

And lastly, Waterhouse often wrote about the natural world and family relationships.

I'd like to take a moment here just to say a massive well done for all the effort that you've put into today's lesson.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at this poem as much as I have, and I hope to see you again soon.

Have a great day.