Hello there.

Great to see you today.

My name's Mr. Barnsley.

Thank you so much for joining me as we continue to study the poetry from the Edexcel Belonging poetry anthology.

And today, we're gonna be looking at in more detail at "Captain Cook To My Brother." This is a fantastic poem about childhood, childhood relationships, and how they changed.

It's gonna be a really interesting exploration into this idea of belonging.

Now, you should have looked at this poem before today's lesson.

This shouldn't be the first time you have read this poem.

So do make sure you give yourself some time to really explore and understand the poem before you start today's lesson.

You are gonna need a copy of the poem, so do make sure you have either your copy of the anthology open in front of you, or just a copy of the poem, but you are going to need it.

And once you have everything you need, then I think it's time for us to get started.

Let's dive in.

Okay, let's have a look at today's outcome then.

So by the end of today's lesson, you are gonna be able to explain how Landon uses language and structure to express her viewpoint.

Some key words we are going to be keeping an eye out for today, idyllic, ominous, foreboding, imaginary, and euphony.

Idyllic means a place or experience which is extremely pleasant, beautiful, or peaceful.

Ominous, suggests that something unpleasant is likely to happen.

Foreboding is this feeling that something bad is going to happen.

Imaginary is something created by and existing only in the mind.

And euphony is the combining of words to create a pleasing sound.

Do keep an eye on them and see if we can use them in some of our discussions later in the lesson.

All right, so we're gonna be analysing the poem of "Captain Cook To My Brother." This shouldn't be the first time you have read it.

You should have looked it before.

And in the first part of today's lesson, in the first learning cycle, we're gonna be analysing the image of an idyllic childhood.

And then in the second, we're gonna be focusing on the change of tone.

But let's start by looking at this idyllic, this perfect childhood.

So, it's arguably Landon presents this idyllic, almost perfect version of childhood in "Captain Cook To My Brother".

Over to you though, to try and find some evidence to prove this inference.

Which lines do you think demonstrate this idyllic version of childhood? Pause the video.

Make sure you've got your copy of the poem in front of you.

Have a forensic look and identify those lines which demonstrate that kind of almost perfect version of childhood.

Over to you, you can do this in pairs if you have a partner, otherwise, you can just do this independently.

Pause the video, have a look, find some evidence, and press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Let's look at some of the quotations that you might have found.

So you might have drawn attention to, "We took our future, to fashion as we might." You might have looked at this line, "A mine of long delight." You might have looked at this line, "The water lilies growing beneath the morning smile." And of course, you might have found some others as well.

What I want us to do now is to dive into some of these in a little bit more detail, and think about how they create this idyllic version of childhood.

So let's really deconstruct some of these lines.

Let's start with "The water lilies growing beneath the morning smile." Some things, some questions we're gonna answer to help us real deconstruct, to explode this quotation, to really think about what it's saying.

How might "water" create a really peaceful kind of mood? We're thinking about this idyllic, peaceful, kind of heavenly almost.

How might water create that peaceful mood? What about lilies? What do they represent? How might "beneath" create this kind of soothing tone? And what about this phrase, "morning smile"? What do you think a "morning smile" is a metaphor for? And how does that create an idyllic tone? All right, over to you to take some time to really deconstruct this line, deconstruct this quotation and think about how does it create this idyllic view of childhood.

If you've got a partner, you can work with them, you can work through these questions with them.

Otherwise, you can just think through them independently, and maybe even make some notes on your copy of the poem if you wish.

All right, pause the video and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at some of the things you might have said.

So you might talked about how "water" is really pure and rejuvenating.

We can can really think about it bringing people kind of back to life.

It gives us life, it gives us energy.

So that can make, kind of create this really like idyllic view of childhood.

"Lilies" can represent peace and purity.

Lilies are often white, and we might think of them as a symbol of peace.

"Beneath," you might have thought about beneath representing protection and feeling safe.

Then the "morning smile," I wonder if anyone said the sun, maybe the sunrise, the morning smile, which seems to be this image of hope and positivity.

So this line here really contains so much positivity, pureness, peacefulness.

It really helps create this idyllic view of childhood.

What about "We took our future, to fashion as we might"? Things we could look out.

How does the repetition of the word "we" create an idyllic vision? What about the repetition of the sound F, that F sound? How does that help create this idyllic atmosphere? Listen to it, as you say, "our future to fashion." Okay, why don't you pause the video again and have a think about these two questions and think about how they're working together to create this really idyllic view of childhood.

Pause the video, have a think, press play when you've got some ideas.

Okay, so you might have talked about this collective pronoun.

"We" really suggests this sense of unity, and therefore harmony.

You know, when you and I work as a "we," it suggests we are working harmoniously together, and it really creates this sense of unity and community, and therefore, I think builds this idyllic view of childhood.

But I really like people who talk, use this keyword euphony.

These sounds which kind of work really nicely together and create this almost harmonious sound.

So we can link the harmony from the pronoun to the euphonic sounds in "future to fashion." They're really soft, pleasant.

Again, there's something really peaceful about this line as we say it out loud.

Okay, it sounds pleasant and peaceful to the ear.

Again, building on this idea of an idyllic childhood.

"A mine of long delight" then.

"A mine of long delight." Let's think about this line.

What are the connotations of a "mine"? And how might that add to an idyllic vision? What about "long delight"? How do the long vowel sounds add to the idyllic atmosphere? "Long delight." Okay, say it out loud, think how it sounds.

All right, pause the video, over to you to do some thinking and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

I wonder if you said something about "mine," it's kind of deep underground, which might sound scary, but we could also see it's like looking for treasures.

It's excitement.

It means depth.

The "long delight," these long vowel sounds.

We've got more example of euphony here creating this soft, pleasant to the ear sound that kind of really creates this sense of harmony and joy.

Now, let's consider structure.

I want you to look back at the poem and see if you can spot a rhyme scheme of "Captain Cook To My Brother," and how might the rhyme scheme adds to this idea of idyllic childhood.

So you're gonna need a copy of the poem.

You need to have it open in front of you.

You need to be looking at those final words of each line, and see if you can spot any kind of rhyme scheme.

And once you can, or if you can, can you link it to this idea of an idyllic childhood? All right, pause the video, give us a go, press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

I wonder if you spotted this had a very regular rhyme scheme.

The lines were an AABB, rhyming couplets.

And how can we leave this to the idea of an idyllic childhood as a sense of harmony? Well, it's almost like there are two pairs of lines existing within the same stanza, and it creates this almost sense of harmony, these two rhyming couplets working together, to create this collective, this stanza, almost potentially reflective of the brother and the sister, kind of linked together.

Two separate couplets but linked together in harmony within this stanza, representing of the children playing as kind of two individuals but creating one kind of harmonious, kind of imaginary game together.

I wonder if you said something similar.

Really great if you can kind of take these structural ideas and be really creative with linking them to the messages, and the ideas, and the themes of the poem.

All right, let's pause for a moment and check to see how we are getting on.

Which of the following statements about the idyllic image of childhood are true? Is it A, that Landon uses an irregular structure to represent the freedom of childhood? Is it B, that Landon uses euphony to create a pleasing, harmonious atmosphere? Is it C, that Landon uses the imagery of daffodils to create the image of hope and new beginnings? Pause the video, have a think about which of these answers might be correct, and press play when you think you are ready to find out if you were right.

Really well done if you said B there.

Landon uses euphony, those harmonious sounds, to create a pleasing atmosphere.

All right, over to you then for our first task in today's lesson.

Throughout "Captain Cook To My Brother," Landon refers to imaginary games in order to illustrate the idyllic nature of childhood.

I want you to think about the question you can see on the screen.

What might the focus of imaginary games to create this idyllic vision of childhood represent? Why use this idea of imaginary games? Some things you might wish to consider.

What might this suggest, comparing games to this idyllic childhood? What it might suggest about childhood? And what could it even suggest about the reality of Landon's childhood? Now I think this would be a perfect task to do as a discussion.

If you've got a partner, you can work through this together.

Remember, you can add to each other's ideas, you can build on each other's ideas, you can even challenge each other's ideas if you do so respectfully.

If you're working by yourself and you don't have someone to discuss with, that's absolutely fine.

You can either jot few ideas down, or just think independently.

How would you respond to this question if you were having a discussion? So pause the video, give yourself plenty of time to think and discuss what might the focus on imaginary games to create this idyllic version of childhood represent.

All right, pause video, give it a go, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, some fantastic discussions there.

And before we move on to the second part of today's lesson, I do want us to take a moment to pause and reflect on the discussions that we've had so far.

And we're gonna do that by comparing our work to the Oak pupils.

And whenever we compare our work to model examples, model ideas, we can always ask ourselves, "Do our ideas align to theirs?" "Are there any similarities?" "Where are their differences?" And, "Are those differences interesting to us, and might we want to use those differences to help us develop our own in understanding interpretations of poems?" So let's have a look at what Laura and Sofia wrote then, shall we? Laura said, "I think the focus on imaginary play to create an idyllic vision of childhood suggests that children should be allowed space and time to explore and be imaginative." Sofia said, "I think the sole focus on imaginary games could suggest that Landon is aware that perhaps her memories of childhood and her relationship with her brother aren't truly real." They are changed.

You know, they are just memories.

So pause the video and have a think about how these ideas compare to the discussions or the thinking that you had been doing.

And think there are any ideas that you want to take forward that are gonna help you develop your understanding of these poems. All right, pause the video, take some time to reflect, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

We are now about to dive into our second learning cycle, where we're gonna start thinking about the change in tone.

So whilst Landon arguably creates an idyllic vision of childhood, arguably, there is this shift in tone around the sixth stanza, where things become more ominous.

There is this suggestion that everything isn't quite what it seems. Which line in the sixth stanza do you think represents this shift in tone and why? I want you to pause your video, have a think.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss with them, and press play when you think you have found the line which you think represents that shift in tone.

All right, over to you, pause video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back.

I heard lots of great suggestions there.

I heard some of you talking about this word, this phrase, the "lonely garden." I think it really takes that shift because the garden no longer represents that connection.

It no longer represents that place of imagination and play, and that connection that the siblings had.

I heard some of you talking about leaving childhood.

It represents the shift because it shows them leaving that part of their life behind, leaving those memories behind, leaving that relationship and that connection behind.

So although the shift in tone kind of clearly markedly happens in the six stanza, arguably, there are moments that foreshadow this shift before then.

Which words do you think create this foreboding tone that make us think "Oof, something's not quite right and it's making me feel like something bad is going to happen." Again, pause the video, and if you've got a partner, you can share some ideas.

Otherwise, you can just think through this independently.

Pause the video, have a think, press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

I wonder if you said something similar to Oak pupil who said, "August evening" creates this sense of foreboding.

Because actually, August is kind of towards the end of the summer.

We know that the warmth and light of those long summer days where we could play late into the evening are coming to an end, and that maybe feels a little bit foreboding.

I heard some of you talking about the light being described as being dim, getting darker.

That lack of light could suggest a lack of hope, a lack of positivity.

Well done if you picked either of those.

And of course, you might have slightly different ideas as well.

Now, we've talked already about the regularity in the rhyme, the AABB rhyme scheme, and that could create a sense of unity or harmony.

But perhaps we could also flip it on its head and it could be interpreted in a slightly ominous way as well.

So how might that very regular rhyme scheme, AABB, create an ominous tone? How could it foreshadow the breakdown of Landon's relationship with her brother? Why don't you pause the video and have a think, have a discuss.

This is a tricky question.

So, you might want to take a little bit of time here to throw some ideas out.

And it's okay to go, "I'm gonna try this idea and I might think.

Actually, it's not quite fitting, it's not quite working, so I'm gonna try another one." All right, over to you, pause the video, discuss, think, press play when you've got some creative ideas.

Right.

Welcome back there.

Really well done for giving this a go.

I really liked what I heard some of you saying is that, "Yes, we've got these couplets, these rhyming couplets, AABB." And in the first argument saying, "Well, maybe they're together, they're creating harmony within a stanza." But I heard some of you saying, "They were still very separate.

There is this couplet here, and this couplet here.

And they could represent almost that separation, the individuality between the poet and her brother." And actually, there isn't that interweaving.

Sometimes we might see a poem which has the rhyme scheme, ABAB, but there seems to be some form of separation here, one could argue.

We also know the shift in tone is really cemented through the destruction of the garden.

In contrast to its former life and beauty, we now see, towards the kind of the second half of the poem, the garden is not a single tree or flower.

What do you think the "destruction of the garden" could be a metaphor for? What could it represent? Again, over to you to do some thinking here with partners or individually.

Pause the video, have a think, what could the "destruction of the garden" be a metaphor for? Do press play when you've got some ideas.

Yes, I wonder if you said something like the loss of childhood play, the loss of exploration.

That garden represented where so many of these imaginary games happened.

So the "destruction" could be a metaphor for all of that childhood play and exploration that's been lost.

Or it could be a metaphor for the breakdown of the relationship between the siblings.

It was once a symbol of their connectivity of where they played together.

But now, the lack of life there could also represent the lack of life in their relationship.

Well done if you had either of those ideas, and of course you might have had slightly different ideas as well.

Okay, let's pause for a moment.

True or false? The light imagery in Landon's "Captain Cook To My Brother" arguably creates a foreboding atmosphere.

Is that true or false? Pause video, have a think, and press play when you think you've got the right answer.

Well done if you said that was true.

Let's justify that then.

Is it A, the dim light evokes a lack of positivity and hope? Or is it B, the low light creates a sinister tone? Which of those is the right justification? Which of those is evidence from the poem? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Well done if you said A, the dim light, that is a quotation for the poem.

We could argue that evokes a lack of positivity, a lack of hope for their relationship.

Onto our final task in today's lesson.

So we know that Landon's "Captain Cook To My Brother" is included in the Edexcel Belonging anthology.

And belonging means a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group.

So I want you to think about what do you think Landon's portrayal of an idyllic childhood, which then has this ominous shift in tone, suggests for the concept of belonging? I want you to write a short answer, no more than one paragraph.

Some things that you may wish to consider in your response.

How the foreboding imagery is woven into this idyllic setting.

And the metaphorical "destruction of the garden" and what it could represent.

All right, you're gonna write this paragraph, really collect all of the ideas that we've discussed in today's lesson.

Combining this idea of the idyllic childhood with the ominous shift.

What is it telling us about belonging, do you think? All right, pause the video, give this your best shot, and press play when you think you are done.

Welcome back.

Fantastic to see you writing with such confidence there.

It really shows that you paid attention to all the discussions, all the thinking that we've been doing, and super well done to anyone who checked their spelling, punctuation, and grammar before they put their pen down.

That is what we like to see.

All right, we're gonna finish the lesson by reflecting on the work that we have done by comparing it to a model example.

And remember, when we're looking at model examples, we can think, how does this align to mine? What are the similarities? What are the differences? And are there any differences that I really like and might take and use in my own work? So Sofia wrote, "I think Landon's "Captain Cook To My Brother" suggest that we can never truly feel safe in belonging anywhere.

The ominous imagery of dim lights and the end of summer woven into the idyllic portrayal of childhood suggests that it was never truly a safe space.

Furthermore, the metaphorical "destruction of the garden" suggests that not only could we never be sure that our sense of belonging can't be taken away from us, but also that we can't rely on connections to other people, including our family, to stay the same forever." So Sofia's actually picking out that this poem really has this quite melancholic, almost quite despondent feeling towards this sense of belonging.

It might feel there's some real positivity in this idyllic presentation of childhood at times.

But the ominous imagery really suggests that maybe this sense of belonging is something that we can never feel 100% secure in.

Over to you now to pause the video and compare your work to Sofia's.

And if you like any of her ideas and you think you can use them to improve your response, now is the time to do so.

Pause the video, give it a go, and press play when you are done.

Okay, that's it.

We've reached the end of today's lesson.

We've done some deeper analysis of Landon's poem, "Captain Cook To My Brother." On the screen you can see a summary of the learning that we have covered.

Let's go through this together so you can feel really confident before you move on to your next lesson.

We've learned that Landon uses euphony and symbolism to create an idyllic view of childhood.

Structurally, the regular rhyme scheme could contribute to ideas of harmony and unity in childhood, but arguably, there is a tonal shift in the six stanza where childhood is left behind.

However, we might also interpret the light imagery in prior stanzas as being foreboding.

The "destruction of the garden" could be a metaphor for a loss of childhood and a breakdown of Landon's relationship with her brother.

Great works and fantastic discussion, and brilliant independent writing today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I do hope to see you in one of our lessons again in the future.

Okay, bye-bye for now.