Hello there.

Mr. Barnsley here.

Fantastic to see you today.

Thank you so much for joining me as we continue to explore the poetry in the "Edexcel Belonging Anthology." And today we are gonna take a deeper dive into Grace Nichols' poem, "Island Man." So we're gonna be looking at the language, the form, the structure, and really thinking about the messages that Nichols is sharing with us.

So you are gonna need a copy of the anthology or a copy of the poem in front of you.

And once you've got that, it's time for us to begin.

Let's go.

So let's have a look at today's outcome.

By the end of the lesson, you are gonna be able to explain how Grace Nichols uses language, form, and structure to express her viewpoints and her messages in this poem.

Some key words to look out for in today's lesson.

Then the first is migrant.

And this is a person who moves from one place to another.

The next is the adjective, monotonous.

And this describes something that is dull, tedious, repetitious.

It lacks in variety.

It's not particularly very interesting.

Another word to look out for is nonconformity.

And this is the quality of living or thinking in a way that is different from other people, not acting in the way that others may be acting.

The next word is belonging, a key word for this anthology of poetry.

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

And finally, the word groggy.

We see this word in the poem when it's an adverb, groggily, and it means weak and unable to think clearly or walk correctly usually because of tiredness or illness.

So let's keep an eye out for all of the these words in today's lesson and let's see if we can use them in some of our own discussions.

Okay, so there are three parts to today's lesson.

First, we're gonna focus on the language in the poem "Island Man." Then, we're gonna look at the form.

And finally, we will finish with the structure.

So let's dive in straight away by looking at the language.

So arguably Nichols presents the Island Man as dreaming of his home in the Caribbean.

And that's a real contrast to the reality of his life living in London.

And throughout the two opening stanzas we see there is a real focus on the imagery of the sea.

So over to you now for our first discussion question.

What are the connotations of the sea? What ideas come to mind when you think of the sea? Pause the video.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss with them.

Otherwise, you can just think through this independently.

Alright, over to you.

Welcome back.

I heard lots of different ideas there.

I heard lots of you talking about the sea representing freedom or peace.

I heard people talking potentially about holidays and relaxation and kind of the vastness of the sea representing this freedom.

Lots of kind of really positive connotations.

At the same time I heard a number of you talking about, actually, the sea being this really powerful entity.

And some of you even saying it's incredibly dangerous.

These words may be having more negative connotations.

What I want you to think about is which of these connotations feels the most appropriate? I would argue it's Sam's, okay? Not that the Izzy is wrong, but when we're thinking about the sea in the poem "Island Man," I think the connotations of freedom and peace feel more suitable to the kind of ideas that maybe Nichols is trying to make us feel, the emotions and feelings that Nichols is trying to make us feel.

Can you now go and look at the opening stanza of this poem, and can you find a word in there that you think that Sam could use to really support her interpretation of the poem that, actually, in this poem, the sea represents freedom and peace.

Alright, pause the video, go and look at that first stanza, and come and press play when you think you found a word.

Welcome back.

I wonder if you picked the same word as Sam who said steady really implies a calmness to the waves.

So these are calm waves, as opposed to the really stormy, powerful, dangerous waves that Izzy might have been thinking of.

And actually it suggests in this poem, the sea is more than likely gonna be creating positive connotations to us as we read this poem.

Alright, let's now compare these ideas of freedom that we associate with the sea and the way that London has been depicted in the poem.

So which image in the final stanza could also potentially be seen as suggesting freedom? Okay, so look for an image towards the end of the poem in that final stanza that might also suggest freedom.

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

Welcome back.

I wonder if you said a similar thing to Izzy.

She picked out those words, metallic and wheels, which kind of create this idea, this image of a car.

And some may argue that a car suggests freedom.

So which words that we at see in the poem suggest that the image of the car could also imply a sense of freedom.

So why might some people argue this image of a car could suggest this sense of freedom? Which words might people use to make that justification? Pause the video.

Have a think with your partner or by yourself.

And press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

I wonder if like Izzy, you saw words like soar or surge can really imply freedom 'cause these are words, these are verbs that suggest this sense of movement.

If you are soaring or surging, you are moving towards something.

And particularly that word soaring has got this idea of lightness.

I can imagine something flying, kind of soaring through the sky, freedom, light in the air.

However, I think people might also argue that the end of the poem doesn't suggest freedom.

So are there any words in that final, towards the end of the poem when we're thinking of that image of the car, which actually don't suggest freedom, suggest the opposite? Pause video, have a think, have a look, and press play when you think you found some words.

Welcome back.

I wonder if you picked out this adjective dull.

Actually, 'cause this really implies that the car doesn't in fact bring freedom.

You might have also picked out this word roar which suggests that the car is actually quite intimidating, it's loud, it's overwhelming, rather than the peacefulness that we'd seen Nichols describing the sea as being.

All right then, let's take this back to this idea of belonging, then.

I want to consider the implications of Nichols' language choice and how we relate it to this idea of belonging, 'cause we know that this poem is from a cluster of poems in the anthology all about belonging, and belonging means being that feeling of being happy and comfortable as part of a particular group.

Where do you think Island Man feels as if he belongs and why? What evidence do you have to support your inference? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

I heard some great ideas there.

I heard lots of people saying something similar to Sam, that the Island Man really feels like he belongs in the Caribbean.

There's a sense of peace and freedom when he thinks about it, and we can make these links to that imagery of the sea.

So what do you think, then? Let's dig deeper, then.

What the implications of this are in terms of migration? Remember a migrant is someone has moved from one place to another and geographic location.

What message do you think Nichols might be saying here? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you have got some ideas.

Some really interesting discussions there, and well done to those of you who are saying ideas that actually this is saying that perhaps where we live, just 'cause we live somewhere, doesn't mean that we're automatically gonna belong there or feel like we belong there.

And often for people who migrated or sometimes for people when they migrate that they might feel that the place that they really belong is the place that they migrated from, the place that they associate with their heritage and their culture, 'cause sometimes people might migrate to somewhere that's got a very different culture to where they came from.

So Nichols' poem, really, is opening up this idea of thinking about just 'cause we live somewhere, does that mean that we automatically belong there? And what might we might feel the greatest connection to? And in "Island Man, the Island Man's greatest connection is to the Caribbean, to where he came from, to where he kind of associates as being linked to his heritage, his culture.

Alright, let's check to see how we're getting on then so far in today's lesson.

True or false? We might interpret the surf and the sea as suggesting the power and potential danger of nature in Nichols "Island Man?" Is that true or false, and why? Is that true or false, and why? Pause the video, have a think, make a few notes, and then press play when you are ready to find out if you got it right.

Welcome back.

I hope you said that was false there.

Now, how could we justify that? You might have said something similar to what you can see on the screen.

Whilst the sea is definitely a powerful force of nature, the addition of that word steady implies that the waves are calm and therefore suggests a sense of peace.

We've got definitely positive connotations when it comes to the imagery of the sea in this poem.

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

You are gonna plan using a single paragraph outline to answer the question, how does Nichols use language to present the dreams of the Caribbean in comparison to the reality of London? So a single paragraph outline is gonna need a topic sentence, which will explain the focus of your paragraph.

You're gonna need to include some supporting detail where you're gonna think about what language you're gonna analyse, and then your concluding sentence.

This really is a summary of the paragraph, and that gestures to some of the wider ideas.

Okay, pause the video, then.

Over to you for this task.

And press play when you think you are done.

Alright, welcome back.

Some excellent planning going on there.

We're gonna take a moment before we move on to pause and reflect on the plans that we have created.

And we're gonna do that by comparing our plan to that of one of our Oak pupils.

So Sam's plan is on the screen, and I want you to think we're gonna look at it together, lots of good things that Sam does.

But I want you to think about how Sam could extend her conclusion, her concluding sentence, to consider ideas about migration and belonging.

So thinking about those wider issues.

So Sam's topic sentence, a great topic sentence.

She writes, "Arguably, Nichols associates the Caribbean with a sense of freedom and peace in comparison to the monotony and intimidation of London." We're gonna talk about Nichols use of language to present the Caribbean and London as been very, very different.

And the supporting detail, the language that Sam's gonna zoom in on, she's gonna talk about the sea and how that represents freedom.

She's gonna specifically talk about that adjective steady, that describes the calm waves.

She's also gonna talk about the adjective dull, which really creates this sense of monotony in London and how that word roar creates the fact that actually this city is quite intimidating for the Island Man.

Now, her concluding sentence.

She said, "Throughout 'Island Man,' Nichols suggests that Island Man feels more at home in the Caribbean than in London." And that's a really valid point.

But we want to help Sam extend this as she's talking about more wider issues about migration and belonging.

How might she do that? Pause the video, have a think, discuss with a partner, or just think through independently how could Sam extend her concluding sentence? Welcome back.

I wonder if you said something similar to this.

We might interpret this as implying that where we belong is not necessarily where we live, but rather the place of our heritage is where we belong.

So well done if you said something similar to that.

Alright, let's move on now to thinking about form.

So throughout "Island Man," Nichols uses free verse.

This means there is no set pattern to the poem.

How might we connect that to the imagery of the sea in the poem? How can we link this idea of free verse and no set pattern to this idea of the imagery of the sea? Pause the video, have a think with your partner or by yourself, and press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Some really fantastic discussions there.

I wonder if you said something similar to Izzy who said, "Perhaps the freedom suggested by the sea is also implied through the use of the free verse." So we've got the freedom of the sea and the freedom that there is no set pattern.

We might interpret this as meaning that Island Man associates his home of the Caribbean with freedom and being free.

So we've got this real sense of freedom that kind of running throughout the poem, through the imagery of the sea, through the form that Nichols is using and is underlying this message of freedom that Island Man associates with the Caribbean.

However, we could also associate the free verse as there being a lack of control with no pattern.

So it's almost quite chaotic.

How could we link this interpretation to the poem? Okay, so where does this idea of lack of control or chaos appear in the poem? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Again, some fantastic discussions going on there.

Well done, if you said something similar to Izzy who said, "Maybe the Island Man feels a lack of control over their life because it suggests they aren't happy with the reality of their life in London." And you know, that might make their life feel slightly chaotic.

I wonder if you said something similar.

Of course, you might have said something different, as well and that's absolutely fine, as long as you can justify it using ideas from the text.

So we could also argue then that free verse suggests a sense of nonconformity, not kind of living and acting in the way that others do.

How might we apply this idea of nonconformity to the poem of "Island Man?" How can we make a link between the free verse, nonconformity, and the messages, the ideas that we see in "Island Man?" Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you are done.

Again, lots of great ideas there.

I really liked some of the things or some of those ideas that are similar to what Izzy said, which was, "Maybe it suggests that Island Man thinks in a different way to the people of London?" Okay? He doesn't think in the same way, and that's why he doesn't feel at home in London.

And actually he kind of longs and craves for the Caribbean.

Okay, now let's consider how the poem looks on the page, and let's consider how we might interpret its presentation.

So we could represent the poem visually like this.

Okay? If we weren't focusing on the words and just the shape of the poem, it might look like this.

Now you might notice that there are two lines towards the end of the poem that are out of alignment with the rest of the poem.

What could that suggest? What could they represent do you think? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you think you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Some really great discussions there.

I really liked how some of you were leaning into this idea of being out of place.

These lines physically looked like they're out of place in comparison to the rest of the poem.

Now, these lines we know occur in the part where Nichols is describing Island Man's life in London.

Can we make a connection between being out of place and how Island Man feels in London? Pause video, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Yeah, some fantastic ideas there.

And I heard lots of you saying, "Well, actually this could be a physical representation of how Island Man feels outta place in London.

This may be where he lives, but it might not be where he feels like he belongs.

It might be where he physically lives, but is it really his home? Does he feel that sense of belonging here?" Alright, let's check our understanding, see how we're getting on as we think about form.

Which of the following are the most likely, most relevant interpretations of why Nichols might have used the free verse form in her poem? Is it A, it implies a sense of nonconformity and hints that Island Man's family disapprove of him moving to London? Is it B, it suggests that Island Man feels a sense of freedom when thinking about the Caribbean? Or is it C, arguably it reflects how outta control and outta place the Island Man feels in London.

Pause video, have a think, and there may be more than one suitable answer.

Alright, press play when you think you've got the answer or answers.

Welcome back, and really well done if you said B and C.

It could both suggest this sense of freedom that when Island Man thinks of the Caribbean, but it could also reflect how outta control and outta place Island Man feels when he is in London.

Great job.

Alright, over to you then, now, for our second task in today's lesson.

This time I have created a single paragraph outline for you, and you are gonna write an answer to the question, how does Nichols use form for effect in "Island Man?" So take my ideas and turn this into a paragraph.

So my topic sentence is, "By choosing a free verse form, Nichols may be reflecting how the Island Man feels about both the Caribbean and London." My supporting detail would be to talk about how free verse could reflect the freedom of the Caribbean, but it could also suggest how out of control the Island Man's life feels.

And it could also mirror how Island Man feels outta place in London.

And then I've already given you a concluding sentence that you can add to the end of your paragraph.

And this says, "By reflecting the sense of freedom during his dreams of the Caribbean and juxtaposing this with the idea of feeling out of control and outta place in London, Nichols' use of free verse implies the Island Man feels as if he belongs in the Caribbean." Alright, pause the video, turn my plan into a paragraph of your own.

Good luck.

Over to you.

Okay, welcome back.

Some fantastic writing going on there, and really well done to all of you who checked your spelling, punctuation, and grammar before you put your pen down.

That's what we like to see.

Alright, before we move on, we're gonna reflect on the writing we're doing.

We're gonna do that by looking at an example from one of our Oak pupils and seeing if we can help them to extend their answer further.

So let's read Izzy's paragraph, and as we're reading, I want you to keep an eye out and think where could you extend it further by talking about the lack of alignment in the form.

So if we think about where those lines are kind of misaligned towards the end of that in that final stanza or so.

So Izzy writes, "By choosing a free verse form, Nichols may be reflecting how the Island Man feels about both the Caribbean and London.

Arguably, the lack of regulation and rules to free verse means that it can be interpreted as showing a sense of freedom.

Here, Nichols' use of free verse could imply that the Island Man associates the Caribbean with freedom.

However, free verse could also be interpreted as suggestive of chaos and a lack of control, and we could suggest this reflects how the Island Man feels his life is outta control in London.

By reflecting the sense of freedom during his dreams of the Caribbean and juxtaposing this with the idea of feeling outta control and outta place in London, Nichols' use of free verse implies the Island Man feels as if he belongs in the Caribbean." Alright, pause the video, and see if you can think where might you add some comments on the alignment of the lines in the poem to help develop Izzy's answer further? Pause the video, have a think in pairs or by yourself, and press play when you are ready to move on.

Welcome back.

I wonder if you said something similar to this.

Furthermore, the lack of alignment could mirror how out of place the Island Man feels in London.

We just needed one extra sentence to really elevate this answer further.

Alright, why don't you pause the video now, and take a moment to compare your answer to Izzy's, and if there's any of Izzy's ideas that you like and you think could improve your answer, now is the time to make some additions.

Alright, pause the video, over to you, and press play when you're done.

Okay, now onto our final learning cycle of today's lesson, and we're gonna focus on structure.

So as well as language inform.

We can also see the meaning of "Island Man" reflecting in the structure of the poem.

And one structure technique that Nichols employs is repetition.

What might repetition suggest in a poem? So let's just think about repetition generally here.

What might repetition suggest in a poem? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

You might have said that repetition could suggest that a word is particularly important.

Perhaps that a feeling or an idea is staying the same rather than evolving, rather than changing with kind of staying in the same place.

Well, then if you said something similar, of course, you might have said something slightly different as well.

So the following words are repeated in "Island Man." They are groggily and muffling.

And these words mean, well, groggily means not thinking clearly, being weak, being tired, and muffling means to make something quieter, make it less clear.

What I want you to think about is why might these words have been chosen to be repeated? What might it suggest about Island Man's life in London? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you have got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Some great discussions.

I wonder if you said something similar to Sam who said, "Perhaps it suggests the unhappiness that the Island Man feels in London because everything is continually weak, it's quiet, everything's becoming less clear." His life feels less vibrant and less clear in London than it did in the Caribbean.

Alright, true or false, then? The repetition of groggily implies that Island Man is unhappy with his life in London.

True or false? And then justify and explain why you have picked whichever you have chosen.

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

Well done, if you said that was true.

You might have justified your opinion, saying something similar to this.

To feel groggy suggests that you aren't thinking clearly and you feel weak.

The repetition of this word implies that Island Man continually feels like this throughout his life in London.

Okay, onto our final task of today's lesson, then.

When you read the poem, you might notice that there is no punctuation in the poem.

We're gonna finish today's lesson with a discussion.

I want to think about how might this lack of punctuation relate to the repetition in the poem.

Can you make a link between punctuation and repetition? Some things you may wish to consider as part of your discussion, that a lack of punctuation means there is no defined ending, and that punctuation can be used to show emotion, for example, exclamation marks.

So what might a lack of punctuation suggest? Alright, over to you then for this task.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss with them.

Otherwise you can just think through and maybe jot down a few ideas of what you would say if you were having a discussion with someone else.

Alright, pause video, give this a go, and press play when you think you are done.

Welcome back.

Some fantastic discussions there.

I heard some great ideas.

Before we finish for today's lesson, let's take a moment and reflect on the quality of the discussions we've had.

And we're gonna do that by comparing our ideas to Sam and Izzy's discussion, and think where do they align, where are they different? And are there any ideas that I didn't discuss, but I really like them, and I might take them forward in my understanding of the poem? So Sam says, "I think both the lack of punctuation and the repetition suggests a sense of monotony to the Island Man's life in London because things are just continuing to stay the same, rather than progressing." And Izzy says, "It might also link to the weakness that the repetition of groggily implies, since a lack of punctuation could suggest a lack of heightened feeling or a lack of emotion." Alright, pause the video, and think where do your ideas align with the Oak pupils? Press play when you're done.

Okay, that's it.

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

You've done a fantastic job of analysing Grace Nichols' poem "Island Man." On the screen you can see a summary of all the learning that we have covered in today's lesson.

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

So we've learned that the repeated imagery of the sea implies that the Island Man feels a sense of freedom and peace in his dreams. We also learned that the use of free verse could reflect the freedom the Island Man feels when connected to the Caribbean.

However, the use of free verse could also suggest that Island Man feels outta place in London.

The repetition could connect a sense of monotony and unhappiness to the Island Man's life in London.

And the lack of punctuation could also show a lack of emotion and sense of monotony.

Great job today.

You've done really, really well.

I hope you're proud of yourself.

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

Alright, have a great day and see you all soon.

Bye-Bye.