Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Watson and I'm delighted that you have decided to join me today.

We are going to be reading a poem called "Peckham Rye Lane" and we are going to be understanding what it is about, and I think you're really gonna like this poem.

It's very modern, it's very urban, and the writer has really interesting ideas about how people live together in society.

You're going to need your copy of the "Edexcel Belonging Anthology" and when you're ready, we'll make a start.

So by the end of today's lesson you will be able to explain how Blakemore presents Peckham in their poem.

Now we're going to start with the keywords.

There are five keywords and they're all going to be really useful as a way of unlocking your learning today.

The first word is multicultural, and that relates to or contains several cultural or ethnic groups within a society.

And gunmetal, that's a really interesting word.

It's a type of bronze or an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc, and it's a grayish-blue colour.

And the word belonging, the title of the anthology, and it is a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group.

And if you are realistic, you represent things in a way that is accurate and true to life.

And Romanticism, you can see it's spelled with a capital R, and this refers to the artistic movement from the late 18th and early 19th century which was focused on emotions and nature.

So if you would like a little bit of time to familiarise yourself with the keywords, please pause the video now and join the lesson when you're ready.

So here we have the outline of today's lesson.

There are two learning cycles.

At first, we are going to consider the poem, and then we are going to consider the poet William Blake.

So let's take a walk down "Peckham Rye Lane." And we are going to start by considering the title to A.

K.

Blakemore's poem, "Peckham Rye Lane." So Peckham is based in Southeast London, and I've got a picture of it there for you to look at, and I want you to think about the fact that it's in Southeast London, and look at the picture and have a discussion about why you think the poet has directed our attention to one specific area of London.

You can do this task even if you don't know London or Peckham.

So why might they want us to think about a particular area? Pause the video while you have a discussion, or if you are working by yourself, pause the video and just make a few notes.

Off you go.

So welcome back.

I heard lots of really interesting ideas there and what I'd like to do now is share with you what Laura said.

She thought that maybe it was a place of significance to the poet.

Maybe they were born there, maybe people who are really important to them live there, but there is something about the place that is significant.

Or she said maybe the poem is a response to visiting it for the first time.

And what I really like about Laura's response is that she's given two possible reasons about why the poet might want us to think about Peckham Rye.

So let's move on.

Now I'm gonna give you some words from the poem, just three.

Perspiration, that means sweat, wailing and comfort.

Three very different words.

And I would like you to think about those words and discuss what sort of tone do you think the poem will have based on just those words.

By tone I mean how will it sound, what kind of mood will it evoke.

Again pause the video while you have your discussion, or if you're working by yourself, pause the video and make a few notes.

Welcome back, let me share with you what Alex said.

He thought that the tone was going to be realistic because it suggests a place that is loud, crowded, hot, but also welcoming, which I think is a really interesting set of adjectives.

Loud, crowded, hot, but also welcoming.

He's picked some really interesting adjectives to describe the tone.

Yes, it does suggest that the place is going to be maybe quite contradictory as well because wailing and perspiration don't seem very comfortable, and yet all those three words are in there.

So really good thinking there.

Let's move on.

And we're going to have a check for understanding.

We're gonna have a picture check.

Look at the pictures, A, B, and C and think about which image best represents the concept of Peckham from the words perspiration, wailing, and comfort.

Have a think, make your choice.

Yes, A, there are people there and it looks like it might be quite noisy, and although we can't see the sun, it's likely to be quite hot because the crowds are so full.

Let's move on.

Now a copy of A.

K.

Blakemore's "Peckham Rye Lane" can be found in the "Edexcel Belonging Anthology" and I would like you to read the poem.

I would suggest that you read it more than once and that when you have done that, you think about this, that the speaker of the poem is on a bus journey through Peckham.

And I want you to discuss the things they see on the bus journey.

Pause the video while you read and have that discussion.

Off you go.

Welcome back, I'm sure you noticed as you were reading the poem how observant the speaker is and how much they see of Peckham.

I'm going to share with you just a few of the things that the speaker sees on that bus journey.

So you might have said Primark, KFC, children, and people with different hairstyles.

And I think one of the things that's interesting about what the speaker sees is the way that some of it is very precise, like the actual proper nouns, the names of stores that are familiar from many high streets, and then we have the more generic but still distinct, which is the children and the people with different hairstyles.

So an interesting blend of things that they have seen.

Did you list similar things? And now we have some other words from the poem.

Very different kinds of words.

We have gunmetal, remember that is an alloy, a mix of metals, and coconut shell and jellyfish.

And I'd like you to discuss what you think these words suggest about Peckham.

Pause the video and have a discussion or pause the video and make a few notes.

Well done, welcome back.

Isn't it fascinating the image of Peckham that is being built up from these very different kinds of words? Let me share with you what Izzy said about these three words.

Izzy said that "gunmetal is a synonym for grey and coconut shell and jellyfish suggest a type of emptiness to me." That's a really interesting thought.

And she goes on to explain, "Because we think of a shell of a person as meaning they have no substance, and jellyfish are see-through, so perhaps," she speculates, "perhaps," she's saying, that "Peckham is dull and empty." Were your ideas similar to Izzy's or did you see different ideas and imagery when you saw those words? I'd like to give you a little bit of information about Peckham in Southeast London.

Among other things, it's known for its multicultural community.

And with that in mind, let's consider some of the imagery in more detail.

So you've got gunmetal, which is a mixture of metals, an alloy, a mix of copper, tin, zinc, and lead.

And jellyfish, you find them in the sea, so we've got this kind of sea imagery.

And the coconut shell, well, the shell and the husk and the fruit and the water make up the whole of the coconut.

So what do you now think of these words and how might they relate to Peckham and multiculturalism? Pause the video and have a think or pause the video and make a few notes.

Welcome back.

Again, what a brilliant discussion.

And I really like the way that you took this new idea, this extra knowledge that you now have about Peckham, and applied it to thinking about the writer's use of language.

I want to share with you what Alex said.

He said that "perhaps they suggest how the different elements and entities are working together to create a unified whole." That is a very good summary from Alex.

I wonder if you agree with him.

Let's move on.

We're going into this part of the lesson, just look at this one word, gunmetal.

And Alex said that it suggests a unified whole as an alloy.

But could we extend this analysis in terms of what Blakemore might be saying about multiculturalism? Discuss this, knowing that an alloy is created to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion, how might that apply to multiculturalism? Pause the video and have a discussion or pause the video and make a few notes.

So this is what Laura said.

She said, "Perhaps Blakemore is suggesting that society has greater strength when it is made up of several cultural or ethnic groups." And what I really like about this comment is that she begins with a tentative word, perhaps.

She's not saying that's exactly what it's about, she is thinking that it is possible.

And some of the best responses in literature have this idea of the tentative, the questioning, the suggestive, what it might say.

Let's move on.

So now we are going to have a check for understanding.

Is it true or false to say that we might interpret the word gunmetal as conveying the concept of multiculturalism? True or false? It's true, yes.

But why is it true? Have a think about what you might say about why it's true.

Well, you might have said this, that gunmetal is an alloy of copper, tin, zinc, and lead, which implies separate elements coming together to create a unified whole.

Very well done.

Let's move on.

So now what I would like you to do is bring together all the ideas from the discussions and the ideas that the Oak pupils shared with you and answer these two questions.

Number one, "Peckham Rye Lane" is part of the "Edexcel Belonging Anthology." How might the ideas of multiculturalism in the poem fit with the concept of belonging? And number two, which is that A.

K.

Blakemore was 15 when they wrote "Peckham Rye Lane." And do you think their age affects the concept of belonging? Pause the video while you answer those questions.

Off you go.

So welcome back.

I'm going to share Izzy's answers with you and I want you to consider how well they align with your ideas.

I'm not saying that Izzy's answers are perfect or the very best answers or anything like that, I just think they're really interesting answers and it can be really helpful to compare what you have written with what somebody else said.

So, in response to this question about how might the ideas of multiculturalism fit with the concept of belonging, Izzy said this.

"I think the idea of different people coming together to create a unified whole that is perhaps greater than its singular elements suggests that multiculturalism allows people to find a sense of belonging together." And in response to this idea about A.

K.

Blakemore being 15 and how their age might have affected the concept of belonging, Izzy wrote, "Some people may think that you don't know who you are when you're 15, so that therefore you can't really write about the concept of belonging.

But I'm not sure you ever truly know who you are.

And either way, it's useful to consider what the idea of belonging looks like from the perspective of someone who is developing their identity." There's lots of interesting points in there.

I'm particularly struck by this idea of, do we ever truly know who we are? So well done, and we are now going to move on to the next part of the lesson.

And in this part of the lesson we are going to consider the poet William Blake.

Let me share some information with you about William Blake and the role he plays in this poem.

Now towards the end of the poem, A.

K.

Blakemore references the Romantic poet William Blake and uses the word angels.

And Blake, well, from a young age, Blake claimed to see visions of angels and they often appeared in his work.

Now think about this.

What connotations does the word angel have to you? Pause the video and have a discussion about that.

When I say angel, what do you think of? If you're working by yourself, just pause the video and make a few notes.

Well, you might have said something like this.

Religion, yes, and peace.

And also guardian, where there is the idea that we all have a guardian angel.

And comfort, really interesting thoughts.

Let's move on and consider those connotations as we look at the poem again.

I'd like to share a little bit more information about Blake with you.

Now we know quite a lot about Blake and in one of his poems such as "London," I'm gonna pick on this one because it's about London and so is "Peckham Rye Lane." Well, Blake often spoke against the corruption of the Church and he spoke against the monarchy and he believed that people's individualism was taken away from them by figures in authority.

And I'd like you to consider how Blake's ideals might fit with Blakemore's "Peckham Rye Lane," and in particular with the idea that there are some people who don't agree with the idea of multiculturalism.

I'd like you to discuss what do you think Blake would think of those who try to suppress and challenge multiculturalism given his encouragement of individuality and freedom.

Pause the video while you have that discussion, or pause the video and make a few notes.

Off you go.

Welcome back, and let me share with you what Laura said.

She said, "I think Blake would have supported multiculturalism because it allows people to be themselves rather than have to change and suppress their identities to suit other people." Now that's an interesting idea and I would love to know whether you agree or disagree with Laura.

Let's move on.

So now what I would like to do is have a check for understanding.

As a Romantic poet, Blake believed in which of the following? Is it A, the urbanisation of natural areas? B, freedom from oppression? Or C, rational and logical thinking? Have a think, make your choice.

Did you say B, freedom from oppression? Romanticism was all about the individual expressing themself and being in touch with their feelings, and was actually opposed to A, the urbanisation of natural areas.

Many Romantic poems mourned the loss of the countryside as it was built over for towns and factories.

Let's move on.

So just a reminder that Blakemore ends "Peckham Rye Lane" with images of Blake, angels, and comfort.

And I would like you to think about why Blakemore ended the poem with these images.

Think about all you have learned about "Peckham Rye Lane" and all you have learned about Blake, and gather those ideas together and then write a couple of sentences in which you explain your thoughts.

I'm gonna give you a little bit of a prompt here, which is that you might consider that Blake, he's being compared to an angel, that William Blake is the angel.

So what do you think Blake would be guarding in society? Do you remember we talked about angels as being guardians? Okay, pause the video, write your sentences, off you go.

So welcome back, and now I would like to share Alex's ideas with you.

And again, I'd like you to think about how well do they align with your ideas.

As I said before, I like to share these ideas with you so that you can compare your ideas with someone else's.

I think that is one of the best ways of developing your own thoughts.

So this is what Alex wrote.

"The final allusion to Blake as an angel watching over the people of Peckham suggests that someone is protecting their right to be individuals and have the freedom to be who they want to be.

Specifically, the final word of comfort implies that we can find peace and comfort within a crowded space because we can see people living together and creating a unified larger whole." So if there are any ideas from Alex's that you would like to borrow and add to yours, do that now.

Pause the video while you do that and then please rejoin me for the end of the lesson.

So before we say goodbye I would like to summarise what you have been learning today.

You have been learning that Peckham is an area of Southeast London known for having a multicultural community, and that the poem "Peckham Rye Lane" follows the speaker on a bus describing what they see out of the window.

And arguably, we might see the poem as an expression of multiculturalism.

And that Blakemore references Blake, a Romantic poet who believed in individualism and freedom.

Well done for your hard work today and all your fantastic discussions.

I wish you a very good rest of the day and I look forward to seeing you in another lesson about the poetry of belonging.

Bye for now.