Hello there.

Great to see you today.

My name is Mr. Barnsley.

Thank you so much for joining me as we continue to study Edexcel: Belonging Poetry.

So today we're gonna be looking at a new poem, and this is John Clare's "Sunday Dip." Really excited for this poem.

Do make sure you've got your anthology in front of you.

You are going to need it.

Alright, I think it's time for us to get started.

Okay, so let's have a look at today's outcome then, shall we? By the end of today's lesson, you are gonna be able to explain how John Clare presents the experience of spending time in nature.

So some words to look out for.

Idyllic is an adjective that we maybe trying to use today, and it means a place or experience which is extremely pleasant, beautiful, or peaceful.

We might also be wanting to use this word, simplicity, which is the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do something that's very simple.

Now, thronged is a piece of vocabulary that's in the poem we'll be looking at, and it means to be or go somewhere in very large numbers.

And then later in the lesson when we think of context, we're gonna want to have this word at the forefront of our mind, and it's Romanticism.

And this is an artistic movement from the late 18th, early 19th century that really focuses on emotions and nature.

Okay, so we're gonna be understanding the poem "Sunday Dip" today, and we're gonna do that by taking ourselves through three learning cycles.

Firstly, we're gonna start thinking about personal responses, and then we'll read the poem before we start thinking about some of the context behind the poem and see if that helps us understand it any further.

But let's start by responding initially to kind of what we think this poem might be about.

So we are gonna be looking at John Clare's "Sunday Dip," and I want us to first think about what do we associate with the day Sunday? So over to you for this one.

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

Otherwise, you can just think through this independently.

What do you associate with the day Sunday? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

I heard lots of you speaking very positively about the day Sunday.

Not everyone, but most of you had lots of positive connotations.

Lots of you saying things similar to what Laura, one of our Oaks people said, who said, "I find it a very lazy day.

It's a day where I relax after a long week working at school." Perhaps some of you said, "I find it's a day where I enjoy myself.

It's about having fun." So here are three words from John Clare's poem.

They are dance, float, and laugh.

Are these words you would expect in a poem describing a Sunday, do you think? Are these words that you might expect to see? Pause the video, discuss with a partner if you've got one or think through this question independently.

Would you expect to associate these words with Sunday? Alright, over to you.

Pause the video, give it a go, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Some interesting discussions there.

Some of you were like, "Yeah, I see that." Some of you were like, "Hmm, I'm not sure I'd associate all of these words with Sunday." I heard like lots of you saying, "Well, the word float feels very relaxing, it feels very calming." And all the words felt very joyful, but maybe there was a sense of energy that we don't always associate, or some of you certainly didn't associate, with a Sunday.

Well, let's pause for a moment and check to see how we're getting on.

Which of the following words suggest a sense of energy and excitement? Is that float, dance, or wade? Pause the video, make your selection, and press play when you're ready to find out the answer.

Yeah, great work if you said b, dance.

That's the one that really brings this idea of energy and excitement.

Both float and wade, almost a little bit more relaxing, a little bit slower paced, whereas dance feels really energetic.

Okay, over to you for our first task then.

I want you to imagine you've been asked to write a poem about a Sunday.

What would you write about? Consider what do you find relaxing, what do you find enjoyable? Let's do this as a discussion.

So if we've got partners, we can discuss this with them, but don't worry if you're working by yourself, you can make a few notes if you wish to or you can just think through this independently.

Alright, pause the video, have a think.

What would you write about if you were writing a poem about Sundays? Pause the video, give it a go, and press play when you're ready to move on.

I heard some really lovely ideas there, and it was making me long for the weekend, long for a relax.

So I wonder if you said something similar to any of our Oak pupils.

Laura, who said, "Oh, I think I'd write about spending the day all curled up nice and comfy on the sofa, maybe watching my favourite TV programme or reading a book." And Izzy said, "Well, I think I'd write a poem about spending the day with my family.

You know, going out for a long walk or enjoying that Sunday roast, that family celebration where we sit down and eat together." Why don't you pause for a moment and reflect on the two ideas that you can see on the screen? Do they relate to your ideas, do they align to your ideas, or did you have slightly different ideas? Alright, pause for a moment and just reflect on those discussions that we have had.

Okay, welcome back.

It's now time for us to read the poem and see if we can spot any similarities to some of the things that we were discussing there.

You are gonna want to make sure you've got your copy of the anthology.

So if you haven't got it yet, pause the video, make sure it's in front of you, and then press play when you're ready to continue.

Right, okay.

We are gonna read the poem "Sunday Dip" by John Clare.

If you want, I am gonna read the poem to you.

If you want to read it by yourself, that's absolutely fine.

You might want to just fast forward for kind of a minute or so, but I'm gonna read this poem for you.

But I'm going to turn the camera off as I do so because I want all eyes to be on the text, not on the screen, okay? So you're gonna need your anthologies open, open on the poem "Sunday Dip." And if you want to listen along to my reading, then you can do, otherwise you can pause the video and just read through this yourself.

Okay, anthologies at the ready, let's go.

"Sunday Dip.

The morning road is thronged with merry boys who seek the water for their Sunday joys; They run to seek the shallow pit, and wade and dance about the water in the shade.

The boldest ventures first and dashes in, and others go and follow to the chin, and duck about and try to lose their fears, and laugh to hear the thunder in their ears.

They bundle up the rushes for a boat and try to cross the deepest place to float: Beneath the willow trees they ride and stoop- the awkward load will scarcely bear them up.

Without their aid the others float away, and play about the water half the day." Okay, welcome back.

Some excellent listening or excellent independent reading no matter how you chose to do that.

Alright, let's think about this poem then, what we've just read.

How well do you think this image you can see on the screen, how well do you think it represents the poem that you've just read? Why don't you pause the video.

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

Otherwise, you can just think through this independently.

How well does the image that you can see on the screen represent the poem? Pause the video, over to you, and press play when you're ready to move on.

Welcome back.

I heard some really interesting ideas there.

I heard lots of you saying, "Yeah, well this poem is about just the absolute unbridled joy of children playing in the water, and this image seems to represent it well." And if you really zoom in on the image, you can see there's a real sense of movement with the water splashing around and the light shining across, kind of dancing on top of the river.

All of this kind of really represents the joy that's at the very heart of this poem.

The joy of children playing in water.

So this image might be one for you to remember and really associate with this poem.

So we know that the opening line of the poem is "The morning road is thronged with merry boys." So remember this throng really relates to a large number.

And so what tone does this set for the poem? The fact that this is the opening line, "The morning road is thronged with merry boys." What tone does that set from the outset of the poem? Alright, pause the video, have a think about this either in pairs or independently, and press play when you've got some ideas.

I heard lots of you say some fantastic things there, like some of you focused on that word "morning." And we know morning is the start of a new day, and it really creates this sense of happiness and optimism.

Each day is a new day.

Even if the day before was terrible, a new day means a new start.

And so the fact that this is set in the morning creates this real sense of optimism.

And there was such a large number of "merry boys." It feels really joyful, really exciting, really busy.

And yeah, there's this really energetic tone at the beginning of the poem.

Well done if you said anything similar to that.

But of course if you said something slightly different, that's fine as well as long as you can justify your arguments.

Okay, here are some other words that we see in the poem that are associated with the boys: "run," "dashes," "ride and stoop." What do these words suggest about the boys and what they think about playing in the water? Again, over to you for this one.

Pause the video, discuss in pairs or think through this independently, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Some really fantastic discussions going on there.

I heard lots of you talking about these references to movement, and it shows this real eagerness, this excitement from the boys.

They just cannot wait to get in the water.

They cannot wait to start playing with their friends.

It really does create this energetic tone to the poem.

And this kind of sense of excitement is almost catching.

Like I feel excited reading the poem even though I am definitely not gonna be jumping in a river and playing anytime soon.

So let's pause for a minute and check for our understanding so far.

I want you to think about which the two Oak pupils has got the most relevant interpretation for this word "dashes" that we see in this poem, this verb dashing about.

Laura said, "I think 'dashes' show that the boys are hoping to pass through the water quickly because they want to get through to their next activity." And Izzy says, "I think 'dashes' shows the eagerness and excitement of the boys that cannot wait to get into the water." Who do you think is right there? Is it Laura or is it Izzy? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got an answer.

Well done if you said Izzy.

The excitement here is all about getting into the water.

It's not about moving on to the next thing.

It's about diving in and enjoying playing in the water.

Well done if you got that correct.

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

Now, a pupil said, "In 'Sunday Dip,' Clare presents an idyllic, this almost perfect view, of spending time in nature." To what extent do you agree with this statement? I want you to write a short answer here.

You don't need to write lots and lots, maybe just a paragraph, okay? So do you think Clare is presenting this idea of spending time in nature, playing in the water, as being idyllic, almost perfection, nothing better? So things you might wish to consider as you write your response.

We don't hear anything about the boys' lives.

What do you think that suggests about what nature offers them? We also see words associated with the boys like "merry" and "laugh." What might that tell us? Alright, over to you for this task.

You're gonna want to pause the video, write a paragraph.

So really think about carefully how you structure it using sentences, using your grammar, using your punctuation.

Write a paragraph responding to this: "In 'Sunday Dip,' Clare presents an idyllic view of spending time in nature." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Alright, pause the video, over to you, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Welcome back.

Really great to see you concentrating so hard during that task.

And an extra special well done to anyone who checked their spelling, punctuation, grammar before they put their pen down.

That is what we like to see.

Okay, we're gonna take a moment of reflection here, and we're gonna think about Izzy's response, okay? Izzy's had a go at writing this paragraph, but I think she could have done a slightly better job because what she didn't do was consider the words "merry" and "laugh." So as we read Izzy's response together, I want you to think where could she have included some reference to those words "merry" and "laugh," those words from the poem.

So Izzy wrote, "I agree entirely with the statement that Clare presents an idyllic view of spending time in nature because we get a real sense of joy and excitement from the boys and that shows how happy they are in nature; furthermore, we don't hear anything else about the boys' lives which could suggest that spending time in nature is an escape from the world and they can just enjoy being children and enjoy simply playing." Alright, why don't you pause the video, and discuss with a partner or think to yourselves, how would you improve this response by using the words "merry" and "laugh?" Alright, pause the video, over to you, and press play when you think you've got an idea.

I wonder if you said something similar to this So we get a real sense of joy and excitement from the boys through words such as "merry" and "laugh," and that shows how happy they are in nature.

So notice we didn't have to do some deep analysis into those words there.

We didn't have to explain to the reader what those words mean.

We could simply use them as evidence to support this idea that the boys are joyful and full of excitement.

Alright, well done if you had a response similar to Izzy's, and if you didn't, don't worry.

You could take some of her ideas and add them to your own.

Alright, let's move on.

Okay, in the final part of today's lesson, we are gonna think about the context behind the poem and see if that helps us understand it even further.

So John Clare was a Romantic poet.

And remember Romanticism was a movement where people who really believed in the power of nature would often write about nature and the freedom that it offered.

So Clare was particularly well known for presenting the simplicity of nature and the simplicity of living rurally, living within the countryside, living within nature.

So knowing what we know about Romanticism, knowing what we know about John Clare, do you think "Sunday Dip" is what you might expect from a Romantic poet? Alright, I'm gonna hand this over to you for a discussion.

So if you've got a partner, do work with them.

Otherwise, just think through this independently.

Do you think that "Sunday Dip" is what you might expect from a Romantic poet? Alright, pause video, have a think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Welcome back.

I heard some really nice ideas there.

I heard lots of you saying something similar to what Izzy said that you can see on screen now.

That actually by presenting nature as being really idyllic and really kind of showing the joyfulness, the joy that comes from spending time in nature, this feels like something that we should really expect from a Romantic poet.

We could say this is very typical of Romanticism.

This is very conventional, very expected of a Romantic poet.

So true or false then? Clare's "Sunday Dip" conforms, it links to, it's what we expect to see in Romantic ideals or ideas.

So true or false? Clare's "Sunday Dip" conforms to Romantic ideals.

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

Yes, that is true.

Now let's justify that then, shall we? Is it a, that Clare represents nature as idyllic in "Sunday Dip," or is it b, that Clare presents the damage of industrialization in "Sunday Dip?" Which of those do you think is the right way of justifying that statement? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got the right answer.

Well done if you said a, Clare represents that nature is really idyllic.

Now, Romantic poets might often write about the damage of industrialization.

They were alive during the time of rapid growth of industrialization, and they saw what they thought were the negative impacts this had on nature.

So that is something that you may expect to see in some poets from the Romantic era.

But here, this is all about nature, and the beauty of it, and how idyllic is.

So well done if you said that, if you got a.

Alright then, over to you for our final task of today's lesson.

A pupil said that they believed Clare's poetry represents a way of life that could be never recaptured.

So we know that this poem, the Romantic era was the late 18th century, the early 19th century, so this poem was written over 100 years ago.

And a pupil saying, "Well actually, this is a beautiful poem, but this way of life, we can never live like this, okay? This is a way of life that is in the past." I want you to think about whether you agree with this pupil, and you're gonna do that by answering the following questions.

Do you think a poet writing a poem today about children playing in the water would or could write in the same way? And do you ever think that we can go back to the simplicity, the simple nature of rural living, living amongst nature in this way? Do you think that's something that we could as a society ever go back to? Alright, over to you.

You're gonna write two short responses here answering these questions.

They're gonna really help you think about whether you agree with this pupil who says that Clare's poetry kind of captures this way of life that can never be recreated.

Alright, pause the video, answer the questions, and press play when you think you are done.

Alright, welcome back.

Great to see you concentrating so hard there, and really interesting to really reflect on this poem and its relevance today.

I'm gonna share with you some Oak pupils, and you can compare these to yours and think about how closely they align.

So when you were thinking about do you think a poet writing today about children playing in water, is that something we could or would write about in the same way? And Izzy was like, "Well, yeah, I can see that.

I think you could write about it in the same way.

I think this idea of joy and excitement is a universal concept, and something we still see in young children today.

We still see joy and excitement about playing." You might have argued that actually the setting might be slightly different.

You might be more likely to see this in a swimming pool or perhaps the beach rather than the river, and that could suggest there is a changing relationship with nature.

You could use this to argue that maybe today we don't treat nature as well as we once did, and therefore it might not feel either safe or as clean to just kind of dive into a river.

So kind of some similarities, some differences, but ultimately this universal idea of joy and excitement in childhood is still one that poets could write about today.

I wonder if you said something similar to Izzy though when thinking about the simplicity of rural living 'cause Izzy said, "Actually, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to go back to the simplicity of rural living now.

Kind of industrialization and technology is far too ingrained in our lives for us to be able to be completely just happy and switched off in nature." That might be kind of a very overly simplistic view.

And you might say "No, there are plenty of people who kind of disconnect from technology and live in nature." But for the most part, Izzy's saying, "Well, most of us are so used to technology, and industry, and the way it is that actually living in this simplistic way kind of like when Clare was alive might be impossible.

I wonder if you agreed with Izzy? Why don't you take a moment to pause your video, read what you wrote, and compare it to Izzy's responses, and see if there's anything you would like to add.

Okay, that's it.

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

On the screen you can see a summary of the learning that we've covered.

Let's go through it together so you feel really confident before you move on to our next lesson.

So we learned that like other Romantics, Clare highlights the beauty of nature in his poem.

We've learned that the tone of "Sunday Dip" could be described as being idyllic.

We know "Sunday Dip" is a poem which reflects the joy of spending time in nature.

And as well as the beauty of nature, Clare also reflects the simplicity of rural living in his poem.

Alright, thank you so much for joining me today.

It's been great learning alongside you.

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

Alright, have a great day.

Bye-bye.