Hello, welcome to your lesson today on comparing the two poems, "Checking Out Me History and "The Emigree" from the "Power and Conflict" anthology.

I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

I'm really looking forward to our lesson.

Our learning outcome for today is to compare how Agard and Rumens present conflict and identity in their poems. Remember John Agard is the author of "Checking Out Me History" and Carol Rumens wrote "The Emigree." So we're going to compare how those two poets present conflict and identity in their poems. Here are our four keywords for today's lesson.

Oppression.

Oppression means cruel or unfair treatment.

And we see oppression in both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree" and indeed, many other poems from the "Power and Conflict" anthology.

Triumph.

Triumph means to defeat someone or something.

Heritage.

Heritage is a person's racial, religious, or cultural background.

Heritage is a huge part of John Agard's poem "Checking Out Me History." John Agard essentially goes on a journey to find out more his heritage.

And reclaim.

Reclaim means to take back something that was yours.

We see how both poets, Agard and Rumens, show how people can reclaim their power.

So those are your four keywords.

I'll give you a moment to pause the video, write them down or have a reread.

Off you go.

So in today's lesson, we have two learning cycles.

We're going to start off with finding similarities between "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree." And in the second learning cycle, we'll plan a comparative analysis with all our brilliant ideas about both poems. So let's begin with finding similarities between the poems. I want you to first summarise "Checking Out Me History" in your own words.

Pause the video and discuss that with whoever you're sitting next to.

Off you go.

Well done for referencing the themes of identity, power, conflict and heritage in your summary.

I now want you to do the same for "The Emigree." Pause the video and summarise "The Emigree" in your own words.

Off you go.

Well done for mentioning how identity is also a key part of "The Emigree" and well done for referencing how the speaker in "The Emigree" undergoes huge changes in her life due to having to emigrate away from her native country.

I now want you to discuss which of the themes below relate to both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree." Here are your four themes.

Which themes relate to both of those poems? Pause the video and discuss.

As we've mentioned, both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree" talk about identity.

In fact, identity is a key theme in both of those poems. We see Rumens having her identity tied to the place in which she grew up and when she leaves that place, she struggles with her identity.

And we see Agard not being taught about who he truly was from a young age and how he has to find out about his identity later on in life.

We also see oppression in both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree." Remember, oppression is cruel or unfair treatment.

And we also see power in both poems. Let's talk now about how identity, power and oppression are relevant to both poems. So first of all, how is oppression relevant to both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree?" Remember, oppression is cruel or unfair treatment.

So how is cruel and unfair treatment shown in both of those poems? Pause the video and have a little think.

So in "Checking Out Me History," Agard's education in a colonised Guyana could be considered oppressive in that it neglected to teach him about his own heritage and culture.

Arguably, his education ought to have taught him about his own culture and identity and heritage and it didn't.

So it failed its duty.

It failed to educate him in a responsible way to connect him with his identity and therefore, it could be considered an oppressive education.

It wasn't fair that he missed out on those opportunities to learn about his own heritage.

And we see oppression in "The Emigree" because the speaker is forced to leave her home country due to the oppression of war and the tyrants that rule the country.

Let's move on to talk about how power is relevant to both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree." When you discuss how power is relevant to both those poems, I want you to consider both the power of authority figures and the claiming of individual power.

Pause the video and discuss how is power relevant to both "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree." Off you go.

So for "Checking Out Me History," those in power had a responsibility to teach a diverse curriculum that represented children like Agard, but they failed to fulfil this duty, resulting in Agard feeling blinded to who he really was.

And in "The Emigree," those in power in the speaker's home country are called tyrants.

They create an unsafe environment, forcing the speaker to leave her home country.

So we see in both poems the abuse of power, so how authority figures use their power in the wrong ways.

Now let's talk about individual power.

In "Checking Out Me History," by the end of the poem, we learn how Agard reclaimed his power by learning about the rich history of his ancestors and thus carving his true sense of self.

In "The Emigree," the persistent image of sunlight shows how the speaker is able to triumph over the oppression and war in her home country.

It shows how she remains hopeful and proud of who she is despite her city's changes.

So by the end of both of those poems, we learn that the true power is held by the individual.

Now, true or false? Both Agard and Rumens praise the power of authority figures in their poems. Pause the video and have a little think.

Is that true or false? That is false.

Agard and Rumens do not praise the power of authority figures in their poems. I now want you to pause the video and justify your answer.

Well done if you said we know that both Agard and Rumens do not praise the power of authority figures because they both show the detrimental effects of oppressive power.

So actually, they both seem to criticise the power of authority figures.

Now, I want you to write about how both Agard and Rumens present identity.

I want you to write a few sentences about the similarities between how the poets present identity.

So for this answer, you could consider how external factors affect identity in both of those poems. How both poets present identity through language, how both poets represent identity through light and the reclaiming of identity in both poems. Pause the video and have a go at that task now.

Off you go.

Brilliant effort there.

Let's go through some ideas.

Agard shows how his narrow education prevented him from knowing who he truly was.

And Rumens explores how her identity becomes fractured after being forced to leave her native country due to war.

So both poets explore how external influences can have a detrimental effect on one's sense of identity.

Agard uses his Guyanese Creole throughout the poem to affirm his identity.

Rumens writes how she holds onto the vocabulary she had as a little girl as it is what she has left of her native country.

So we see that both poets use language to represent identity.

Agard presents figures in black history using light imagery to reflect their courage and achievements and how they guided him to find his true identity despite being blinded to who he was during his schooling.

Rumens repeat sunlight to show her powerful memories of her native country triumph over its current darkness.

So that's an example of how both poets use light to represent identity.

And the last bullet point.

Both poets end their poem with a hopeful and defiant tone to show the reader there is power in taking control over reclaiming and celebrating who you are.

So we've seen there how these two poems are actually very similar.

They use some of the same motifs to represent identity.

They use some of the same symbolism to represent identity.

So these poems are great to compare.

So let's move on now to planning a comparative analysis between the two poems, "Checking Out Me History" and "The Emigree." Here's our question that we're going to be tackling.

How do the poets present identity in "The Emigree" and "Checking Out Me History?" I want you to discuss what the question focus is here.

Pause the video and discuss.

The question focus here is identity.

That's the main theme that we're going to be comparing.

So we need to link all our points to that theme.

So let's explore the question in relation to "The Emigree" first.

Aisha said "The Emigree portrays how the speaker feels conflicted in her identity after emigration.

She decides her hope and positive memory will triumph over the darkness of her city." And Alex said "The Emigree" portrays how identity is often tied to places." I want you to discuss which summary is better.

Pause the video and discuss.

Aisha's summary is more detailed because it is focused more on the poet's message and key ideas.

So in that sense, we could say Aisha's summary is more successful.

It manages to describe the main points of the poem in a more effective way than Alex's response.

So now let's explore the same question in relation to "Checking Out Me History." So how is identity presented in this poem? Aisha said, "Checking Out Me History" portrays Agard reconnecting with his identity and feeling proud of his identity.

Alex said, "Checking Out Me History" portrays how Agard felt disconnected from his identity due to oppressive education, but he then rediscovers and embraces it.

Now I want you to consider which summary is best and why.

Pause the video and discuss.

Alex's summary now is more detailed, encompassing the whole poem.

He not only talks about the positive message of Agard's poem, he also talks about the negative parts of Agard's poem.

And of course, "Checking Out Me History" is a poem both about oppression and freedom.

So we have to include both parts if we're going to summarise it effectively.

Now, what is similar or different about these two summaries? Aisha said, "The Emigree" portrays how the speaker feels conflicted in her identity after emigration.

And Alex said, "Checking Out Me History" portrays how Agard felt disconnected from his identity due to oppressive education.

He then discovers and embraces it.

So what is similar or different about identity in "The Emigree" and identity in "Checking Out Me History?" Pause the video and discuss.

Both summaries focus on how identity can be affected by external factors, but that it is a personal decision to reclaim your own identity.

And indeed, there is much power in doing so.

So let's combine these two summaries to build our thesis about identity in both these poems. Here are the pieces of our thesis statement.

"The Emigree" portrays how the speaker feels conflicted in her identity after emigration.

She decides her hope and positive memory will triumph over the darkness of her city.

"Checking Out Me History" portrays how Agard felt disconnected from his identity due to oppressive education.

He then rediscovers and embraces it.

So both of these summaries focus in on how identity can be affected by external factors, but that it is a personal decision to reclaim your own identity.

Now, let's add comparative and correlative conjunctions to show the relationship between the two poems and build our thesis statement.

Here's what it could look like.

Both "The Emigree" and "Checking Out Me History" explore how one's own identity can be affected by oppressive power.

"The Emigree," narrated by an unnamed emigrant, portrays how oppressive power via tyrants and war in her native country caused her to emigrate and thus ruptured her identity.

Similarly, "Checking Out Me History" also conveys how oppressive systems, for example, colonialism could fracture one's sense of identity.

So there's a thesis statement that encompasses our brilliant summaries of both poems and uses comparative and correlative conjunctions to build a cohesive thesis statement.

Now, true or false? Only "The Emigree" focuses on the impact of oppressive power over personal identity.

Pause the video, and have a think.

That is false.

It is not only "The Emigree" that focuses on the impact of oppressive power over personal identity.

I now want you to pause the video and justify your answer.

Off you go.

Well done if you said both Agard and Rumens explore how different oppressive powers have impacted their sense of identity.

So Rumens talks of war as the oppressive presence that has caused fractures in her identity and Agard talks of his education.

Both poets though reference how you can make the personal decision to reclaim your identity.

Now, I want you to plan an answer to this question.

How do the poets present identity in "The Emigree" and "Checking Out Me History?" Here's how you're going to plan.

You're going to use a multiple paragraph outline grid.

In this grid, you need to write your thesis statement where you present your overarching argument.

You need to write three topic sentences and each topic sentence is a mini argument linked to your thesis.

Next, you need supporting details for each of your topic sentences.

This is where you write your key quotations and make notes on the poet's use of language, form, and structure.

Lastly, you need concluding sentences for all of your paragraphs.

This is where you link to the writer's intentions or influences.

That's a very good way to end your paragraph.

So pause the video and have a go at planning an answer to the question on the screen there.

Use all the brilliant ideas we've already explored in the lesson.

Off you go.

Here's how you could have structured your response.

So for your thesis, "The Emigree" and "Checking Out Me History" explore how oppressive systems can have a detrimental effect on identity, but how individuals can reclaim their sense of self.

Let's now look at the topic sentence number one.

Topic sentence number one.

Both poems reveal how oppressive systems can cause someone to have a fractured identity.

Let's look at some evidence.

In "The Emigree," we see through the quotes tyrants, war and how the speaker was forced to emigrate.

In "Checking Out Me History," we see this through how Agard accuses oppressive systems of blinding him to who he truly is.

Next, topic sentence number two.

Both poets represent identity as a powerful and important force in one's life.

We see that in "The Emigree because the use of epistrophe represents the way her true identity never leaves her.

And we see that in "Checking Out Me History" because the light imagery is used to show the importance of finding oneself through heritage.

And lastly, both poets reveal how one can reclaim their own identity and triumph over oppressive systems. We said that in "The Emigree" because the final line is defiant, and it seems the speaker is proud of her background and who she is despite the darkness that has overcome her native country.

And in "Checking Out Me History," the final line shows the power and control Agard has reclaimed over his identity.

He talks about carving out who he truly is, and we see that both the speaker in "The Emigree" and Agard himself in "Checking Out Me History" and the poem with the power that was taken away from them.

Well done on planning your comparative analysis for those two poems. I hope that's helped you connect those two poems in a really meaningful way.

Here's what we've learned today.

Both "The Emigree" and "Checking Out Me History" explore big ideas of oppression, power, and reclaiming identity.

Both "The Emigree" and "Checking Out Me History" criticise oppressive systems due to the detrimental effect they can have on personal identity.

Both poems use the motif of light to show the power of personal identity, and both poets ultimately reveal how one can reclaim their sense of identity.

Thank you so much for joining me in today's lesson, and I hope to see you in another lesson soon.