Hello there, welcome to today's lesson.

My name's Mr. Barnsley and I'm so glad you are joining me today as we continue to explore the poetry of the "Eduqas Anthology." And today we're looking at a new poem.

Today we are gonna be looking at Seamus Heaney's "Death Of A Naturalist." So do make sure you have your copy of the anthology in front of you and let's get started.

Alright, let's have a look at today's outcome then, shall we? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain the story that the poem tells as well as how the poem is used as a metaphor.

So you're gonna look at both the literal and the metaphorical meaning of this poem.

So here are some keywords we're gonna keep an eye out for.

The first one, naturalist, it is a keyword is in the title of the poem and that means a person who studies plants, animals, insects, and other living things.

So we might already see that this poem is gonna be about nature.

You might even see nature in that word, naturalist.

Other words look out for that we will talk about a little bit more when we come across them in the lesson are obscene, intrigue and disillusioned.

Alright, there are two learning cycles in today's lesson.

We're gonna start by reading the poem and thinking about the story of the poem, the literal meaning of the poem, and then the second learning cycle, We're gonna start thinking about this poem as a metaphor, but let's start by making sure we understand the poem in a literal sense first.

So to do that, I want us to discuss what do you know about frogs? What do you know about their lifespan and how do you know this about frogs? Pause the video, have a think, have a discuss if you've got a partner, if you've got a partner you can talk it through with them.

But don't worry if you're working by yourself, you can just think through this independently.

Over to you for the questions on screen, pause the video and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Great to see how many of you knew some very lots of things about frogs.

I could hear lots of you talking about primary school and perhaps that you learned about the lifecycle of frogs in primary school.

Lots of you talk about frog spawn and tadpoles, so it's clear you know a fair bit, but probably a lot of your knowledge comes from when you were younger.

Alright, let's start then by reading the poem, "Death Of A Naturalist." I'm gonna hand this over to you to do some reading independently, but I want you to use the glossary below 'cause there might be some terms that you don't recognise.

So pause the video and as you are reading through the poem, if there's a word that you're not sure about, take a look at the screen and check, see if it's on my glossary.

Alright, over to you.

Pause the video, read the poem and press Play when you are done.

(no audio) Welcome back, some fantastic reading there and well done to all of those of you using the glossary to support your understanding.

Alright, let's have a discuss about what we've read then.

How do the speaker's emotions change throughout the poem and how did the poem make you feel and why? Pause video, if you've got a partner, you can discuss this with them.

If you're working by yourself, you can just make a few notes or just think through this independently.

Alright, pause the video, over to you.

(no audio) Welcome back.

Now you might have talked about the poem telling a story and how the speaker's emotions change over that story.

I want us to work out then what story is being told.

So to do that I want you to re-read lines one to 10 and can you tell me where is the poem set and how is the physical environment, the nature, described? Again, this might be something you might want to work with a partner and discuss with them or you can just think through this independently if you are working by yourself but over to you now, pause the video, re-read those first 10 lines and think about those two questions you can see on the screen.

Alright, pause the video and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Welcome back.

I could see people starting to unpick the meaning of this poem.

Well done if you said that the opening of the poem is where Heaney is setting the scene.

The poem is set in a flax-dam in the townland in Ireland.

Now flax-dams are manmade lakes used to prepare flax and preparing flax involves soaking it thoroughly so that it starts to decompose and break down.

Clumps of earth or boulders are used to weigh the flax down so that it's submerged and this process produces a foul smell.

So you are already getting the scene of something that is both manmade but also feels very natural.

When we think of nature we think of things being really beautiful and a manmade lake might be very beautiful, but the process also produces a foul smell.

So you might already starting to be noticed, maybe some juxtapositions in the early setting of this poem.

Alright, what did you learn from the poem about what wildlife inhabits the flax-dam? Pause video, have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Well done if you noticed that the speaker mentioned dragonflies and butterflies, flies and frogs.

Now, the speaker specifically mentions the type of butterfly that they see at the flax-dam.

What do you think that tells us about the speaker but that they know about the specific type of butterfly that they see? Pause the video, have a think and press Play when you think you have a response.

(no audio) Great work if you said something about maybe this suggests that the speaker appears to be somebody who is very interested in nature to know the specific details about different types of butterflies, maybe they are a budding naturalist.

Alright, let's carry on reading through the poem then.

I want you to now re-read lines 10 to 21.

Who do you think the speaker is and what gives you this impression? Pause the video, have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Yeah, great work if you said that the speaker appears to be a young child, potentially even a younger version of Heaney himself, we don't know for sure but I think we can say that that's a likely inference we could make.

We get the impression from the fact that they take jampotfuls of frog spawn home with them to cultivate on their windowsill.

I think that really helps us get this impression that they are a young child.

Okay, I don't imagine many, although there will be some, I don't imagine many adults filling jam jars full of frog spawn yet, you might be able to, if you lived near the countryside and you ever came across frog spawn, you might remember times where you asked if you could take it home.

Now, we also get the impression that they are a young child because they mention their teacher and the way that she described the mating rituals of the daddy and the mommy frogs.

So she uses quite informal terminology to talk about the mother and the father frogs, the male and the female frogs.

So she calls them the daddy and the mommy frogs.

And this suggests that the child is probably in primary school.

So I think we can guess they are somewhere between about six and 10 years old.

Well done if you managed to make any of those inferences based on the clues that you got from the poem.

Alright, let's check our understanding then.

Who could the speaker be in the poem? Could it be a young child? Could it be the poet? Could it be a teacher? Pause if you don't, have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Well done if you said A or B, we know for a fact or we can make a very, very good inference that this is a young child, okay, from the way that they respond and the way the teacher talks to them, we can guess that they are a young child.

Now we don't know for sure that this is the poet, but remember that word, could, in the title allows us to make the inference that maybe this could also be a younger version of Seamus Heaney.

Although I think we can rule out this being the teacher.

Okay, let's continue our exploration of the poem then.

How does the speaker describe the frog spawn between lines 10 and 21? How do they feel about the frog spawn? Why don't you pause the video, have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Some really great discussions there.

Let's see what Laura said and see if you had any similarities to her.

Laura said, "I get the impression that the speaker loves the frog spawn as they say that it was the best part of the flax-dam for them.

The fact that they watched the frog spawn in the jam jars religiously shows their fascination with nature and wildlife.

Their excitement is evident in their description of them bursting into tadpoles." So well done if you picked up on the speaker's excitement at the frog spawn in this section of the poem.

Right, now it's time for you to re-read lines 22 to 34.

Why don't you pause the video and read that section so it's fresh in your mind before we continue with some discussion questions.

Alright, pause the video, have a re-read and press Play when you are done.

(no audio) Okay, how is the way in which the speaker describes the frogs themselves different from the way in which they describe the frog spawn and the tadpoles? You might have noticed a shift here between how the speaker is describing the frogs.

What do you think that shift is? Pause the video.

Have a think.

Discuss with your partner if you have one, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Yeah, well done if you said that you felt the speaker describes the frog with disgust, he uses some of the following words, gross-bellied, pulsed, plop, farted, obscene, one of our key words, something disgusting and slim.

So you can really see how the author's use of vocabulary changes when he's describing the frogs in comparison to the tadpoles and the frog spawn.

So we do learn that the speaker is disgusted and appalled by the adult frogs.

The speaker almost views the frogs as a threat.

He's worried that if he approaches that the frog spawn might trap him.

Where do you think this disgust comes from? Why do you think that the speaker is horrified by the frogs but he was so excited to watch them grow up? And how does the speaker's disgust and horror make you feel and why? Why don't you pause the video and have a think.

If you've got a partner, this would be a fantastic time to do some discussion, otherwise you can work through this independently.

Alright, over to you.

What are your interpretations of the speaker's response to the frogs? (no audio) Welcome back, I heard some really interesting ideas there and some of you being really creative in thinking why the speaker might have changed so much.

Let's have a look if you said something similar to what we can see on the screen.

So perhaps the speakers disgusted comes from the fact that he's hugely outnumbered by the frogs.

He describes them almost like an army suggesting that he feels inferior and possibly even threatened by them.

But it also seems that the speaker has witnessed a sort of power of nature firsthand and it terrifies him.

He realises just how powerful and how overwhelming nature can be.

He's outnumbered and this actually feels quite disturbing to him.

Can you think now of any other poems in the anthology? Do we see both the beauty but also the power of nature? The power of nature, which often horrifies a speaker.

Why don't you think, pause the video and if you've got a partner, try and compare this to any of the poems that you might have read in the anthology so far.

Pause the video, give this a go and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Alright, welcome back.

Some really interesting links being made there.

Well done.

Alright, time for our first task then.

So we know "Death Of A Naturalist" tells a story.

I want you to write a short summary of the story that the poem tells to really make sure we've understood the literal meaning of this poem.

Things I want you to cover, who the speaker is, the journey that the speaker goes on in their relationship with nature, the emotions that the speaker experiences.

You can use this sentence start to get you started if you're struggling.

Seamus Heaney's "Death Of A Naturalist," tells the story of, alright, over to you now, pause the video, give this a go and press Play when you think you are done.

(no audio) Great work there and well done to everyone who was checking their spelling, punctuation, and grammar before they put their pen down.

Well done.

I love seeing that.

Alright, here's, have a look at something that you could have written.

Remember there are many different ways you could have phrased your summary.

This is just one example for you to compare yours to.

Seamus Heaney's "Death Of A Naturalist" tells the story of a young budding naturalist who frequents a flax-dam to observe the nature there.

The young enthusiast gathers frog spawn and patiently watches it grow, learning from his teacher about the wonders of creation.

At a later date, he returns to the flax-dam to discover that it has been taken over by an obscene army of frogs.

Disgusted and appalled, he flees the flax-dam for fear of capture.

Is there anything in my response that you would like to add to your summary? Maybe any phrasing or any vocabulary choices? Pause the video and compare your summary to mine and make any improvements to yours if you wish.

(no audio) Okay, welcome back.

Great work so far of, we have really made sure we understand the literal meaning of this poem, but now we're gonna start thinking about this poem as a metaphor.

So literally we know the speaker is disgusted with the adult frogs.

However, metaphorically, what might he be disgusted with? I want you to think now, what could the adult frogs represent? Pause the video, if you've got a partner, you can work through this together.

Otherwise you can just think through this independently.

Make a few notes if you wish.

What could the adult frogs represent? Over to you, pause the video, give this a go and press Play when you think you have an idea.

(no audio) Welcome back, I heard some great ideas there and really well done for those of you working in pairs where you were building on each of those responses, or if you didn't agree with them, you challenge them, either way, really like to see that.

Okay, let's have a look at what some of our Oak pupils said and you can compare your responses to them.

So Aisha said, "The a adult frogs could represent growing up.

Perhaps growing up is no longer as exciting as the speaker thought it might be." Okay, let's have a look at some of our Oak pupils' responses and you can compare yours to theirs.

So Aisha said, "The adult frogs could represent growing up, perhaps growing up is no longer as exciting as the speaker thought it might be." Andeep said, "The frogs could represent some conflict.

We know they're described as an army.

Maybe the speaker has become more aware of conflict in the world around him and it has corrupted his innocence." And Izzy said, "Well, the adult frogs could represent the ugliness of the adult world.

The speaker is no longer protected by his childlike innocence and naivety." Whose idea do you like the best and why? Pause the video, have a think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

(no audio) Okay, welcome back.

Really great to hear you weighing up the Oak pupils' responses against each other.

Now I'm gonna share some context with you and let's see if this changes our understanding of the poem.

So did you know that Seamus Heaney was born in County Derry Northern Ireland in 1939? So he enjoyed a rural upbringing in the countryside, but he was still very aware of the political and social concerns at the time.

That as a very young child, he watched American soldiers in the local fields.

They were there in preparation for the Normandy invasion of 1944.

So you may have noticed those dates, 1939, 1944 are dates from the Second World War.

So as a young child, Seamus Heaney was growing up surrounded by war, but also he was very aware of the troubled history in Northern Ireland.

So not only have we got the Second World War, but we've got the political unrest, the troubles of Northern Ireland.

These were the conflicts between the Protestants and the Catholics.

Those who wanted Northern Ireland to be seen as part of the United Kingdom and the others who wanted it to join unite with Ireland.

And we know that actually Seamus Heaney often writes about Ireland, rural life and nature.

So with all of this in mind, does this change our reading of the poem? Does this help us lean into certain understandings and maybe make us read this poem as a metaphor in any way or another? Why don't you pause the video, have a discussion, have a think and press Play when you have had an opportunity to do that.

(no audio) Okay, welcome back.

Let's check our understanding and make sure we have remembered some of those key facts about the context behind Heaney's writing of the poem.

So which of the following are true of Heaney? Is it A that Heaney was born and raised in Scotland? Is it B that Heaney grew up in the countryside surrounded by nature? Is it C that Heaney was aware of political conflict from a young age? Or is it D that Heaney was troubled by his time at school and had difficult relationships with teachers? Pause the video and select the right answer or right answers.

There may be more than one and press Play when you are ready to continue.

(no audio) Great work if you said B and C.

We know that Heaney grew up in the countryside surrounded by nature, but he was also aware of political conflicts.

Not only the second World War when he was a very young child, but throughout his adolescence and his adulthood, he will have grown up surrounded by the political troubles in Northern Ireland.

So let's remind ourselves what our Oak pupils said then, shall we? So Aisha said, "The adult frogs could represent growing up," whereas Andeep said, "The frogs could represent conflict," and Izzy said, "The adult frogs could represent the ugliness of the adult world." Knowing now what you know about Heaney, do any of these ideas seem more possible and relevant and why? Which ones do you like, are you leaning to towards more closely? And remember, you can have more than one of these.

You don't have to just agree with one of the pupils.

So pause the video, have a discussion with the partner or have a think if you wish if you're working independently, what does the knowledge of the context behind Heaney's writing of the poem, how does it help us develop and understand some of these ideas further? (no audio) Okay, onto our final task of today's lesson then.

The poem is called, "Death Of A Naturalist." What I want you to do, if you've got a partner, you can discuss this.

Who is the naturalist in the poem? Who or what dies in the poem, thinking metaphorically, and what might the poem be a metaphor for? If you're working by yourself, you may wish to write responses to these down, but if you've got a partner, you can do this verbally.

Over to you now, pause the video, give this a go and press Play when you think you are done.

(no audio) Okay, welcome back, some great discussions there.

It was great to see you thinking so carefully about the metaphorical interpretations you might have of this poem.

Alright, let's share some of the ideas that you may have had.

So you might have said that the naturalist is the young speaker whose enthusiasm and love of nature dies in the poem because of the frightening encounter with the frogs.

You may have said that no one has died in the poem, but arguably childhood innocence has died.

The intrigue and excitement that nature arouses for so long is replaced by a fear when the speaker perceives nature to be turning against him.

And so when we think about, well, what this poem could be a metaphor for, what we could say, it could be a metaphor for growing older and becoming more disillusioned with the world around you.

Disillusioned, remember, means to feel kind of disappointed with the world around you.

And as we grow older, we become more politically and socially aware, like Heaney seeing the American soldiers as a young child.

But as we grow older, we also start to understand all the horrors and disappointments and the ugly truths that we've been protected from as children.

And this can be really horrifying.

So this poem could be a metaphorical exploration of our loss of innocence as we mature from childhood to adulthood, becoming increasingly aware of the flaws and the faults around us that we never noticed before or that might have been hidden from us.

Well done if you said anything similar to what you can see on the screen.

When we start looking at it like this, isn't it so exciting how we can, how poems can be interpreted in many different ways? This is why I love poetry so much.

Alright, great job then in today's lesson, you've done a really, really good job of understanding "Death Of The Naturalist," both a literal and metaphorical level.

Let's quickly remind ourselves using the bullet points on screen what we've learned today.

So we learned that Heaney's "Death Of A Naturalist," tells the story of a young child who frequents a flax-dam to observe the nature there.

We know that the naturalist is the young speaker whose enthusiasm and love of nature dies in the poem.

The intrigue and excitement that nature arouses for so long is replaced by fear when the speaker perceives nature to be turning against him.

The poem could be a metaphor for growing older and becoming more disillusioned with the world around you, including with nature.

And arguably the adult frogs could represent the ugliness of the adult world.

The speaker is no longer protected by his childlike innocence and naivety.

Really well done today.

I'm so glad you chose to join me.

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

Have a great day.

Goodbye.