Hi, everyone, my name is Mr. Chandrapala and I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

We're gonna be having a look today, at selecting and using quotations from unseen poems. Often, when we are reading unseen poetry for the first time, a lot of students say that they don't know where to find particular quotes or how to choose their best options within an exam.

Hopefully through today's lesson, we'll be able to explain a couple of key questions to have in your mind to find the most judicious quotations to support you.

Let's dive in.

So our outcome for today's lesson is that we can select and analyse quotations from an unseen poem.

Our key words include the noun "inference," which means a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

The adjective "judicious," which means having or showing reason and good judgement in making decisions.

The adjective "evocative," which means to bring strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.

The adjective "vulnerable," which means able to be easily hurt, influenced, or attacked.

And finally, the noun "connotation," a feeling or idea that is suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning.

So we're gonna start off today's lesson by focusing on selecting quotations from an unseen poem.

Selecting judicious quotations is an essential part of formulating an argument about a text, since quotations are the foundation of your evidence.

In order to select judicious quotations, you might ask the following questions: Which words are the most evocative to you? Which words create the most significant image for you? Which words are unexpected and cause a jarring effect? Which words leave a lasting impression? Which words suggest the tone or mood of the text? Which words create an impression of the speaker or the subject? But what do we think are the most common misconceptions around selecting quotations are? We've just gone through some of the questions we should be asking ourselves, but what do you think are some of the wrong questions students ask themselves? Pause the video now and have that discussion either in your pairs, your class, or maybe jot down some ideas individually.

Once you've done so, hit play.

Some really interesting ideas there, from everyone.

So Sam was saying, "Well, I used to think I had to spot methods such as similes or metaphors when selecting quotations." Whilst Izzy said, "Yeah, but once I did that, I realised I wasn't actually building a personal response or argument." Izzy and Sam are right here.

The issue with Sam's initial idea of picking methods such as similes or metaphors to focus on, is the fact that as Izzy points out, he's not building his own personal response or argument.

He's simply pointing at things going, "Look, there's a simile.

There's a metaphor." And, yes, whilst he's right to say that that is a simile or that's a metaphor, he's not able to maybe make a comment on that.

And actually, the key thing to do in unseen poetry is to be able to pick evidence that you feel that you can say something meaningful or thought provoking about.

So let's just have a quick Check for Understanding here.

Which of the following are questions you might want to ask yourself to select judicious quotations? Is it A, which quotations have the most techniques in them? B, which quotations offer evocative imagery? Or C, which quotations are the longest and therefore have the most material? Pause the video now, select A, B, or C, you only need to select one, and once you've done so, hit play.

Really good work there, everyone.

So it is B, we wouldn't want to select the quotations which have the most techniques in them, because if you can't say anything about those quotations or those techniques, there's really no point to selecting it.

And in terms of that C, which quotations are the longest and therefore have the most material? Often, picking really long quotations is actually really unhelpful, because often we're unable to say everything about that particular quote, so it actually doesn't do us a lot of good.

So we would always want to focus on quotations which offer evocative imagery.

Remember, if something is evocative, it produces an image or an idea which is quite strong within our minds, beyond just the literal meaning of the work.

So in your additional materials for today, you'll find a copy of Andrew Forster's "Mother, Diving." I want you to pause the video now, and I want you to read the poem for the first time.

You don't need to make any wild annotations whilst you're doing so.

I just want you to read the poem so that you feel comfortable and confident in what it is talking about.

Once you've done so, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

Really good reading there.

So I want us to now answer the following questions, we'll go through these afterwards, but for now, I want you to independently answer the following questions, which are: Which words are the most evocative to you? Which words create the most significant image for you? Which words are unexpected and cause a jarring effect? Which words leave a lasting impression? Which words suggest a tone or mood of the text? And which words create an impression of the speaker or the mother? Pause the video now.

Read through the poem again.

Answer each of those six questions.

You may want to get your notes directly onto the poem, you may want to write them on a separate sheet of paper in your notes.

And once you've done so, we'll go through together.

Pause the video now, have a go at that exercise, and when you're ready, hit play.

Some really interesting and thoughtful reading there, everyone.

Let's take some responses.

So Sophia was reading through the same poem.

As we're going through her ideas, I want you to check how similar or different they are to your ideas.

Remember, unseen poetry responses don't necessarily, in fact, they never want to encourage everyone to think the same thing.

You are not going to have the same answer as your best friend in another class or the person sitting next to you.

You may have similar ideas, but you'll probably emphasise different things.

So even if your ideas are different to Sophia's, that's absolutely fine.

If there's anything that you really like, you may want to magpie it, so you may want to take a note of it in a different colour if you think it's a worthwhile idea.

But otherwise, don't worry if your ideas are a little bit different, so long as you can explain how you got to that conclusion.

So Sophia was asked the same questions, and for the question which word is the most evocative to you? She said, "Well, I think 'clenched' and 'sprang' are the most evocative because they really show the initial fear and then the release of the mother." And then, for which words create the most significant image for you? She said, "The comparison to a 'guillemot' is the most significant, because it shows how the mother is now free and soaring." For which words were unexpected and caused a jarring effect? Sophia wasn't expecting to see the comparison to Johnny Weismuller, as it feels a very different image from the natural imagery of the dolphin and the guillemot.

I really liked that pickout because actually, Johnny Weismuller being an Olympic swimmer is such a different comparison point to the natural imagery of the dolphin and the guillemot.

It may represent something about the speaker, but we'll get into that a little bit later.

Which words leave a lasting impression? Sophia said, "I think 'making new shapes for herself' leaves a lasting impression, because it makes me feel as if the mother is finally allowing herself to be free from fear." In terms of which words suggest the tonal mood of the text, Sophia was interested in the "taunted" sets the tone of the poem, for the opening of the poem, and "twisting" sets the tone for the rest of the poem, which I think is really interesting because the poem does twist towards the end.

It subverts our expectations.

And finally, for which words create an impression of the speaker or the mother? Sophia thought the phrase "off balance" creates an impression of the speaker, because it suggests their view of the mother and subsequently, their worldview has now changed.

Pause the video now.

If there's anything that you would want to take notes of, take them now, and when you're ready, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

Let's keep moving.

So we're now moving on to using quotations from an unseen poem.

So we now selected our quotations, and we now need to think about how we can use them effectively.

The reason why we're focusing so much on quotations is because quotes form the basis of our argument, they are the backbone of our argument, and so we need to make sure that we're using the most effective evidence from the text.

When using quotations, you want to make sure that you embed the quotations within your sentence, you zoom in on significant details within the quotes, you make inferences on those details.

So we're going to imagine we're exploring the presentation of the mother in Forster's "Mother, Diving." Again, I want you to focus on the copy of the poem that you have in your additional materials.

To start with, I want you to reread the poem, focusing on the presentation of the mother.

Once you've done so, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

So I would like you just to turn to the person next to you and explain how you would summarise the presentation of the mother in "Mother, Diving." Once you've done so, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

Let's take some feedback.

So the mother is initially presented as scared and vulnerable, but she's then presented as strong and free once she conquers her fears.

She's not the same at the starting and at the end of the poem.

She clearly undergoes a significant change.

So which quotation from the poem would you use to show the mother's vulnerability at the start of the poem? Pause the video again, and see if you can select one quote to show her vulnerability, Once you've done so, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

So Laura was interested in picking out the phrase "clenched like stones." But why do we think her choice might not be the most effective one? Pause the video, see if you can explain why, and when you're ready, hit play.

There's some really careful readers among us, and I'm so impressed by the way that you're deconstructing Laura's choice.

So like some of you, I said "clenched like stones" arguably shows the mother's tension and apprehension, but it doesn't specifically show her vulnerability.

Her vulnerability would be shown by something that is actually going to make her seem quite weak rather than something that shows her being apprehensive.

So Laura went back and she said, "Well, perhaps I may use the phrase 'taunted my Mother like a tongue,'"? Why do we think this would be more effective? Pause the video again, and see if you can explain why.

Well done, everyone.

So this is a much better quote to use, because it offers specific connotations of vulnerability.

But now, Laura has to choose which words to zoom in on from that quotation, "taunted my Mother like a tongue." She was interested initially, in zooming in on "like a tongue" because it's a simile, and because she thinks she'd have the most to say about that.

Now, while she's right to say it's a simile, it may not be the thing that she has the most to say about.

What mistake has Laura made here? Pause the video, see if you can work it out, and when you're ready, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

So she zoomed in on the method, but she hasn't zoomed in on the moment where she could make the most comments on the connotations of those word choices.

So then she says, "Well, okay, I'll go away now and I'll zoom in on the capitalization of 'Mother.

'" But again, why would that not be the most effective thing to focus on? Pause the video and see if you can explain why to the person next to you.

Some really careful reading there, everyone.

So several of you pointed out the fact that arguably, the capitalization of "Mother" denotes importance rather than vulnerability.

So a capital M doesn't necessarily suggest that the mother is weak or vulnerable in this situation.

So then Laura goes away a third time and says, "Maybe I'd zoom in on 'taunted' then?" Why do we think Laura is now choosing the most effective part of the quote to focus on? Pause the video, see what connotations you could come up with for yourselves, and when you're ready, hit play.

Some really interesting, independent thought there, everyone.

So several of you said, "Well, 'taunted' suggests that she's being provoked and upset, which therefore implies her vulnerability." I often think about the word taunted, and it reminds me of almost like bullying in playground situations, right? This idea that if someone is taunting you, they're making fun of you, and therefore there's a lot more that we can say about that particular word choice.

So let's just have a quick Check for Understanding here.

Alex and Sam have explained why choosing taunted is the most effective choice.

Which of their explanations though, do you think is more focused? Sam said, "Well, 'taunted' begins with a plosive sound, and therefore is the most effective choice." Whilst Alex pointed out that taunted has connotations of weakness and vulnerability.

Pause the video now and select which between Sam or Alex's explanations of taunted you think is more focused on explaining why it would be used.

Once you've done so, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

So we can clearly see that Alex's focus on taunted having connotations of weakness and vulnerability is the far more impressive thing to be talking about.

Sam here is trying to talk about methods which don't necessarily have the same focus point, and we can't necessarily make the same comments about.

So we're just gonna practise putting our understanding of using quotations from an unseen poem together.

If we're focusing on the presentation of the mother in Forster's "Mother, Diving," and we're going to use the phrase "taunted my Mother like a tongue" to show the vulnerability at the beginning of the poem, I want us to consider the following questions: What quotation would you use to show how the mother has transformed by the end of the poem? And which words from that quotation would you choose to zoom in on? What are the specific quotations you would want to discuss? Pause the video now, have that discussion in your pairs, selecting what quotes you would go for and what specific connotations you would discuss, and once you're ready, hit play.

Some really interesting ideas there, everyone.

I want you now just to extend your thinking a little bit, and just consider what inferences you can make about the specific words you've chosen.

So when we're thinking about inferences, what wider ideas can we start working into? How specifically is the mother being presented in those moments? Once you've done that, hit play.

Well done, everyone.

Let's take some feedback.

So Laura and Sophia were having a look and they wanted to discuss the two quotes, "Turning like a dolphin," and then for Sophia, "Sprang into the charged air." Laura said, "Well, 'Turning like a dolphin' because 'dolphin' has connotations of peace and freedom, and that represents how the mother is free from her fears." While Sophia said, "'Sprang into the charged air' because 'sprang' shows the energy and power the mother now has, rather than her vulnerability." Pause the video now and see which one out of Lauren and Sophia's ideas you would more closely align with.

Did you choose the same quotes? If you did, can you maybe make a note of any ideas that they've shared, which you think we could extend any further? Or if you didn't go for either of those quotes, maybe get them down as an extension to your own ideas.

Pause the video now, get any notes you need, and then when you're ready, hit play.

Fantastic work there, everyone.

I really like Sophia's choice of the word "sprang" to show the power and energy of the mother, because I think it suggests that almost she's had all of this potential, right? If you think about a spring, it has that potential to do so much, it just needs the opportunity to, it almost needs that moment of release, and therefore, I really like that option.

Also, for Laura, the choice of "dolphin" is so interesting because, yes, it represents or it has connotations of peace and freedom, but also the fact that dolphins are incredibly intelligent animals, I believe also quite social animals, and the fact that "turning like a dolphin" maybe suggests that there's a whole new world that the mother is about to enter into.

So let's quickly take our summary for today's lesson on selecting and using quotations from an unseen poem.

We know when selecting judicious quotations, we might ask which are the most evocative to us? You might also ask which quotations create a sense of tone and mood? When using quotations, we ask which words we'd zoom in on.

You then might explore the connotations of these words and make inferences.

I've been so impressed with the way that you've dealt with a really interesting new unseen poem, and I'm so glad that you've been able to join me for this lesson.

I really appreciate all the effort you've put in for what is often something students find really challenging.

You've dealt really well with that.

Thank you so much, everyone, and I hope to speak to you again very soon.

Bye for now.