Hello, and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Watson, and I'm so glad you've decided to join me today.

We're going to be learning about the American poet Maya Angelou.

And I think you're gonna like her work very, very much.

She's one of my favourite poets and I'm so looking forward to teaching you this lesson.

So the outcome of today's lesson is that you will have explored Maya Angelou's poem called "Life Doesn't Frighten Me." And you will be focusing on her distinctive voice, on the speaker's distinctive voice in that poem.

Let's make a start.

So there are five keywords that will unlock your learning today.

They are civil rights activist.

Now that is a person who advocates for social and political equality and speaks on behalf of those who have been denied equal treatment.

Figurative language.

That are the non-literal phrases or words which help develop a writer's meaning.

Simile and metaphor are both examples of figurative language.

And when we talk about methods in literature, we mean the tools that a writer uses to create their work.

Repetition or figurative language.

They would be two examples, but there are many, many more.

And something that is distinctive is something that is appealing and interesting because of its recognisable or special qualities.

And there is something very distinctive about the speakers in Maya Angelou's poem.

And if you are assertive, you are confident and self-assured.

Wonderful quality to have.

So if you would like to familiarise yourself with the keywords, just pause the video, take some time to do that, and then rejoin the lesson when you are ready.

So there are two learning cycles today.

We are going to look at Maya Angelou's distinctive voice, and then we are going to explore the poem, "Life Doesn't Frighten Me." Now the five poems listed below were written by the American poet, Maya Angelou.

She wrote many, many more than that.

But these are the five I want us to start by considering.

I'd like to draw your attention as well to Maya Angelou's dates 1928 to 2014.

So she lived through most of the 20th century and she had a very, very interesting life that you are going to learn more about.

But let's start by looking at the poetry titles.

"Life Doesn't Frighten Me." "Phenomenal Woman," "Equality," "Still I Rise," and "Caged Bird." And Jacob, he was really struck by the title "Caged Bird." And he said, "I am most interested by the title "Caged Bird" because the other titles seem to express power, but this one is different because caged birds are trapped and powerless." That's a really good comment on a title there, Jacob.

And the way he compares it to the other poems also helps him make an interesting point.

So now I would like you to discuss which title interests you most and why, you're going to give a reason why? And what inferences can you make about what each could be about? In the dialogue box, I've given you some sentence stems that I think will help you.

I am most interested by the title, whatever it is.

Because, and that's your reason.

And then perhaps it will be about, because the title suggests.

And that's where you make inferences.

So please pause the video, make your choices, share your choices with each other in a discussion.

Always remember to explain why it interests you the most? And if you are working alone, what you need to do is pause the video and just make a few notes.

So when you are ready, off you go.

Welcome back.

That was a really interesting discussion and it was so good to hear you sharing ideas and making really thoughtful inferences about the title.

Now I would like to give you a little bit more information about Maya Angelou.

She's an American poet.

She was a civil rights activist.

She campaigned for social justice and equality.

She was also Hollywood's first Black female director, that was back in 1971.

And she was awarded the Presidential Medal for Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011.

And that is the highest civilian award in the United States.

So you can see that she has had a really interesting and valuable life.

Now, I would like you to reconsider the titles of some of Angela's poems in the light of the information I've given you.

And I'd like you to discuss what further inferences could you make about them now.

Use the biographical information to support your discussion.

And here's a reminder of the titles.

"Life Doesn't Frighten Me," "Phenomenal Woman," "Equality," "Still I Rise" and "Caged Bird." Pause the video while you have that discussion or pause the video and make a few notes.

Welcome back again, another brilliant discussion.

Isn't it interesting the way that just knowing a little bit of biography really opens up our minds to the possible interpretations that we can make of a title.

Now I want to look at Maya Angelou's poems, the uniqueness of the poems, but also what unites them.

She has a very distinctive voice and style.

And that means that when we read or hear a poem by Angelou, the speakers have this recognisable quality that makes us think, "Ah, yes.

This poem is by Maya Angelou." And there are many methods that Angelou has that she uses to create that distinctive voice.

And the two most important that we're gonna look at today are figurative language and assertive language.

So here's an example of figurative language.

In "Phenomenal Woman," she writes that her eyes are full of fire.

And in the poem "Equality," the speaker says that she stands boldly before those who have denied her equal treatment.

I'd like you to have a think about those two lines and which do you think is the most powerful image? Is it that my eyes are filled with fire? Or I stand boldly before you? I'd like you to pause the video while you have that discussion, but before you start discussing, I want you to say those lines out loud.

My eyes are filled with fire, and I stand boldly before you.

Because I want that to really help you think about how her voice is formed.

So when you are ready, pause the video, say the lines, and then discuss which is the most powerful image.

Off you go.

Welcome back.

That was another great discussion.

Made even more interesting by the way you spoke the lines.

Now, I would like you to think about this other distinctive feature of Angelou's poetry.

It is her use of repetition.

And repetition is a particularly powerful method for when Angelou performed her poetry, which he often did.

You see, you had a little taste of performing poetry and that's why I wanted you to do it.

Let's move on.

So what we are going to read today is her poem, "Life Doesn't Frighten Me." And I think it's a particularly good poem because it really showcases her distinctive voice.

In these ways, in its figurative language.

For example, the way the speaker says she has the power to walk along the bottom of the ocean.

And it's assertive language.

For example, when the speaker says that she says boo to dragons, and then they ran away from her.

And also in its use of repetition because the title "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," is repeated 10 times.

Really, really showing how bold she is and how much he can stand up to life.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What does it mean to have a distinctive voice in your written work? Is it a, that you use figurative language? Is it b, that you create speakers who are recognisable or special? Is it c, that you use an assertive tone? Or is it d, that you rely on methods like repetition? Have a think.

Make your choice.

Did you say b? That's the right answer.

So well done, if you've got the right answer, let's move on.

Now, I would like you to find a copy of "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," and I would like you to read it twice.

You can read it quickly the first time, and then at a slower pace.

I'd like you to experience the poem in two different ways.

Then I would like you to discuss these questions.

What do you think the poem is about? Which is your favourite stanza and why? Do you believe that life doesn't frighten the speaker? Why or why not? And how old do you think the speaker is? Approximately? Roughly? And why do you think this? Pause the video while you do that.

Off you go and happy reading.

So welcome back.

And I so hope that you enjoyed that poem as much as I do.

Now, I'd like to share with you Jacob and Andeep's discussion.

They talked about their responses to the poem.

And Jacob said, "I think this poem is about someone who is facing their fears.

They are aware of all the scary things in life.

They list them, but they can face them because of the superpowers they mention in Stanza 11." And Andeep said, "I think the speaker is meant to be a child because of the language in the poem, and the fact that actually the speaker does seem quite fearful." So two really quite different responses.

And what I would like you to do is to discuss those responses.

Do you agree with Jacob's idea that "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," is about someone facing their fears? And if you believe that, you justify your idea.

You explain why you think it and you refer to the text.

And if, on the other hand, you agree with Andeep, that the speaker might be a child.

Again, explain why? And justify your idea using evidence from the text.

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

Off you go.

So we're making really good progress.

We've thought a lot about and talked a lot about Maya Angelou's distinctive voice.

And now we are going to explore the poem in more detail.

I want you to read it again.

In fact, I want you to read it three more times.

And I want you to read it in a different way each time.

For example, you could read it in your head and then you could read it aloud.

You could read it sitting down and then standing up.

You could use gestures as you read.

You could increase or decrease your volume at certain moments.

But I want there to be variety in how you read it.

Pause the video, read the poem, and then rejoin the lesson for another discussion.

So welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed doing that.

You are getting more and more confident, assertive even at speaking poetry aloud.

Now, Jacob and Andeep, they discussed their favourite way of reading the poem.

And Jacob said, "My favourite way of reading the poem was when I used gestures.

For example, when I performed shoo, run and smile.

I think this really showed how assertive the speaker is because their actions emphasised their words" Very good, and the way he actually picked on specific words to use gestures to accompany them.

I think that was really good.

And Andeep said that his "Favourite way of reading the poem was in my head.

And I think this is a personal poem about someone's deepest fears so that seemed appropriate to me." Again, a really interesting thought.

Andeep obviously.

It was almost like he heard Maya Angelou's distinctive voice talking directly to him.

And I would like you to discuss what was your favourite way to read the poem? And to justify your answer.

So here are some sentence starters you could use in your discussion.

My favourite way of reading the poem was, for example.

And I think this really emphasised.

Or you could use my favourite way of reading the poem was, and I think this poem is about, so reading it in this way was appropriate because.

Pause the video while you have your discussion or pause the video while you make a few notes.

Off you go.

Well done.

Thank you for that discussion.

I was really impressed by the way you listen so respectfully to each other.

That's what makes discussions so successful.

Now what I would like you to do is to look at these two points of view.

Jacob says that, "The speaker in "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" is really assertive.

Andeep says that, "The speaker in "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," is pretending to be assertive." And really they are scared.

Two really opposing points of view.

And I would like you to discuss who you agree with more and why? And again, you are gonna justify your answer using evidence from the text.

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

Welcome back.

And now I'd like to have a check for understanding.

Which ideas would evidence, that means support, the idea that the speaker in "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" is assertive.

Is it a, they say they are sometimes scared in their dreams. Is it b, they list many different frightening things in the world.

Is it c, they say they have supernatural powers.

Or d, they don't scream when they see traditionally scary animals.

Have a think.

Make your choice.

Did you say C and D? They're the right answers.

Very well done, if you've got them right.

Let's move on.

And now what I would like you to do is to create a spider diagram with ideas that develop either Jacobs or Andeep's argument.

I'm going to share an example from Jacob's.

So Jacob said, "The speaker in "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" is really assertive.

And he's made this note that it repeats the title, the repetition of the title suggests how confident they are.

So you need to pause the video now.

Choose the statement that you most agree with, and set about making a spider diagram about why that is true? Why you think that argument is true? Off you go.

Welcome back.

What great focus there.

I was really impressed the way you really leaned in and thought about as many things as you could that supported that idea.

I just want to share with you that you could have had some further ideas if you were doing Jacob's.

He started with, it repeats the title, which suggests how confident they are, but you could also have, isn't scared of dragons being on her bed.

That's the counterpane.

That's like a quilt, like a thin quilt.

And says they have magic powers, and also they take action when they're scared.

They tell lions to shoo.

Now, Andeep.

He believes the speaker is scared and only pretending to be assertive.

How do you think Andeep would respond to this mind map that Jacob has made? I'd like you to pause the video while you have that discussion.

Or pause the video while you just make a few notes in response.

Off you go.

Welcome back.

Now we are at the end of the lesson and I so hope that you have enjoyed your introduction to Maya Angelou's distinctive voice and her poem, "Life Doesn't Frighten Me." Before we say goodbye, I'd like to summarise what you have been learning today.

You have been learning that Maya Angelou, who was born in 1928 and died in 2014, was an American poet and civil rights activist.

You have learned that Angelou's poems have a distinctive voice.

You have learned that Angela's use of figurative language, repetition and an assertive tone are three ways she creates a distinctive voice in her work.

You could argue that the speaker in "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" is presented as assertive.

And you could also argue that the speaker in "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," is only pretending to be assertive.

And you did a really good discussions where you found evidence for both points.

Now, I'd just like to say, thank you for your hard work today.

I wish you a brilliant rest of the day.

And I look forward to seeing you again in another lesson.

Bye for now.