Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

I'm so glad you've decided to learn with me today.

We're in the unit, Single Poet Study: Maya Angelou.

Today we are going to be writing some analytical paragraphs, and I'm so excited.

I love writing analytical paragraphs.

But today there's gonna be a slight twist.

We're not just writing about one poem, but we're writing about a number of poems. So really what we're gonna do is be thinking about Maya Angelou's poetic voice.

First things first, we need a copy of a number of Maya Angelou's poems, all the Maya Angelou poems that we have read.

Now, for me that's "On Ageing," "Still I Rise," "Phenomenal Woman," "Woman Work," Equality," "Caged Bird," On the Pulse of the Morning," and "Life Doesn't Frighten Me.

I'd like you to pause the video and gather together all the Maya Angelou poems that you have read.

They might be the same as mine.

They might be slightly different.

They might be slightly more.

They might be slightly fewer.

That is absolutely fine.

All you need to do is gather together all the Maya Angelou poems that you have read.

Pause a video, and gather together these poems now.

Welcome back.

Now, you have all those poems in front of you.

We are ready to start our lesson.

I'm gonna be your support and guide throughout today.

Cannot wait to hear all of your fantastic ideas.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you're going to have explored Maya Angelou's poetic voice in well-structured analytical paragraphs.

So we'll have a review, what do we think Maya Angelou's poetic voice is, how can we prove that with evidence from a number of her poems? And then we're gonna really turn our attention to analytical paragraphs.

What does a really good one look like, and how can we plan so that we can always write really well-structured analytical paragraphs? There's some key words which are gonna help us unlock our learning today.

They're gonna help us achieve our objective.

They are on the board now.

If you'd like to pause the video and read through them and make a few notes, then please do.

I'm just gonna draw your attention to one of them just now.

But of course we'll go through them as they come up in the lesson.

So the word like I'd like to draw your attention to is the penultimate, which means the second to last, it's the word context.

That is how you pronounce that word, context.

And in English, this means historical, social, literary, or biographical information that helps us understand text more fully.

So sometimes when we're writing about a text, we write about the words in the text, we write about quotations, but we also want to write about context, things that were happening when the text was written to the writer in the world.

There are lots and lots of things which count as context.

So you will see today when we write our analytical paragraphs about Maya Angelou, that there's a lot of different contexts that you could choose to include if you wish.

As I say, if you'd like to pause the video now and spend a bit more time with the rest of these keywords, please do.

Otherwise we will go through them during the lesson.

Our lesson outline for today, we're gonna start off by trying to answer this question: what makes a good analytical paragraph? And in our second learning cycle, we are going to apply everything we've learned from learning cycle one, and we're going to write some really analytical paragraphs.

Let's get started with answering this question, what makes a good analytical paragraph? Now, Laura considers all the Angelou poems she has read.

For Laura, that's "Phenomenal Woman," "Woman work," "Still I rise," "On Ageing," "Caged Bird," "Equality," "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," and "On the Pulse of the Morning." So she looks at them as a collection.

And Laura says, "Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere, which means honest." And it's a really nice idea there, a really nice start to start thinking about Maya Angelou's poetic voice to say, Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere.

Now, this word poetic voice is gonna come up again and again in today's lesson because we are trying to consider and argue, make analytical paragraph about Maya Angelou's poetic voice.

Now, what this means is something about Angelou's poetry, which makes it identifiably hers.

So something that we notice, not just in one poem, but over a number of poems, which mean we can say, ah, this poem, this poem is definitely by Maya Angelou.

I can hear her poetic voice coming through.

And so Laura has said, I think that across all of these poems, I could really argue that Maya Angelou's poetic voice is sincere, is honest.

Now, I'd like you to discuss what might have led Laura to this argument.

So you are gonna have a look at the Maya Angelou poems that you have read.

They might be the same as the ones on the board, and you think, well, how did Laura come to this idea that Maya Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere? And I'd also like you to discuss, well, how would you describe Maya Angelou's poetic voice? You might choose a different word to Laura, different adjective.

Pause the video and discuss these two questions now.

Welcome back.

Such a lovely discussion and it's really gonna set you up for the rest of the lesson.

Some people saying, I absolutely agree with Laura.

You could definitely argue that Angelou's poetic voice, the voice that comes through in a number of her poems, could definitely be described as sincere.

She often talks about things that are quite personal.

And we know that Angelou not only wrote lots and lots of poetry, but she also wrote lots of autobiographies.

That's an example there of context actually, which some of you might find useful for some of your analytical paragraphs today.

The fact that she wrote lots of autobiographies perhaps links to the idea that her poetic voice is sincere because Angelou is determined to present her life, explore her life, and in this way explore the lives of others too.

And then this question, how would you describe Angelou's poetic voice? So lots and lots of different ideas coming through.

Some people saying, I would describe it as defiant.

She's boldly disobedient in lots of her poems. Others saying commanding.

She often directs her readers to do things in a poem.

Authoritative.

She has this knowledge that she gives us in her poems about what people's lives are like, and the experience, particularly of those who experienced discrimination or oppression, has lots and lots of different adjectives to describe Maya Angelou's poetic voice.

So great first discussion to lead us in to this lesson.

Now, Laura developed her ideas into a paragraph.

So first of all, we're gonna to answer this question, what makes a good analytical paragraph? We're gonna look at really good example from Laura.

So let's have a look at her paragraph.

She writes, "Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere." So the voice that comes through in her poems across a number of poems, Laura says, "I can see and I identify that Maya Angelou's poetic voice is often sincere.

More specifically, her poems often explore ideas about equality and justice, which were important to Angelou as a civil rights activist." So civil rights activist, one of our key phrases, a person who fights for the social and political equality of all.

"For example, in 'Still I Rise,' the speaker talks about the pain of the past, a reference to enslavement.

The poem ends on the idea that despite this pain, the speaker will rise, a metaphor for overcoming adversity." So she's not literally rising, the speaker.

It is a metaphor to describe that even though she has been brought down by these examples of discrimination, oppression, she will rise above it.

"Furthermore, in 'Caged bird,' Angelou uses the extended metaphor of a bird in a cage to explore the impact of the Jim Crow laws." So an extended metaphor is a metaphor that's developed over a number of lines.

The Jim Crow laws, again, one of our key words and phrases, these were laws enforced by American states, which segregated people based on the colour of their skin.

And the experiences of those non-white citizens was usually inferior to the white citizens.

So the Jim Crow laws we now think of as racist.

"Angelou was alive during the Jim Crow laws and experienced racial segregation and inequality.

The bird is described as looking at a grave made of dreams. This image reveals that inequality crushes the ambitions of those who are oppressed.

Ultimately, Angelou's poems have a very sincere poetic voice because she often explores issues that affected her directly." So a really lovely paragraph from Laura.

Let's explore why it is so powerful.

So her first sentence gives the paragraph a clear focus.

"Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere." We now know what the paragraph is going to be about.

It's going to be about Maya Angelou.

It's going to be about her poetic voice, and it's going to be about the sincerity of her poetic voice.

Laura refers to two different poems to prove her ideas.

So she looks at "Still I Rise" and "Caged Bird." Now, if you're looking at a poet or a writer's poetic voice or voice in general, then you need more than one text to prove that idea so that you can say, I have looked at the idea of Maya Angelou's sincerity, not just across one poem, but across two poems. So this means that we really believe Laura when she says Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere because she has two examples, not just one.

Laura explores the quotations that she has selected.

So she's looked at the idea of rising in "Still I Rise," and she explores it by looking at the method of metaphor.

And she does this as well in "Caged Bird." She looks at the extended metaphor, but she also looks at this image of the bird looking at a grave of dreams. So she explores the quotations she has selected.

Laura references important context.

So she looks at Angelou's history as a civil rights activist and also Angelou's experience of the Jim Crow laws.

Now, what I really like about Laura including context, is it's clear, it's precise and it's quite short.

So it doesn't need to dominate the paragraph.

You don't need to talk lots and lots about the context that you want to include, but there is a reference in this paragraph.

And finally, Laura's final sentence links to her first sentence.

So she started off the paragraph saying, "Angelou's poetic voice is best described as sincere," and she finishes the paragraph, "Ultimately, Angelou's poems have a very sincere poetic voice because she often explores issues that affected her directly." So bookending the paragraph, the start and the end, and linking those two sentences together is a really important thing to do in English.

I find this actually very difficult.

I'm good at the first sentence and then I often forget at the end that I really need to remind my reader what it is that we have talked about.

So it's a good reminder for me as well with Laura in this paragraph to show you what a really successful end of a paragraph looks like.

Linking the first sentence to that final sentence.

Now, Sophia also writes a paragraph about Angelou's poetic voice.

And Sophia writes, "Angelou's poetic voice is best described as fearless.

More specifically, her poems present brave speakers.

For example, in life 'Doesn't frighten Me,' the speaker says boo to many different scary animals.

Furthermore, in 'Equality' the speaker demands equality and beats drums. Ultimately, Angelou's poems have a very fearless poetic voice because her speakers face scary things but don't seem to fear them at all." So seen Laura's paragraph, and now we've got Sofia's.

Now, her first sentence is a clear focus, "Angelou's poetic voice is best described as fearless," really nice first sentence.

She refers to two poems to support her ideas.

She looks at "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" and "Equality." Her final sentence links to her first sentence.

So she's got that fearless poetic voice reference in the first sentence, and then she uses the phrase "fearless poetic voice" in her final sentence.

But I'd like you to discuss, there are two things that Sophia has not done.

Have a think about Sophia's paragraph.

Maybe think about Laura's paragraph and what she did there, and think what Sophia not done in her paragraph.

Pause video and discuss the question now.

Welcome back.

Lovely discussion showing off your knowledge of what makes a really good analytical paragraph at the focus of this learning cycle.

And she has not explored her quotations.

She has not included context.

So remember that Laura explored at the image of the grave of dreams, the extended metaphor and the metaphor in "Still I Rise," and she looked at some context.

Now, Sophia has not yet done that in her paragraph.

So Sophia does a redraft.

You've given her some really clear feedback.

She knows what she needs to include.

And here is her redraft.

"Angelou's poetic voice is best described as fearless.

More specifically, her poems present brave speaker.

For example, in 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me,' he speaker repeats the title many times.

The refrain shows that despite all the scary things in life, which Angelou lists in the poem, the speaker is not afraid.

Furthermore, in 'Equality,' the speaker beats drums demanding equality.

This figurative language connects a speaker to a soldier marching to war showing the speaker is brave and determined to fight for justice.

Perhaps this poem was inspired by Angelou's time as a civil rights activist because she often had to make demands of people who oppressed her and other black citizens.

Ultimately, Angelou's poems have a fearless poetic voice because her speakers face scary things, but they don't seem to fear them at all." So a really beautiful redraft there.

Now, you can see that Sophia now explores her quotations.

We've got quite a nice section of her paragraph, which really explores the idea of refrain.

It looks at the idea of list.

We've got figurative language and a nice exploration of that figurative language as well.

Not only has she explored her quotations, she's also included context.

So she looked at the idea of Angelou as a civil rights activist and what that meant.

So a beautiful redraft there.

Sophia really relied on the feedback that you gave her to explore her quotations and include context.

She's now done that successfully.

Now, we check for understanding before we look to another analytical paragraph and consider what is good about it and how it could be even better.

Sophia and Laura make a checklist for what to include in an analytical paragraph about Angelou's poetic voice.

And I'd like you to tell me what is missing.

So they've made a checklist based on the discussions that we've had earlier in this learning cycle.

There are two things missing.

What are those two things? Pause the video and complete the check now.

Welcome back.

Well done if you said explanation of quotations was missing and final sentence linking to first sentence.

So those are the two things that are missing from that checklist.

Well done.

Now, Lucas has written an analytical paragraph exploring Maya Angelou's poetic voice.

You can find this on the worksheet.

We are going to read it together in a moment.

This is the task.

The first thing you're gonna do is read Lucas's paragraph.

As I say, we'll do that together.

The second thing you're gonna do is annotate the paragraph, identifying which aspects of the checklist he meets.

And the third thing is you're gonna identify one EBI, one even better if, which aspect of the checklist has he not met.

So three things: reading, annotating, and then identifying.

Let's read the paragraph together and then you will get going with your annotating and identifying one EBI.

So here's the paragraph.

"Angelou's poet voice is best described as defiant.

More specifically, her speakers often make demands of their audiences.

For example, in 'On Ageing,' the speaker says, 'don't and stop.

' She also says she doesn't want a rocking chair.

'On Ageing' was published when Angelou turned 50.

So perhaps the speaker is exploring how society often thinks of older people in stereotypical ways.

Furthermore, in 'Equality,' the speaker tells those who have oppressed her to confess and admit to their wrongdoings.

Ultimately, Angelou's poems have a very defined poetic voice because Angelou refuses to accept the oppressive laws with stereotypical views, which restrict her freedoms." So really nice paragraph there from Lucas.

So we've read through that paragraph.

As I say, you can find this on the worksheet.

I'm gonna remind you now the next two bits of your task.

So the first one was to read Lucas' paragraph.

We've done that together.

The second was to annotate the paragraph, identifying aspects of the checklist he meets.

And finally identify one even better if which aspect of the checklist has he not met.

Pause video and complete these tasks now.

Welcome back.

Well done for annotating that paragraph so carefully.

You've shown that you've really got to grips with answering our central question for the learning cycle: what makes a good analytical paragraph? Let's do some feedback.

So here we've got Lucas' paragraph.

You will have read through that.

Let's have a look at some of the annotations you could have made.

So here's how Lucas' paragraph met the checklist.

His first sentence gives a paragraph a clear focus.

He said that Angelou's perfect voice is best described as defiant.

Lucas refers to two different poems to prove his idea.

He looks at "On Ageing" and "Equality." Lucas references important context.

So he talks about "On Ageing" being published when Angelou was 50.

Quite different context to what Laura and Sophia looked at, but it is important context nonetheless.

Thinking about when a poem was published in a poet's life absolutely counts as context.

It's part of the biographical context that we looked at the very beginning of this lesson, Lucas' final sentence links to his first sentence.

So he remembered to do that really well.

So he's got this idea of defiance, a defiant poetic voice in his first sentence, and he repeats that in his final sentence.

Now, Lucas' EBI is to explain his quotations.

Lots of people noted that he's got the quotations there, but he has not explained them.

I'd like you to discuss what could Lucas have said about his quotations? We've got "don't" and "stop," rocking chair from "On Ageing", and in "Equality" we've gotta "confess" and "admit." Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Welcome back.

A lovely exploration there of quotations.

So some people saying that in both poems there's this idea of command words we've got, "don't" and "stop" and "confess" and admit they use in slightly different ways in "On Ageing." Maybe there's a slightly funnier tone to this poem because a speaker is saying, "Don't treat me like a stereotypical old person.

You need to understand me, see me for who I really am." So an exploration of command words would work really well there.

Confess and admit are also command words, but they have this idea that there has been wrongdoing.

So you confess a crime, you admit to doing something wrong.

And so this idea here that in "Equality," the speaker is saying that the people who have oppressed, they have done something wrong and they must confess to it, they must admit to it.

So an expiration of command words would work really well.

And then just looking at the connotations at what these words confess and admit make us think of.

All right, we have definitely answered our question.

What makes a good analytical paragraph? We are ready to move on to our second learning cycle.

So we are now going to apply everything we learn in learning cycle one to writing our own analytical paragraphs.

So a single paragraph outline is a way of planning an analytical paragraph.

It's always a really good idea to plan an analytical paragraph because they are hard to write.

So having a good plan to rely on is really helpful.

Now, a single paragraph outline has a topic sentence, and this introduces the main ideas in your paragraph.

And you write this in a full sentence.

It's got supporting details.

These are the ideas, the quotations, the context you include, and you do this in note form and a concluding sentence.

Now, this concludes the main ideas in your paragraph, like your topic sentence if it is written in a full sentence.

So I love single paragraph outlines because once you've got your single paragraph outlines for your paragraph, for your paragraphs, or for a full essay, then you can really rely on them.

You know that you are going to write some really solid analysis.

Watch Andeep build his single paragraph outline.

So we know what it is.

Let's look at an example.

"Angelou's poet voice is best described as forthright." So that's the topic sentence.

So forthright, assertive in some way.

We've got the supporting detail, ideas, quotations, and context that he will include.

An he wants to look on the "Pulse of the Morning." He's taken a quotation, "brutishness of the past," but also a chance for "a new start." Now he's remembered that this poem was first performed and it was written by Angelou for President Clinton's inauguration, so when he became the president of the United States in 1993.

So that's a really nice example of context there, talking about the poem and why it was written when it was first performed.

His second bit of supporting details, "Still I Rise," describes being "trod" in the "dirt," but still triumphing.

So really well-selected quotations there.

And his third bit of supporting details, he wants to talk about how Angelou is this full rights activist, therefore she has experienced oppression.

Now, you can see that very differently to his topic sentence, his supporting detail is written in notes.

We've got some symbols there like the equal sign, the therefore sign.

It's not written in full sentences.

That's absolutely fine.

You can just write your supporting detail in note form.

And then finally we can see Andeep's concluding sentence.

"Ultimately, Angelou's poems have a forthright poetic voice because Angelou confronts injustice and demands change." So he has remembered he needs to link his topic sentence and his concluding sentence to get that.

So a really lovely single paragraph outline there from Andeep.

Now, I'd like you to discuss.

You are going to plan a single paragraph outline shortly in this lesson, and then you will write an analytical paragraph.

The first thing I'd like you to is discuss, what would you include in your own single paragraph outline.

And we've already had a discussion about how you would describe Angelou's poetic voice.

We've looked at lots and lots of different examples, reviewed our ideas about her poems. So you are more than well prepared for this discussion.

Pause the video.

What would you include in your own single paragraph outline? Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

A really lovely focused discussion with lots of different adjectives that could be used to describe Angelou's poetic voice.

Commanding came through.

Some people saying, "I really like this idea of Andeep's about a forthright poetic voice." An assertive poetic voice, an uplifting poetic voice, I heard.

And then a lovely selection of detail from the poems that you have read in order to support this idea.

And unlike me, who often forgets to do that concluding sentence and linking it to the topic sentence, people really remember to focus on the idea that they need to repeat that first idea in their concluding sentence.

Well done.

Okay, check for understanding before we apply everything we've learned in this learning cycle to our practise task.

What is the problem with this? People's single paragraph outline, you can see it in front of you.

They've started off with, "Angelou's poetic voice is best described as authoritative." They've got three bits of supporting detail and then their concluding sentences.

Ultimately, Angelou's poems are very strong.

What do you think the problem is with this pupil's single paragraph outline? You've got three choices there.

Pause the video, read through them, and then select what you think the issue is.

Pause the video and complete the check now.

Welcome back.

Well done if you said see the concluding sentence doesn't link to the topic sentence.

So the student would have to repeat this word, authoritative, in their concluding sentence in order to link it to their topic sentence.

Such an important way to finish your paragraph.

All right, I would like you to write two paragraphs exploring Angelou's poetic voice.

First thing, you're gonna use Andeep single paragraph outline to write a first paragraph.

So we've looked at this earlier in this learning cycle.

We've got a fantastic topic sentence, some really good notes and a concluding sentence.

So you're gonna use Andeep's single paragraph outline to write your first paragraph.

Then I would like you to plan your own paragraph using a single paragraph outline.

And after you plan that paragraph, you will write your paragraph, you will write your second paragraph.

So by the end of this practise task, you'll have two paragraphs about Maya Angelou's poetic voice.

The first will be relying on Andeep's single paragraph outline, and the second will rely on your own single paragraph outline.

Pause the video, give this task the time that it deserves.

We've had such amazing discussions in this lesson, not just about Maya Angelou, but what a good analytical paragraph looks like as well.

Cannot wait to read the work that you produce.

Pause the video and complete this practise task now.

Welcome back.

Well done for giving those analytical paragraphs the time that they deserve.

You should be really of what is in front of you.

We're going to do a bit of feedback.

So we will remember this checklist that Sophia and Laura gave us earlier in this learning cycle where we know that a good analytical paragraph as a first sentence with a clear focus reference to two poems, explanation of quotations, reference to context and the final sentence should link to the first.

Now, I'd like you to read through your paragraphs and identify where each has met Sophia and Laura's checklist.

Pause the video and complete the self-assessment now.

Welcome back.

Well done for completing that review so carefully.

Lovely to see people noting that they have met all these different areas of the checklist.

That means you know you can be secure, know that you've got a fantastic analytical paragraph.

You should be really, really proud of the analysis that you have done today.

In summary, we can make comments about Angelou's poetic voice by considering a number of her poems at the same time.

When considering Angelou's poetic voice in an analytical paragraph, you should include and explore quotations.

When considering Angelou's poetic voice in an analytical paragraph, you should include context to develop your ideas.

A single paragraph outline is a way of planning a paragraph.

First and final sentences of a single paragraph outline are written in full.

Supporting detail is written in note form.

It has been such a pleasure to work through today's lesson with you, and I look forward to seeing you next time.