Hello, and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Watson, and I'm delighted that you have decided to join me today for another lesson about Maya Angelou.

Today we are going to look at one of her most famous poems, which is called, "Still I Rise." It's one of my favourite poems, not just one of my favourite poems by Maya Angelou, but one of my favourite poems for all times.

Not only does it have a wonderful, powerful, optimistic message, it has a beautiful sound to it.

It's a wonderful poem to say out loud.

I really hope you're going to enjoy it as much as I do.

So, let's get started.

So, by the end of today's lesson, you will have explored Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise." We're going to start by looking at the key words.

There are five key words that I would like you to be able to use in this lesson.

They are really key for unlocking your understanding of the poem.

The first word is resilient.

It means being able to cope, withstand and recover from difficult physical or mental challenges.

It is a very powerful and useful quality to have, and the poem is a real celebration of resilience.

And adversity.

That means difficulty or hardship.

And if you are tenacious, you never give up, you keep hold and you keep going and you never, ever, ever give up.

And to oppress somebody means to treat someone or a group of people unfairly.

And we've already looked at some of the ways in which Maya Angelou as a Black American would have been oppressed.

And we are also going to be looking at figurative language, those non-literal words and phrases which really help to develop and enrich a writer's meaning.

Similes and metaphors and personifications.

And Maya Angel is an absolute master of figurative language.

Now, if you would like a little bit of time to familiarise yourself with the key words, please feel free to pause the video and rejoin the lesson when you're ready.

So, this is the outline of today's lesson.

There are two learning cycles.

We are going to start by reading "Still I Rise," and then we are going to compare "Still I Rise" with the poem, "Phenomenal Woman." We're going to be looking at the similarities and differences.

So, let's start with one of my Angelou's most famous poems, "Still I Rise." Now, it was first published in 1978 in a collection of 32 poems. They were all by Maya Angelou.

And the collection's title is, "And Still I Rise." And you might invert from that, that it is one of the central poems, because it has a title that is very similar to the title of the collection.

And all of the poems in this anthology explore ideas about overcoming adversity, particularly racism and sexism.

And also these poems, they celebrate the tenacity, the ability to hold on and keep going of the Black community, in particular women.

Now I would like you to have a discussion.

I would you to think about what do you think the poem "Still I Rise" might be about? And also, I'd like you to think about how the title, "Still I Rise" is similar or different to Angelou's other poems. The other poems, the other poem titles are "Equality," "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," "Caged Bird," and "Phenomenal Woman." You will need to pause the video while you have that discussion, or if you are working by yourself, you need to pause the video and just make a few notes, so off you go.

Welcome back, what a fantastic discussion that was.

Now we are going to have a check for understanding.

What is true of the collection "And Still I Rise?" Is it A, Each poem is unique, but connected to the others in terms of its ideas? B, The poems are a collection by a number of poets all interested in challenging racist and sexist ideas.

C, All the poems were written by Angelou.

D, One of the poems in the collection is also the title of the collection.

I'll give you a bit of a hint.

You are looking for more than one, so, have a think, make your choice.

Did you say A, C and D? They are the right answers.

Well done if you've got those right, now we'll move on.

Now I would like you to read the poem, "Still I Rise." You need to find it yourself.

And when you found it, you need to read it twice.

I think it's really important that you read it twice before you start discussing the poem.

What I like to do when I get a poem for the first time is I like to read it the first time really, really quickly.

Not stopping to worry about what it's about, or thinking about what it means.

I just read it through to get the kind of gist of it, what kind of poem is it? And then I like to have a slow read where I really relish saying the words either out loud or in my mind so I get some sense of how the poem feels and maybe the kind of mood of it.

So, that's just a suggestion.

There are other ways to read poems, but that's what I like to do.

So, when you have read the poem twice, I would like you to have a discussion in which you discuss these questions.

What do you think the main message of the poem is? What do you think the speaker is like? Why do you think this? What might have motivated Angelou to write this poem? Meaning, why did she want to do it? What inspired her? And what might have led Sofia to her argument? Sofia thinks that it is significant that the poem is called "Still I Rise," rather than just, I Rise.

I really like the way that Sofia has honed in on just one word and has been really sensitive in her reading to the difference that can be created by the inclusion of even a simple word like still.

And one last thing, I would like you to use some of the key words in your discussion.

They will really support you in explaining what the message of the poems is.

Now, you're going to need to pause the video while you read and discuss.

And again, if you are working by yourself, just pause the video, read the poem through twice, and then make some notes.

Off you go.

So, welcome back, and very well done for a really interesting discussion.

Now I would like to share with you what some of the pupils said when they were discussing the main messages in the poem.

Jacob said that, "The poem is about resilience, even in the face of adversity.

About the ability to resist and withstand even the worst of challenges." And Jun thought that "The poem is a celebration of the beauty, grace, and tenacity of the Black community.

The ability to hold on and keep on going." And Sofia said that she thought the poem was about the strength of those who are oppressed.

They used these key words really effectively there.

Now I would like you to discuss this.

Who do you most agree with, and why? And when you're having that discussion, I want you to refer to specific parts of the poem, identifying words and key phrases that you think best support your opinion.

So, please can you pause the video and begin your discussion or again, if you are working by yourself, pause the video and make a few notes.

So, we are making excellent progress today.

You have read "Still I Rise" and had a really fascinating discussion about its message and Maya Angelou's motivation for writing it.

And now what we are going to do is we are going to compare "Still I Rise" with another poem, "Phenomenal Woman." Now, before you do the comparison, I would like to share with you what Sofia did.

She reread "Phenomenal Woman" and "Still I Rise." They are both from Maya Angelou's 1978 poetry collection, called "And Still I Rise." And then she considered the similarities and differences between them.

And this is what she said.

She said that "Both poems use a very assertive and confident speaker.

However, I think "Still I Rise" is more direct about the adversity, oppression and injustice that the Black community has faced." I think Sofia does really well there to identify the quality that Maya Angelou's speakers, the speakers of her poems do tend to be assertive and confident, and that is a subtle distinction that she makes.

They are similar but one is more direct about the challenges and the obstacles faced.

So, I would like you to do what Sofia did.

I would like you to reread "Phenomenal Woman" and "Still I Rise".

And I would like you to discuss some of the similarities and differences that you can identify.

Use these sentence stems in your discussion.

Both poems, however I think "Still I Rise," or by contrast, "Phenomenal Woman." Pause the video while you have that discussion, or pause the video and just make a few notes.

Off you go.

Well done on that really excellent discussion.

I'm glad to hear how you listen to each other.

Now what I would like to do is look in a little bit more detail about what we are doing when we compare one text to another.

It's a really useful skill that can help us evaluate each of the poems more clearly.

And it's helpful to use evaluative words like more or less, they can be really helpful.

Here's an example.

There is more negative language and imagery in "Still I Rise" than in "Phenomenal Woman." "Phenomenal Woman" focuses more on the idea of being confident in and of your body.

Angelou uses more figurative language in "Still I Rise" to compare the speaker to powerful things and ideas that never give up.

For example, the sun rising.

That last one I think is a particularly good example, because it has a reference from the text.

Now I'm inviting you to have another discussion.

I would like you to discuss what more or less statements you can make about "Phenomenal Woman" and "Still I Rise." And here are some sentence stems which will help you.

"Still I Rise" is more or less, whatever is you think.

"Still I Rise" uses more or less.

That would be a way of focusing on methods or particular language choices.

The speaker in "Still I Rise" seems more or less.

That's a focus on who is speaking here and what you can infer about the personality of that speaker.

And the figurative language in "Still I Rise" is more or less.

The non-literal language, the similes, the metaphors, the personification.

You're going to need to pause the video while you have that discussion, we'll just pause the video and make a few notes if you're working by yourself.

Off you go.

Welcome back.

Now, Sofia was asked which poem she prefers.

That is another way of evaluating something.

And she uses her discussion to inform her answer.

And she said, "Personally, I prefer the poem "Still I Rise." I think that the speaker's voice is stronger, because they compare themselves to more powerful things than in "Phenomenal Woman." For example, the sea, moons and suns there in stanza three.

And even when she compares herself to dust in stanza one, she says she will rise, which shows how tenacious the speaker is.

I also like how "Still I Rise" doesn't hide from the terrible history of oppression and racism.

She uses words like kill and shoot, which force us to confront what violent oppression looks like." I think that is a great answer, and I'd like to stay with this answer a little bit longer and unpick what it is that Sofia has done so well.

You can see that it is a very clear idea.

She doesn't sit on the fence.

She tells you that she prefers the poem, "Still I Rise." And she makes a comparison by saying the speaker's voice is stronger and compared to more powerful things, using the comparative adjectives there.

And she uses multiple quotations to support her point.

And that suggests that Sofia knows the poems very well.

Great answer.

Let's move on.

Now let's have a check for understanding.

Below is a checklist, the checklist we used for looking at Sophia's answer.

And I want you to tell me what is missing? What is missing from Sofia's checklist to ensure a developed discussion about the poem, "Still I Rise" and "Phenomenal Woman?" We have clear idea and comparison, what is missing? Did you say multiple quotations? Because that's the right answer.

Well done, let's move on.

So, now it is over to you to discuss which of Angelou's poems you prefer.

And you're choosing between "Phenomenal Woman" or "Still I Rise".

And I've given you some sentence starters here, which I think help structure your discussion.

Personally, I prefer the poem be really clear about which one you like and why.

"Still I Rise", "Phenomenal Woman" is more or less.

You could look at ideas, you could look at the quality of the speaker, you could look at methods there.

I also like how, for example, these sentence starters will really, really help you in your discussion.

So, when you're ready, pause the video, make sure you have everything that you have, any notes that you have made in today's lesson, and then off you go.

And if you are working by yourself, just pause the video and make some notes.

Well done, now I want you to recall Sofia's response.

Here it is.

We said what a good response it was, because it had a clear idea, it made a clear comparison, and it used multiple quotations.

And I want you to think about and check back what quotations did you refer to in your discussion? And I'd like you to explain why.

Why did you pick that particular quotation or that particular image? For example, Sofia picks sun, moons and sea, because they are powerful, more powerful she thinks, than the imagery in the other poem.

So, pause the video again for your last discussion of the lesson and then return to me, well, so I can summarise what you have been learning.

Off you go.

So, welcome to the end of the lesson.

Before we say goodbye, I would like to summarise what you have been learning today.

You have been learning that the poem "Still I Rise" was first published in 1978 in a collection of Angela's poems entitled, "And Still I Rise." And that collection "And Still I Rise" explores ideas about overcoming adversity, particularly racism and sexism.

And the poems celebrate the tenacity of the Black community, especially women.

And the poem, "Phenomenal Woman" is another poem in the collection.

And you've been comparing poems and learning that when comparing poems, using words like more or less can be helpful.

And considering your personal risk preference for a poem is an important aspect of being a student of English.

I'd like to thank you for your hard work and your focus today and all your brilliant discussions.

I wish you a brilliant rest of the day, and I look forward to seeing you in another lesson.

Bye for now.