Hello, my name is Miss Grant.

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

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

Now, today we're going to be finding our poetic voice.

We are going to write a poem inspired by Maya Angelou.

I cannot wait to hear all of your fantastic ideas.

First things first, we need to get a copy of a number of Angelou poems so that we can be inspired by them.

So gather together all the Angelou poems that you have read.

For me that will be "On Ageing", "Phenomenal Woman", "Woman Work", "Still I Rise", "Caged Bird", "Equality", "On the Pulse of Morning", and "Life Doesn't Frighten Me." So I'd like you to pause the video and gather together all the Maya Angelou poems that you have read.

There might be slightly more than I have listed, slightly fewer, they might be slightly different, that's absolutely fine.

Just gather together all the Maya Angelou poems that you have read.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

Now, you have your copies of the Maya Angelou poems that you have read in front of you, we are ready to start.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we work through today's lesson together.

Let's get started.

So by the end of this lesson, you will have written a poem inspired by the ideas and methods in Angelou's poetry.

I really cannot wait to hear the poems that you produce, the ideas that you come up with, and of course, the methods that you use to convey your ideas.

So let's get started with this lesson.

There are some keywords 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 spend a bit of time with them, maybe reading through each one by one or making some notes, then please do.

I'm gonna draw your attention to just two of them, and they are the final two on the board.

So the first one is "idle", that is how you pronounce that word, "idle", and it means not doing anything or lazy.

And then "ignoble".

That is how you pronounce that word, "ignoble", and it means not honourable or unworthy.

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

Otherwise, they're gonna come up as and when in the lesson, and we'll go through them together.

A lesson outline for today.

We are going to start off by planning the detail of each stanza.

So you're gonna come up with a really detailed plan in learning cycle one, so that you can write a fantastic poem in learning cycle two.

And then of course, in learning cycle two, we will write our poem and we'll also have a little think about what it means to edit a poem to make some decisions about how to improve your poem.

So let's get started with planning the detail of each stanza.

So today you, will write a poem about a topic of your choice.

The poems of Maya Angelou will inspire you.

You might be inspired by the ideas in Angelou's poems. You might be inspired by the methods Angelou uses in her poems. So methods, one of our keywords for today, it's the tools a writer uses to create their work.

Refrain is an example of a method.

Use of command words is an example of a method.

Word choice is an example of a method.

So you are to pay careful consideration today to the methods that you would like to use to convey your particular ideas in your particular poem.

Now, pupils discuss how Angelou's poems might inspire them.

Jun says, "I like how Angelou uses refrains.

Sometimes they stay the same, like in 'Equality', but sometimes they change slightly like in 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'." Sam says, "I like how Angelou often uses figurative language to express deep emotions, for example, in 'Phenomenal Woman'." So figurative language, one of our keywords and phrases, is non-literal language to describe something or someone.

And absolutely in "Phenomenal Woman", the speaker says that "in her feet she has joy." That is not literal language, it is figurative language.

And throughout "Phenomenal Woman" and indeed, throughout Angelou's work, there is lots and lots of figurative language, which describes a person, an emotion or a thing.

Lucas says, "I like how Angelou creates a relationship with her reader by using direct address." So this is another method that Angelou often uses.

She specifically speaks to her readers using the word "you", or sometimes calling them, like in "On Pulse of the Morning", "brothers, sisters." And there is that connection there.

There's that idea that we connect with the speaker in Angelou's poems. And Jacob says, "I like how Angelou creates a sense of speed by controlling her punctuation, like in 'Woman Work'." So absolutely, punctuation is a vital tool that poets use in their work to control the pace of their poems as well as other things.

So punctuation is always a pause.

We pause when we get to some punctuation.

So in "Woman Work", Angelou deliberately doesn't use punctuation in that first stanza except at the very end, and it creates this overwhelming speed, the amount of things that the woman who is the central focus of this poem, the amount of things that she has to do is really emphasised as we race through her list of chores.

Now using that discussion, I would like you to discuss how will Angelou's poems inspire you? So you've seen how the Oak pupils were discussing how they would be inspired by Angelou, referencing some of her poems. And I would like you to have this discussion now too.

Now, you might want to look at some of her poems as you discuss any of the Angelou poems that you have read.

And these questions could help guide you: What ideas would you like to focus on in your poem? How many stanzas might you need to explore these ideas? What are some of the words, phrases, and methods you might include? Will you include a refrain? Obviously that's a key method that Angelou relies on again and again.

Explain why you would or would not like your poem to rhyme.

So poems do not have to rhyme, but you will make a decision about whether you think it should or shouldn't.

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

It's really gonna set you up when you come to planning the detail of your stanzas.

Pause the video and discuss these questions now.

Welcome back.

Such a lovely discussion.

You are filled with inspiration from these Angelou poems, people talking about various ideas that they want to include and already selecting some of the methods that they think are particularly powerful to help them convey their messages.

Now after his discussion, Lucas uses a table to develop his plan.

His poem is about how people hold stereotypical views about young people, a bit like Angelou's "On Ageing".

So that is one of the poems that he's using as a springboard for his inspiration.

So you can see we've got stanza one, how young people are insulted, and then the detail.

We've got about four bullet points.

So let's have a look at this plan in a bit more detail.

So first of all, his stanza has a clear focus.

He is going to start off by focusing on how young people are insulted.

Then we've got three to four ideas in note form.

You can see his bullet points there.

He's got some methods.

So for example, he wants to describe the insults, the attack being like in a boxing match.

So he's gonna use a simile there.

We've got who would be young? We've got a question there.

Work, work, work, repetition.

And then Lucas has decided to include rhyme.

He's going to rhyme the word "ain't" with "complaint".

So a nice rhyme there.

And finally, he's got some powerful vocabulary.

He's gonna start off with this word "idle" and this word "sullen".

So "idle" one of our keywords, meaning lazy.

So that is something that is sometimes charged at young people, that they are idle and sullen.

So sort of bad tempered, surly, another insult that is sometimes hurled at young people.

So this is a great plan for Lucas's first stanza because he's got a really clear focus.

And then he's got his notes, including methods and vocabulary.

Now we're gonna do a check for understanding before we plan our own stanzas, after your fantastic discussion earlier in this learning cycle.

So what is missing from Lucas's checklist? We've got clear focus and decide on your methods, we've got those two items in the checklist, but two are missing.

What is missing from Lucas's checklist? Pause the video and complete this check now.

Welcome back.

Well done if you identified that three to four details in note form was missing and powerful vocabulary was missing.

So we've got four items on that checklist that you would have to meet if you were planning a stanza.

So remember, here is your prompt: Write a poem inspired by the poetry of Maya Angelou.

The book icon is there to remind you that you can, of course, look at Maya Angelou's poetry as you are completing this practise task.

You might be inspired by the ideas Angelou writes about in her poems or the methods that Angelou uses to write her poems. Now you are going to use the table to plan each stanza just like Lucas did.

So you can see stanza, you will number it, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, et cetera.

And then you will include the detail.

Now the detail, we've got our checklist there to help us make sure that we've planned a really, really clear stanza.

So each stanza has to have a clear focus, three to four details in note form, and you must decide on your methods and you must use powerful vocabulary.

I'd like you to pause the video, give this planning task the time that it deserves, because you're gonna rely on this plan in learning cycle two.

Pause the video and I'll see you back here shortly.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

Such beautiful plans in front of me.

You are prepared to write fantastic poems in learning cycle two.

Lovely to see people meeting that checklist.

Let's do a bit of feedback.

So I'd like you to recall the plan for one of Lucas's stanzas, which met the checklist.

It had clear focus, three to four ideas in note form.

It had methods and powerful vocabulary.

I'd like you to ensure that each of your stanza plans meets the checklist.

So make sure you've got a clear focus, three to four details in note form.

Decide on your methods.

If you've already decided on your methods, make sure that they are in that planned stanza, and make sure that you've got your powerful vocabulary.

So pause the video, look at each of your planned stanzas, and just ensure that each meets the checklist.

It's gonna make writing a poem in learning cycle two so much easier.

Pause the video and complete this review task now.

Welcome back, well done for completing that review.

And we are now ready to move into learning cycle two.

And we're gonna start to think what does it mean to write a poem? So in this learning cycle, we are going to see Lucas use his plan to start writing his poem, and then we are going to write our own poems. So here is Lucas's first stanza: "Idle.

Sullen.

These words attack and accuse, jab and swipe.

They knock me down and when I'm down, what do you say? 'Get up lazy bones! Why so silent? Do something useful.

' Oh me, oh my.

Who would be young? Carefree innocence it ain't.

Work, work, work, with no complaint." So we've got Lucas's first stanza there clearly inspired by Angelou's "On Ageing".

Now Lucas reads through his stanza twice aloud and says, "I like how I used words linked to boxing to create the idea that the insult physically hurt me." So he's got these words, "jab and swipe", which are boxing terms. "I also like the final three lines.

I think I will make that my refrain." So if he's thinking "When I write the rest of my poem, I might come back to these three lines.

They're gonna be the refrain, the repeated line or set of lines that come up in my poem a number of times." "However, I want to develop the first two lines.

They don't really express everything people say about young people." So at the moment, he's got this word "Idle", remember meaning lazy, and "sullen" meaning bad tempered or surly.

But at the moment he feels that this doesn't express all of the insults that he wants to put down in his poem.

Here is Lucas's second draught.

Let's read through it again.

"Idle, ignorant, ignoble." So "ignoble" meaning, not worthy, not honourable.

"Sullen, selfish, silent.

These words, attack and accuse, jab and swipe.

They knock me down and when I'm down, what do you say? 'Get up, lazy bone! Why so silent? Do something useful.

' Oh me, oh my, who would be young? Carefree innocence it ain't.

Work, work, work, with no complaint." Now I'd like you to discuss how has Lucas improved his stanza? Are there any further improvements you think he could make? And you could focus your discussion on methods.

Pause the video and discuss these two questions now.

Welcome back.

Really lovely to see you review Lucas's work so carefully.

It bodes very well for the writing of your own stanzas and your own review work.

So how has Lucas improved his stanza? Well, you can see at the beginning of stanza one, we've now got three words, "Idle, ignorant, ignoble" for the first line, and three words, "Sullen, selfish, silent" for the second line.

Now, "idle, ignorant ignoble", they all begin with the word "I".

We've got an example of alliteration here.

And he's also extended the number of insults that he feels are hurled at young people.

"Sullen, selfish, silent." We've got three words, they all begin with S.

This is an example of sibilance.

Sibilance is when there's a repeated S sound in successive words, "Sullen, selfish, silent." So he's not only thought about increasing the ideas in his poem, but he's also thought about how these ideas sound.

Alliteration and sibilance often relied on by poets because they make the poem sound nice and sound is so important to poem.

What he has also done is he's divided his first stanza into two.

So originally, "Oh me, oh my, who would be young? Carefree innocence it ain't.

Work, work, work, with no complaint." was attached to his first stanza.

But now because he's decided to use it for his refrain, it is separated out.

Some others saying that they would change some other things in terms of his poem.

So the idea that the refrain rhymes.

Some people are saying, "I think that it would be really good if the earlier stanza rhymed." That is something that I like to do in poems, and that would be something that maybe Lucas could do.

He could think about his word choice.

But others say, "No, I think the lack of rhyme really works, especially because he's got that quote from an adult telling him off.

So that really sounds like realistic within the poem, that this is what an adult would say to him." So there are some changes that you might want to make, that's you with your poetic hat on, and that means that you are absolutely ready to write your own poem.

So a check for understanding before we move on to the writing of our own poem relying on those plans that we created in learning cycle one.

I'd like you to consider draught one and draught two of a line of a pupil's poem, which is inspired by Angelou's, "Phenomenal Woman".

So draught one, the pupil wrote, "My eyes are bright, my feet are filled with energy, and I have a beautiful smile." Draught two is, "My eyes flash and glow, my feet dance, my smile soars." What method has the pupil relied on in draught two to improve their work? So what technique has the pupil relied on in draught two to improve their work? Is it, A: figurative language, B: alliteration, or C: refrain? Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done if you selected figurative language.

So figurative language, these non-literal phrases to express deep emotion.

The idea of a smile soaring, a smile can't really fly.

But we get the impression of how the speaker in this poem is feeling.

Again, the idea of your eyes flashing like a kind of bright burst of light.

Again, that gives a bit of an indication about how this speaker is feeling.

You can see how they have been inspired by "Phenomenal Woman".

The speaker in this pupil's draught of poetry is obviously phenomenal, extraordinary, remarkable in some way too.

So they have improved their work by moving from something literal.

So "My feet are filled with energy and I have a beautiful smile" to something much more figurative.

"My feet dance, my smile soars." So you can hear the kind of beauty of that line now, as well as the figurative language.

So using your plan from learning cycle one, I would like you to write a poem in response to this prompt: Write a poem inspired by the poetry of Maya Angelou.

You might be inspired by the ideas Angela writes about in her poems or the methods Angelou uses to write her poems. You've had such a beautiful discussion about what you want your poem to be about and the methods that you would like to use.

You've created brilliant plans in learning cycle one, so now it is time to write these poems. Don't rush it.

Poetry takes time, it takes patience.

You can think carefully about how you want to convey the ideas in your poem, to be proud of the poem that you produce.

Pause the video and complete this task now.

Welcome back.

Wow, it is amazing to see all these beautiful poems in front of me.

They all look very different.

Different number of stanzas, different line lengths, different methods used, different ideas explored.

But what they all have in common is they have been inspired by the poetry of Maya Angelou.

Let's do some feedback before we celebrate your work.

So I'd like you to recall how Lucas evaluated his first stanza.

If you remember, he said that he liked how he used words linked to boxing to create the idea that the insults physically hurt.

And he liked his final three lines because he wanted to make that his refrain.

However, he wants to develop the first two lines because they don't, they didn't express exactly what he wanted them to express.

So you remember that he was really proud of certain aspects of his poem, and then there were areas that he wanted to improve.

Now I would like you to read your poem aloud twice.

Poems are often meant to be read aloud.

They're meant to sound beautiful.

So this will be a really, really helpful way for you to hear whether your poem achieves what you want it to achieve.

After you've read it aloud twice, I'd like you to select just one stanza from your poem to improve.

You can evaluate its strengths and what you would like to improve.

And then after you have evaluated its strengths and what you would like to improve, I would like you to complete the improvements just like Lucas did earlier in this learning cycle.

We saw him transform that first stanza into two stanzas that developed the ideas that he wanted to express.

So reading a poem aloud twice.

Don't rush this.

Enjoy it.

Allow yourself to celebrate what you've written that was really, really good, but also allowed the reading aloud to help you hear the edits that you should make.

So read your poem aloud twice.

Select one stanza from your poem to improve, evaluate its strengths and what you would like to improve, and then complete the improvements.

There are some sentence starters on the board to help you, but you will complete the improvements on the poem itself.

Pause the video and complete this reflection task now.

Welcome back, well done for giving that reflection task the time that it deserves.

It was lovely to hear people reading out their fantastic poems. What power, what ideas, what methods.

But it was also really nice to see people being honest in terms of their reflections.

"This part of my poem is really, really strong, but this bit needs a little bit of work." And then applying yourself to improving those poetic draughts, those poems that you have written.

So the planning, the writing, and the editing, all part of the writing process.

You've gone through that entire cycle today.

Well done.

In summary, you can use a poet's work to inspire your own creativity.

You can plan each stanza of a poem by considering its focus, details and methods.

Reading your poem aloud can help you identify areas that you would like to improve.

It has been such a pleasure to see you plan, write, and edit your poems today, and I can't wait to see you next time.