Hello, and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Watson, and I'm so glad you've decided to join me today to learn about the poet William Blake and his poem "The Chimney Sweeper" in which he takes a stand against the exploitation of children.

It's one of my favourite poems and I hope you enjoy learning about it too.

So, let's get started.

So, the outcome of today's lesson is that you will be able to explain why and how William Blake took a stand against child labour.

As ever, we will begin with the keywords.

They are influence, awareness, harsh, widespread, and exploitation.

Let's look at what they mean.

Influence, that means to affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves, or thinks.

Awareness means knowing that something exists.

If something is harsh, it is cruel, unkind, or unpleasant in a way that seems unfair.

If something is widespread, it means it exists or happens in many places and/or among many people.

And exploitation is the use of something or someone in order to get an advantage from it or them.

And we are going to be talking a lot about exploitation of children who were working in during the Industrial Revolution.

Now, if you would like a little bit of time to familiarise yourself with those words, now's the time.

You can pause the video while you do that and return when you are ready.

So, today's learning, there will be two learning cycles.

We are going to start by reading William Blake's poem "The Chimney Sweeper", and then we're gonna move on and look at how Blake uses language to take a stand against the practise of using children for sweeping chimneys.

But before we read Blake's poem, I'd like to give you some little bit of context about the role of the chimney sweepers.

So, and I'm going to give you all those information in the form of numbers.

So, let's go.

So, in the 18th and 19th century, the industrial Revolution led to the building of large houses with chimneys that had to be cleaned.

The Industrial Revolution was the process by which the United Kingdom moved from being an agricultural economy, that's one that made most of its money from farming, to a manufacturing economy where it built and sold things.

Most of our large cities in the UK started in the 18th and 19th century, and they grew very, very fast.

And lots of these houses had chimneys, had fireplaces with chimneys, and these chimneys had to be cleaned.

And if they weren't cleaned regularly, there was a big danger of fire.

And they were cleaned by children because some of the flues, that's the chimney columns, the bits you can't see where the smoke goes, were only, they could only be, sometimes they were only as small as like 40 centimetres wide, which meant that only small children can get inside to clean them.

And these chimney sweepers, they were also known as climbing boys 'cause they had to get into the fireplace and climb up the flues, often started the work as young as 4.

Now, in 1834, the Chimney Sweepers Act was passed that made it illegal to apprentice a child under the age of 10 and chimney sweepers had to be over 14.

So, people had become aware of the cruelty of this practise.

And in 1875, you can see that more than 40 years later, following the death of 12-year-old George Brewster social reformer Lord Shaftesbury brought the Chimney Sweepers Act and it introduced a licence for chimney sweepers and imposed fines on people who broke the law.

So, although there was a law passed in 1834, nobody really was paying much attention to it until much later in the century.

And presumably because it didn't work for them to employ children as over the age of 14 'cause by that age they were too big to climb chimneys.

But the second act actually was given some kind of rigour and it meant that people could be penalised if they broke the law.

Now, I'd like you to have a discussion.

What is your response to these numbers? You can pause the video while you have the discussion.

Welcome back.

That was a really interesting discussion I heard you having there.

Listen to what the Oak pupils said.

Alex said that he was shocked to hear that really young children worked as chimney sweepers, not even school age.

He's quite right, 4, most children aren't even at school then.

And that level of exploitation is actually very hard to imagine.

And pointed out that it was an extremely cruel practise.

And Izzy shows great empathy when she says, "The children must have suffered terribly.

Not only was it dangerous, their eyes and lungs would've been full of soot.

And it's really good to see someone finally take a stand against the practise," people like Lord Shaftesbury and, as you will soon find out, William Blake.

Is there anything you would add to that? Let's have a quick check for understanding.

I'm gonna put up some statements and you are gonna think about what numbers should go in the blanks in the statements.

Let's go.

So, 1, the Industrial Revolution took place in the UK in the blank and blank centuries.

2, children as young as blank were apprenticed to be chimney sweepers.

From 1834, chimney sweepers had to be over blank.

The law, number 4, the law became more effective when Parliament passed the Chimney Sweepers Act in (pauses).

And 5, Lord Shaftesbury was influenced to take a stand by the death of chimney sweeper George Brewster who was only blank.

So, you can pause the video while you have a think and decide which numbers should go in those blanks.

So, welcome back.

Are you ready for me to reveal the numbers? Okay, let's go.

So, number 1, the Industrial Revolution took place in the UK in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Children as young as 4 were apprenticed to be chimney sweepers.

From 1834, chimney sweepers had to be over 10.

Well done.

And number 4, the law became more effective when Parliament passed the Chimney Sweepers Act in (pauses).

Yep, that's right, the date is 1875.

And Lord Shaftesbury was influenced to take a stand by the death of chimney sweeper George Brewster, who was only 12.

Very good.

Let's move on.

Now before we read the poem, I'm gonna give you a little bit about context about the poet.

William Blake, he was born in London in 1757 and died there in 1827.

He was an artist as well as a poet.

His politics were radical.

For example, he was interested in the French Revolution.

He was religious and he believed he had seen angels, he thought he saw them in London streets.

He wrote about the London of his time, which was a swiftly growing city in which poverty and wealth lived side by side.

And the poem you're gonna read, "The Chimney Sweeper", was published in a collection called "Songs of Innocence" in 1794.

Let's move on and read the poem.

So, I'm gonna read and I'd like you to follow along.

"When my mother died I was very young, and my father sold me while yet my tongue could scarcely cry, 'Weep, weep, weep, weep!' So your chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head that curled like a lamb's back was shaved, so I said, 'Hush Tom, nevermind it, for when your head's bare, you know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.

'" I want you to think about this question, how does the speaker of the poem, the I of the poem, behave towards Tom? Have a think.

Yes, you might have said something like this, that the speaker comforts him for the loss of his hair.

And there is this impression that the speaker has been a chimney sweep for a long time.

His mother died when he's young and his father has sold him, but now he's old enough to comfort younger boys.

Let's move on.

"And so he was quiet." He is Tom.

"And so he was quiet, and that very night, as Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight! That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack were all of them locked up in coffins of black; and by came an Angel who had a bright key, and he opened the coffins and set them all free; then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, and wash in a river and shine in the Sun." What does Tom dream about? Can you tell me? That's right, he dreams that the sweeps are released from captivity by an angel and allowed to bathe in a river.

Remember William Blake thought that he saw angels, angels in everyday life in everyday streets.

"They're naked and white, all their bags left behind, they rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.

And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, he'd have God for his father and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark and got with our bags and our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm; so if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." So, what does the angel tell Tom? Can you tell me? That's right, he reassures him that as a child of God he will be safe.

Now let's have a check for understanding.

I'm going to put the events of the poem up, but in the wrong order and you're gonna have a look and tell me what the right order is.

So, let's go.

Tom dreams of being freed from his chimney sweep life by an angel.

The speaker comforts Tom after he has had his head shaved.

The speaker describes how his father sold him after his mother's death.

An angel frees the sweepers from their coffins.

Tom wakes up and gets ready to go to work with the speaker.

The sweepers wash in a river and enjoy the sense of freedom.

That's the wrong order.

Have a think about what the right order is.

You can pause the video while you do that.

So, let's check the order.

This is the right order of the poem.

The speaker describes how his father sold him after his mother's death.

The speaker comforts Tom after he has his head shaved.

Tom dreams of being freed from his chimney sweep life by an angel.

An angel frees the sweepers from their coffins.

The sweepers wash in a river and enjoy the sense of freedom.

And then, Tom wakes up and gets ready to go to work with the speaker.

So, well done if you got that right.

Let's move on.

Now we're going to finish by having a discussion, and this is what I want you to think and talk about.

Given what you have learned about William Blake, why do you think he wrote this poem? And I'd like your discussion to focus on these elements: the industrial revolution, his politics, his religion, and the events of the poem "The Chimney Sweeper".

So, you can pause the video while you have your discussion.

Off you go.

So, welcome back.

That was another great discussion.

Now listen to what the Oak pupils said.

Alex said that, "Blake shows the chimney sweepers' distress.

When he says, 'They need not fear harm,' he's being ironic." That means he's saying the opposite of what he actually thinks, "because it's clear that the Industrial Revolution hurt children." And Izzy said that, "You can see his religious beliefs," his being Blake.

"An angel takes the chimney sweepers away, but religion only offers a temporary relief.

There has to be change in real life, not just in dreams." Great ideas there.

Compare your discussion with Alex and Izzy's discussion.

Okay, so well done.

Let's move on.

So, we've read the poem "The Chimney Sweeper", I hope you enjoyed it.

And now, we're gonna really focus in and explain how Blake uses language to take a stand.

And this is today's question, quite simply, how does William Blake use language to take a stand? Let's unpick it.

Language means words and phrases, imagery, figurative language.

And to take a stand, we're looking at his attitude, the way that he was critical about the way people exploited young children.

So, now we're going to have a discussion.

I know you're good at discussions.

I'm gonna put up some questions.

You can see that there are some there.

They're gonna start, there's gonna be a quote on the left.

Here's one, "So your chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep." And the question is, what does the use of pronouns here suggest about Blake's attitude? The your and the I.

And here are the other questions, "Little Tom Dacre: whose head curled like a lamb's back," what is the significance of Blake referring to a lamb? "Were all of them locked up in coffins of black," what is the significance of the phrase coffins of black.

"And wash in a river and shine in the sun," what might the river symbolise? "Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm," and what ideas about faith and society are being conveyed by the words cold and warm? So, what I'd like you to do is pause the video and have a discussion about those quotations using those questions to guide you.

Off you go.

So, welcome back.

That was a great discussion.

Let's see how you did, what you talked about.

You might have said something like this.

So, you've got this quotation, "So your chimneys I sleep, and in soot I sleep," that the use of your and I emphasises the wider differences in wealth and status because the sleeping in soot is from a very different social class and finance level than the people whose chimneys he sweeps.

"Little Tom Dacre: whose head curled like a lamb's back," you might have said something like this, that Jesus is often described as the lamb of God, and this may signify Tom's innocence because not only is he like this is the Christian child, but a lamb is a baby, it's a baby animal.

"Were all of them locked up in coffins of black," you might have said something like this, that the black coffins could refer to the chimneys and go on to say that actually it's almost as if they are being buried alive in their work." "And wash in a river, and shine in the sun," what did the river symbolise? Excellent if you said something like this, that the river may symbolise baptism and it might just also celebrate the very simple pleasure of being clean after you've been grimy and soot covered for so long.

"Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm," you might comment that religion can bring comfort, but warm might also refer to the hot chimneys.

So, that's quite an ambivalent, ambiguous statement.

What are we really saying? He's cold.

Is he warm in a positive way or in a negative way? And we know that Blake was being ironic when he said no harm will come to him, so I think we could probably infer that this is also Blake being ironic.

Tom is not happy.

He's warm because of the chimneys, but he's not happy.

Really good thinking there, really good discussion.

Let's move on.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following quotations are about Blake's attitude of social issues, in particular chimney sweeping, and which ones refer to his religious faith, and which are both of those? So, a, "Coffins of black," b, "Wash in a river," c, "Your chimneys I sweep," and d, "Curled like a lamb's back." Have a think.

You can pause the video while you make your choice.

Okay, so what did you say? Did you get these answers? The "Coffins of black," refers to social issues.

"Wash in a river," could be both.

It could be both being clean and it could be both an image of baptism.

"Your chimneys I sweep," is about social issues, the difference in class.

And "Curled like a lamb's back," is a very strong religious image, a piece of religious imagery.

Very well done.

Let's move on.

So, now is your opportunity to show how well you understand how Blake uses language in a little bit more detail.

So, there's the question, how does William Blake use language to take a stand? And I'd like you to use these sentence starters: William Blake wrote "The Chimney Sweeper" because (pauses).

The Industrial revolution created wealth, great wealth, but (pauses).

Blake's poem uses religious language, for example lamb, and social issues language, for example soot and coffins, so (pauses).

And I would like you to use these keywords in your writing: awareness, harsh, widespread, exploitation and influence.

You can pause the video while you do that.

Off you go.

Welcome back.

Well done on your excellent focus.

Now you might have written something like this, "That William Blake wrote 'The Chimney Sweeper' because he wanted to create awareness of the harsh lives led by the chimney sweepers.

Perhaps he hoped to influence people who had the power to bring about social change." And you might have written, "The Industrial Revolution created great wealth, but also widespread poverty in which the young and the powerless were easily exploited." And that, "Blake's poem uses religious language, for example lamb, and social issues language, for example soot and coffins, so that he could fuse his faith and his social conscience in a doubly powerful and influential message." Now, if you want to take some ideas from there and add to yours, to what you've written, please use this opportunity.

You can pause the video while you do that and then rejoin us when you're ready.

Now, before we say goodbye, I'd like us to have a summary of what you have been learning today.

The Industrial Revolution created great wealth and great poverty.

Young children were used to sweep the chimneys of houses in the growing cities.

Poet William Blake used his writing to take a stand against the exploitation of child workers.

His poem "The Chimney Sweeper" uses the language of religion and the language of social issues to take a stand.

Thank you very much for your hard work today.

I wish you a really good rest of the day, and look forward to seeing you in another lesson on taking a stand.

Bye for now.