Exploring themes of identity in 'Back to Me' and 'Find Me'
I can read and reflect on poetry about identity.
Exploring themes of identity in 'Back to Me' and 'Find Me'
I can read and reflect on poetry about identity.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘Back to Me’ can be considered a list poem; it contains 15 lines, with between 1-4 words in each.
- Readers might connect to their thoughts, feelings and sense of identity in similar or different ways.
- ‘Find Me’ is a fixed verse poem, split into 12 two-line verses.
- A technique that poets can use to draw attention to specific lines is by changing the rhythm of the poem.
- Poetry about personal experiences can help us to reflect on our own identity when reading or listening.
Keywords
Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a text
List poem - a form of poetry that consists of a list or inventory of things
Identity - understanding who you are and your place within the world
Rhythm - the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, creating a musical and rhythmic flow in the poem
Common misconception
Pupils may not notice the patterns that can be associated with each poem when reading aloud.
Remind pupils to think about rhythm and rhyme when considering how to interpret a poem to be read aloud. Do they notice a particular rhythm when they read?
To help you plan your year 5 english lesson on: Exploring themes of identity in 'Back to Me' and 'Find Me', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 5 english lesson on: Exploring themes of identity in 'Back to Me' and 'Find Me', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 english lessons from the Poetry about personal experiences unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2021 Otter Barry edition of ‘Being Me’ written by Liz Brownlee, Matt Goodfellow and Laura Mucha, illustrated by Victoria Jane Wheeler for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a text
understanding who you are and your place within the world
the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, creating flow