Exploring themes of sadness in 'The Land of Blue'
I can reflect on poetry with themes of sadness, writing a personal response to a poem.
Exploring themes of sadness in 'The Land of Blue'
I can reflect on poetry with themes of sadness, writing a personal response to a poem.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘The Land of Blue’ is written by Laura Mucha and illustrated by Victoria Jane Wheeler.
- The poem uses symbolism - symbols that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.
- The poem references colours; these can symbolise a range of feelings and emotions.
- We can respond to a poem by writing a personal response to it.
- Personal responses are reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it.
Keywords
Symbolism - the use of objects, actions or ideas to represent deeper meanings or concepts
Imagery - the use of language to create a mental picture or sensory experience for the reader or listener
Interpretation - the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem
Personal response - reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it
Common misconception
Pupils may not have much experiencing associating colours with feelings and emotions.
To support pupils, adults could discuss feelings and emotions and their associations to colour prior to the lesson. The Disney Pixar film 'Inside Out' would be a suitable starting point for this.
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
the use of objects, actions or ideas to represent deeper meanings
the use of language to create a mental picture or sensory experience
the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem
happiness, positivity
jealousy, good luck
sadness, calmness
fear, anxiety
provides context about the poem, such as its title and poet
how the poem made you feel and the atmosphere it created
a particular line or phrase or a poetic device used
a key theme in the poem or your take-away idea
end with a final reflection or insight