New
New
Year 11
AQA

Understanding connections in Antrobus' 'With Birds You're Never Lonely'

I can understand how Antrobus presents the contrast between the natural and urban world in ‘With Birds You’re Never Lonely’.

New
New
Year 11
AQA

Understanding connections in Antrobus' 'With Birds You're Never Lonely'

I can understand how Antrobus presents the contrast between the natural and urban world in ‘With Birds You’re Never Lonely’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The title implies that Antrobus’ intention is to encourage the reader to forge a connection with nature.
  2. Arguably, the modern, urban world is presented as isolating.
  3. In contrast, we might see nature as being full of life and connections.
  4. Antrobus is a d/Deaf poet and the use of sound implies that silence can be enriching in certain circumstances.
  5. Antrobus often explores themes of communication, connection, and cultural inheritance.

Keywords

  • Aural - relating to the ear or the sense of hearing

  • Forge - to make or produce something, often with great difficulty

  • Profound - (of a state, quality, or emotion) very great or intense

  • Maori - a member of the indigenous people of New Zealand

  • Homogenous - of the same or a similar kind in nature

Common misconception

That silence is a negative thing.

Silence can also be peaceful, enriching and calming.

You might talk about how Maori culture values human connections with nature.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the AQA World and Lives anthology for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following colours do we associate with boredom and the mundane?
Correct answer: grey
red
yellow
black
Q2.
Imagining and describing trees that can talk is an example of...
Correct Answer: personification
Q3.
Catching someone’s eye suggests __________ with them.
Correct answer: a brief connection
a deep connection
an absence of a connection
Q4.
Which of the five senses does ‘aural’ refer to?
sight
Correct answer: hearing
taste
smell
touch
Q5.
Using words that imitate the natural sound associated with their meaning is called ...
Correct Answer: onomatopoeia
Q6.
What might ‘stumbling’ represent?
feeling confident
Correct answer: feeling disorientated
Correct answer: feeling sad

6 Questions

Q1.
The opposite of lonely is ...
desolate
isolated
Correct answer: connected
Q2.
In 'With Birds You're Never Lonely', words such as “slam” and “blaring” suggest the __________ noise of the modern world.
Correct answer: overwhelming
pleasing
gentle
Correct answer: disruptive
Q3.
The Maori woman in 'With Birds You're Never Lonely' learned her natural knowledge from ...
a book
Correct answer: her grandfather
her mother
Q4.
Profound means something ...
Correct answer: very great or intense
mournful and sad
brief or fleeting
Q5.
In 'With Birds You're Never Lonely', the speaker’s experience in the forest makes them __________ humanity’s relationship with nature.
Correct answer: reflect on
Correct answer: lament
angry because of
Q6.
Why might representing the opening stanzas of the poem 'With Birds You're Never Lonely' as a black and white picture be appropriate?
It suggests an older time.
Correct answer: It suggests the lack of life.
Correct answer: It suggests the lack of connections.