Starter quiz
- Which of the following jobs did William Blake have during his lifetime?
- poet ✓
- candlestick maker
- painter ✓
- printmaker ✓
- architect
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- True or false? William Blake believed in social and racial equality.
- True ✓
- False
- Which of the following was a movement in art and literature during Blake's lifetime?
- Modernism
- Romanticism ✓
- Digital Revolution
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- Which of the following should we do when reading a poem aloud in a performance?
- shout continuously at a loud volume
- enunciate clearly ✓
- vary our tone ✓
- whisper the entire poem
-
- True or false? 'London' describes the city in a positive light.
- True
- False ✓
- What definition best describes a rhyming word?
- a group of lines within a poem that form a distinct group
- the similarity of sounds between the ending syllables of words ✓
- the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases or structural elements
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Exit quiz
- Match the keywords to their definitions.
- by heart⇔to learn something in such a way that you can say it from memory ✓
- atmosphere⇔the mood created in a section or whole of a text ✓
- pace⇔the speed or rhythm at which a poem is read or performed ✓
- Which strategy does 'taking the poem for a walk' link to?
- Speak it
- Hear it
- Visualise it
- Move with the poem ✓
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- When 'taking the poem for a walk' what type of punctuation must readers look out for?
- punctuation that ends a line or sentence ✓
- capital letters
- punctuation that pauses ✓
- exclamation marks
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- What is the missing word from the first line of the poem? "I wander thro' each __________ street,"
- lonely
- charter'd
- dilapidated
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- What is the missing word from the final line of the poem? "And blights with __________ the Marriage hearse".
- plagues ✓
- dangers
- illnesses
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- Which phrases best describe the atmosphere of the poem ‘London’?
- depressing and despairing ✓
- optimistic and hopeful
- happy and joyful
- sympathetic and sad ✓
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- After we have taken time to understand a poem’s meaning, themes and structure, we can learn a poem off by heart.
- Learning poetry by heart offers a range of benefits, both emotionally and academically.
- Hiding certain words in a poem engages readers in active retrieval practice, strengthening our memory recall.
- Understanding a poem, its language and the impression it creates will help us to create an impactful performance.
- We can improve our performances by considering the pace, the atmosphere and our own use of voice and movement.
Common misconception
Pupils may find learning the entire poem off by heart challenging.
The lesson focuses on learning the first two verses by heart. If pupils are successful, they could try committing the entire poem to memory.
Keywords
By heart - to learn something in such a way that you can say it from memory
Atmosphere - the mood created in a section or whole of a text
Pace - the speed or rhythm at which a poem is read or performed
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