Starter quiz
- What type of pronoun is 'you'?
- first-person
- second-person ✓
- third-person
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- What tense is 'I will' written in?
- past
- present
- future ✓
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- A star generally has __________ connotations.
- positive ✓
- negative
- neutral
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- Thirteen as a number is generally considered...
- lucky
- unlucky ✓
- neutral
-
- The action of frightening or threatening someone is known as being...
- intimidating ✓
- heartening
- companionable
-
- Being "cornered" means...
- forced into a place or situation from which it is hard to escape ✓
- forced into a place or situation from which it is easy to escape
- taken into a place or situation from which you would want to remain
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Exit quiz
- Which of the following is an accurate summary of Femi's poem 'Thirteen'?
- A teenager is on the run from two police officers.
- A teenager is falsely accused of a crime by two police officers. ✓
- A teenager is justly accused of a crime by two police officers.
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- A situation of inequality between parties that leaves one side relatively unable to defend its own interests is a power...
- 'imbalance' ✓
- Which of these words suggests a power imbalance?
- "stars"
- "cornered" ✓
- "warmth"
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- The process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another is called a...
- 'transition' ✓
- The poem 'Thirteen' reflects a real-life experience for the poet since he...
- used to be a police officer
- was a teacher who saw a student falsely accused of a crime
- was himself falsely accused of crime at thirteen ✓
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- Felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body is known as a __________ feeling.
- visceral ✓
- liminal
- transitional
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The title 'Thirteen' has connotations of an unlucky, transitional period.
- The poem implies the officers now perceive the boy as threatening because he has transitioned from child to adolescent.
- There is a power imbalance between the officers and the boy.
- The boy feels physically intimidated and scared by the officers,
- The poem is based on Femi’s real-life experience of being stopped by police and falsely accused when he was thirteen.
Common misconception
Poems are purely works of imagination.
While poems draw on the poet's imagination, many poems are drawn from real-life experiences which is why there is such an emotional resonance in them.
Keywords
Power imbalance - a situation of inequality between parties that leaves one side relatively unable to defend its own interests
Transition - the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another
Visceral - felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body
Liminal - occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold
Intimidation - the action of frightening or threatening someone
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