YEAR 8 – NSPCC – LESSON 1

(1)

 To explore figurative

language and its effect on the reader

 All pupils will: have read and understood the main ideas in the poem by Blake

 Most pupils will: have seen the impact that the use of binary opposites has and will have understood their impact



Some pupils will: be able to describe the impact of the key images on the reader and explain why they are so effective

Lesson Development

Starte

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Write words ‘light’ and ‘dark’ into books and produce word association spider diagram of all the words / ideas / images etc that we link with these two words.

Main

Distribute ‘mixed up’ poem The Chimney Sweeper. Pupils cut up poem and sort into correct order, gluing into books. (8-NSPCC-Resource 1)

Discuss briefly how they knew what the correct order was – it is a narrative poem that tells a simple story.

Pupils highlight the light and dark words in the poem and create two lists of the words that they associate with them (see page 19 of Lit Obj text book for an idea as to how to present this). Compare with ideas from the starter activity – what are the two key images in the poem?

Pupils write an answer to the question “Why does Blake use the language associated with lightness or darkness to describe the suffering of the chimney sweeps?” Discuss first, write second.

Plenar

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Pupils read responses to question round their table and select the best response, which is then read out to the whole class – the group explains why it is a good answer and why they chose it.

Class selects the best of the six or seven answers and explains why it is the most effective response.

Homework:

(2)

 To trace the main themes in a poem and be able to show that you understand the aims of the poem

 All pupils will: have demonstrated an understanding of the main ideas in the poem by summarising content in their own words

 Most pupils will: be able to see how the poem presents a biased opinion as a means of changing the way that people think

 Some pupils will: understand the modernity of Blake’s ideas and his focus on sympathy, empathy and change as out of place for the context of his times

Lesson Development

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Model ‘translating’ the first (and second if necessary) stanza of the poem:

Stanza 1 – The boy narrator tells us that he was sold into chimney sweeping when he was very young. Stanza 2 – The reader is told about Tom Dacre, another boy chimney-sweep, who cries when his head had to be shaved, but is comforted by the narrator.

Pupils complete translations of the remaining stanzas.

What point of view is the poem told from – why? Who is the poem meant to be read by?

Main

Pupils identify the differences between the rich adults who employ chimney sweeps and the poor children who sweep chimneys. Relate back to the light / dark imagery from lesson 1 and see that the poem focuses on a high degree of opposites.

Pupils complete spider diagram about what we KNOW life is like for the children.

Pupils complete spider diagram about what we IMAGINE life is like for the adults who employ them.

Pupils write a short piece as the adult in the poem explaining how the poem has made them feel about employing chimney sweeps – why do they do it?

Plenar

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Pupils read around their tables and select the most effective justification for using chimney sweeps OR the most convincing ‘turnaround’ and read these aloud.

Why did Blake write this poem?

Why did he choose a poem to convey his message? Is it as effective now as it might have been then?

(3)

 To employ empathy skills to explore character and to understand how to create engaging and detailed questions to elicit a sustained response

 All pupils will: have considered the feelings and responses of the child / children in the poem

 Most pupils will: have understood the need for careful questioning to elicit a detailed and sensitive response from the interviewee

 Some pupils will: have been able to employ their skills to a sophisticated extent and will have elicited and given detailed, empathetic and realistic response to the task

Lesson Development

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Pupils play word association / ping-pong to share vocabulary about how it might feel to be a child chimney sweep in the Victorian era. At the end of the allotted time (say 90 seconds) they each write down the three most powerful words they heard / used. Tables ‘pool’ these and record the three most powerful from the group onto the board ... what is the overall impression of life for chimney sweeps?

Main

Pupils work in pairs / groups to list all the wrongs that have been done to the child chimney sweeps. They should organise these into things we KNOW and things we INFER from the poem.

Pupils use this information and the information from the starter activity to work ALONE to write four interview questions to ask a child chimney sweep. Before starting this activity, pupils should consider what makes a good question.

Pupils pass their questions onto a partner on the table who considers how good the questions are and suggests any alterations / amendments.

Pass the books to a third person who should draft responses to all four questions. Pass the books to a fourth person to develop / improve the responses to the questions.

Books return to the owner, who selects their favourite answer and shares this with the group. Group selects best.

Plenar

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Read the six best question / answers round the class and explore why they are the best – what have we learned about character? History? Context?

(4)

 To understand the context of Blake’s poem and to use this knowledge to inform a broader reading of the poem

 All pupils will: have understood that the context in which a text is written affects its meaning and they will have explored another pre-1914 literary text and understood some of the key features

 Most pupils will: have been able to build their images of chimney sweeps’ lives and to create a more detailed empathetic response.



Some pupils will: have developed a sophisticated empathetic response, influenced by context and two separate texts

Lesson Development

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Share findings from homework about child labour / chimney sweeps / working conditions etc. This could be done in a number of ways – ping-pong; group discussion; post-it notes on board? Teacher should circulate and ensure homework has been done – can be ticked and recorded during starter (doesn’t need to be marked!)

Main

Read extract from The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. (8-NSPCC-Resource 2) (Resource 2a is available as an optional extra – it is a picture of Tom in the girl’s bedroom and may be of help with lower ability pupils)

Complete three reading activities to ensure understanding of the text and of the dramatic differences between the children’s lives. Discuss responses and ensure understanding.

Create mind map about chimney sweeps – likes / dislikes / fears / typical day / knowledge / understanding / ignorance / food / family / friends.

What would a diary entry or series of diary entries for a chimney sweep look like? What might the sweeps describe in detail? What might they feel / think etc? Discuss and record ideas in groups.

Plenar

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Share best ideas into spider diagram on board.

Set homework. Focus on good writing skills and the need to create a contextually accurate piece of work.

Homework:

(5)

 To have an overview of media terminology to enable

competent analysis of media texts; to know how to produce a realistic media storyboard

 All pupils will: have understood some key media terminology and will be able to use the terminology accurately when describing a media text  Most pupils will: be able to use the terminology in an analytical manner to

provide accurate description of a media text



Some pupils will: be able to apply the terminology in a sophisticated manner and may need no further support with the vocabulary or its use

Lesson Development

Starte

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Word matching / definition exercise (8-NSPCC-Resource 3)

Pupils stick the definitions in their exercise book and try to match them to the key terminologies. Check they are correct before moving on.

Main

Introduce concept of camera SHOTS – that the camera can take a range of different shots depending on what effect it wants to achieve. Introduce following words:

Close-up Mid-shot Long-shot

And ask pupils to come up with their own logical definitions of these. Discuss. Distribute Storyboard Sheet (also 8-NSPCC-resource 3).

Ask pupils to design three camera shots – these could be on a specific subject of your choice (eg a day in the life of a chimney sweep) or on any subject they like. They should sketch the picture so that the camera shot is clear and then complete notes about the other technical information regarding sound and camera movement.

Plenar

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Either – Share camera shots / descriptions amongst group and discuss with the class successful use of terminology and / or sound effects to create an effective text.

OR

Watch a brief clip from a film or tv advert (YouTube would do) and see how many different camera shots / movements / angles / sounds pupils can spot.

Homework:

(6)

 To consider how the themes and ideas evident in Blake’s poem are still relevant today

 All pupils will: have made simple links between the themes and ideas in Blake’s poem and those in the NSPCC bounce back campaign.

 Most pupils will: have made confident links between the two and seen how different texts can be used to convey similar ideas.



Some pupils will: have made the beginnings of sophisticated links between the two texts that will be used to inform an analytical comparison

Lesson Development

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Pupils brainstorm the number of ways in which children are still mistreated today. Report back and record on board. There will need to be a degree of sensitivity in the way this is handled!

Main

You will need to have set up the NSPCC ad – available on the shared drive (8-NSPCC-RESOURCE 4). You will be playing it to pupils three times. The first time should be SOUND only; they should not be able to see the images. Pupils should record in a spider diagram as many of the sounds / words as they can recall. (Alternatively, there is a Tom and Jerry soundtrack on the T drive. You could try using this for the SOUND part of the lesson – Steve and I tried it different ways; neither worked entirely perfectly!)

What kind of media text do they think they have heard? (should elicit the response: cartoon). Pupils should consider what they expect from cartoons and what the overall purpose usually is.

Pupils should then be asked to VIEW the ad but with the sound MUTED so that they do not know what the sound content is.

Distribute the six storyboard stills for the ad. Using their media skills from previous lesson, students should create a voiceover / dialogue for the ad. This will need to be done fairly quickly in groups of 2-4.

Groups should practice their voiceovers.

Plenar

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Re-play the video without the sound, allowing one or two (most able) groups to perform their voiceovers / commentaries to go with the video.

Comment on the effectiveness of these: do they add to / improve the impact of the video? If so, how and why? If not, why not?

(7)

 To explore how media texts use sound and visual imagery to create an impact on the viewer

 All pupils will: have understood the powerful impact of a combination of sound and visual imagery in moving image texts

 Most pupils will: have been able to see that the use of contrast in this makes the impact more sustained and engaging



Some pupils will: have understood the links between the use of contrast in this moving image text and the use of contrast in Blake’s poem on a similar theme

Lesson Development

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Pupils ping-pong what they remember from yesterday’s NSPCC ad campaign for 90 seconds. Pupils write into books the three most memorable things from the campaign ad.

What would they say the main PURPOSE of the ad was? They should try and be as sophisticated as possible – yes the NSPCC want to stop child cruelty, but the ad was also intended to shock in some way. Why?

Record PURPOSE of text in books. (or wait until final watching of ad – see below)

Main

Remind pupils of their work on producing their own voiceover for the film in last lesson. What did they ADD to the film through the sound they added? What was missing, if anything?

Watch the ad for a final time, this time with visuals and sound.

Pupils should spend 60 seconds in complete silence after watching the ad and note down their initial responses to it. Share some of the words that come out of this exercise. (It may be that you have to wait until this point in the lesson to establish the full purpose of the text and the full impact of the shock tactics)

Discuss how the ad uses opposites (make link to Blake if you think pupils can sustain and understand this comparison) to shock the audience.

Pupils record a table of opposites (eg cartoon boy / real adult; cartoon noise / adult aggression; canned laughter / eerie silence at end; cartoon boy / real boy) etc.

Plenar

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Sort into those that are VISUAL and those that are SOUND related and then pair up (they pair up quite effectively), so that pupils can understand how the sound and visuals COMBINE to have a sustained impact.

Homework:

(8)

 To know how to employ media terminology and to plan own work to analyse a media text.

 All pupils will: understand the importance of planning in helping to write a sustained analytical piece. They will have practised using media terminology.

 Most pupils will: understand that modern texts and older texts can have links



Some pupils will: see that there are a vast number of similarities between audience and purpose in the Blake and NSPCC texts; they will also see how the techniques in the texts are similar too.

Lesson Development

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Pupils review each others’ plans for the written work.

They should address the following questions:

 Does the plan tell you the CONTENT of the answer (what things the student is going to write about)?

 Does the plan tell you the STRUCTURE of the answer (the order in which things are going to be written)?

 Could YOU write the essay using this plan?  If not, why not?

Pupils review their own plans and try and add / adapt / amend the plan to make it more helpful to them.

Main

Pupils answer written comprehension into books: how does the NSPCC use sound and visual imagery effectively to shock the audience? Pupils may need to a writing frame, BUT part of the focus here is on planning own work (pupils have produced two extended essays and know the style of writing and how a piece should be structured – the test here is can they organise work without support)

Allow about 20 minutes’ writing time?

Pass books round group highlighting best analytical sentence and commenting on the weakest sections of the text.

Plenar

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Check accurate use of the media terminology – ask for examples to be read out where the pupils think they have used it both well and correctly.