Lesson 10: A Date With Spring
by John Agard
Big Questions:
1. What the structure of a poem?
2. What is an extended metaphor?
Retrieval quiz:
1. What is Informal English?
2. Which other poem (that we have studied so far) is written in Informal
English?
3. Why would the poet have made that choice?
4. What region are both Benjamin Zephaniah and John Agard from?
5. What is a metaphor?
What words do you associate with
these images? Write them down around
the image you've been given.
First impressions:
1. What is the first thing
you notice?
2. Why do you think
Agard made this choice?
3. What is the tone of this
poem?
4. From whose perspective
is this poem written?
Discuss!
Listen to Agard reading this
poem:
John Agard - A Date With Sprin
g
Answer the
following questions:
Extended Metaphor:
1. How many metaphors
can you find?
2. Can you spot a common
theme or idea?
3. Why would Agard make
this choice?
4. What is the effect on the
reader?
Find and label the
following structural
features in your
anthology:
1. Enjambment
2. Caesura
3. End-stopped lines
4. Rhyming couplet
Plenary:
Write a WHAT-HOW-WHY 1. Enjambment
paragraph answering the 2. Caesura
following question: 3. End-stopped lines
How does the poet present 4. Rhyming couplet
ideas about Spring in the poem 5. Extended Metaphor
'A Date With Spring'?
Agard's use of _______ in (embed quote) creates/
evokes/suggests __________________ which is effective in
creating a sense of _____________ in the reader. The poet
uses ___________ to create a _____________ tone.
Lesson 11: A Date With Spring by
John Agard
Big Questions:
1. How do poets create Imagery?
2. What is the difference between Literal Imagery
and Figurative Imagery?
Starter:
Copy down these definitions
Retrieval quiz: Answer the questions
below in your books. These will help you to
remember everything you've learned in English,
not just our current topic.
1. Name one other poem written 2. When do we use brackets?
by John Agard.
3. What is repetition? 4. What is a language feature?
Quote explosion!
Copy this quote into your books and answer the
questions around it. What is the effect of
this language device?
What language device
has been used here?
Is this an example of
Sunlight tints to spruce up the hair. Literal of Figurative
CHALLENGE: Imagery?
What word class
does 'spruce' Find the play on words
What is the definition
belong to? and explain it.
of 'spruce'?
Let's analyse the poem:
Find quotes for each element of SMILE and make notes on the
WHAT-HOW-WHY. Be prepared to SHARE! One example has been
done for you.
STRUCTURE
MEANING
IMAGERY
LANGUAGE ''Raindrop moisturizer // for me face'' Spring rainfall 'moisturizing' the tree and awakening the
leaves/buds.
Use of 'me face' - 1st person perspective/informal/conversational tone
Raindrop suggests purity
EFFECT
Plenary: (5 minutes)
COUNTDOWN CONUNDRUM!
No repetition of letters...
1. What is the longest word that you can
make with these letters? (it's from today's
lesson)
2. How many other words can you make?
(WORDS WITH 4 OR MORE LETTERS ONLY)
J M E T N E A N B M
E N J A M B M E N T
