Year 5 - English
Exploring themes of sadness in 'The Land of Blue'
Poetry about personal experiences
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils read, respond to and perform a variety of poems by different poets. They explore many themes, including love, hope, belonging, hate and resilience. Finally, pupils write their own poem about a personal experience.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to reflect on poetry with themes of sadness, writing a personal response to a poem.
Key Notes
- 'The Land of Blue' is written by Laura Mucha and illustrated by Victoria Jane Wheeler.
- The poem uses symbolism - symbols that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.
- The poem references colours; these can symbolise a range of feelings and emotions.
- We can respond to a poem by writing a personal response to it.
- Personal responses are reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it.
Vocabulary To Learn
- symbolism: the use of objects, actions or ideas to represent deeper meanings or concepts
- imagery: the use of language to create a mental picture or sensory experience for the reader or listener
- interpretation: the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem
- personal response: reflections that we make about a poem after reading or listening to it
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may not have much experience associating colours with feelings and emotions.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
'The Land of Blue' is written by Laura Mucha and illustrated by Victoria Jane Wheeler. The poem uses symbolism - symbols that represent ideas beyond their literal meaning.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'symbolism'
the use of objects, actions or ideas to represent deeper meanings or concepts.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils may not have much experience associating colours with feelings and emotions. Correction: To support pupils, adults could discuss feelings and emotions and their associations to colour prior to the lesson. The Disney Pixar film 'Inside Out' would be a suitable starting point for this.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Exploring themes of identity in 'Back to Me', 'Find Me', 'Friend' and 'Everyone' Study Guide
- Exploring themes of resilience in 'One of These Days' and 'Being Heard' Study Guide
- Reading, responding to and performing 'In the Heart of a Book' Study Guide
- Writing a poem about a personal experience Study Guide
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