Year 9 - English
How Simon Armitage writes about life in 'About his person' and 'Poem'
Simon Armitage: writing your world
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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 learn more about how to read and write poetry by listening to words of wisdom from the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. They read a range of his poems about his life and the wider world, and start to write increasingly poetically in response to them.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to listen and respond to Simon Armitage talking about 'About his person' and 'Poem'.
Key Notes
- Armitage was inspired to write 'About his person' by reading news reports of people who were found dead.
- He liked the idea that you could build a picture of someone's character from the objects they had on them.
- Armitage was inspired to write 'Poem' from reading different biographies and autobiographies.
- He suggests that reading different biographies can give us a completely different impression of the same person.
Vocabulary To Learn
- biography: the life story of a person written by someone else
- impression: an idea or opinion of what something or someone is like
- authentic: the quality of being real or true
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- A biography offers an authentic impression of that person.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Armitage was inspired to write 'About his person' by reading news reports of people who were found dead. He liked the idea that you could build a picture of someone's character from the objects they had on them.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'biography'
the life story of a person written by someone else.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: A biography offers an authentic impression of that person. Correction: We all might have different perspectives on the same person, so different biographies are likely to portray the same person in different ways.
More Lessons In This Unit
- How Armitage writes about personal events and memories in 'Harmonium' Study Guide
- How Simon Armitage writes about climate change in 'Futurama' Study Guide
- How Simon Armitage writes about hope in 'We'll Sing' and 'Only Human' Study Guide
- How Simon Armitage writes about human connection in 'All Right?' and 'Give' Study Guide
- How Simon Armitage writes about news and media in 'Transmission Report' Study Guide
- How Simon Armitage writes about the world in 'Resistance' and 'Out of the Blue' Study Guide
- Simon Armitage and the power of poetry Study Guide
- Simon Armitage talks about 'I am very bothered' and 'My father thought it' Study Guide
- Writing about the self and the world with Simon Armitage Study Guide
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