Identify the country which each
flag represents. The winning
team gets achievement points.
1.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
2.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
3.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
4.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
5.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
6.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
7.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
8.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
9.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
10.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
Answers
Brazil
2. Australia
3. Ireland
4. Jamaica
5. South Africa
1.
China
7. Spain
8. India
6.
Russia
10.Egypt
9.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
‘Flag’
Objective: To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to
convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the
main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
Success Criteria AO1 (Higher)
Band
Criteria
Band 6
* insightful exploratory response to text
* close analysis of detail to support interpretation
Band 5
* exploratory response to text
* analytical use of detail to support interpretation
Band 4
* considered/qualified response to text
* details linked to interpretation
Band 3
* sustained response to elements of text
* effective use of details to support interpretation
Band 2
* explained response to element(s) of text
* details used to support a range of comments
Band 1
* supported response to text
* comment(s) on detail(s)
Success Criteria AO1 (Foundation)
Band
Criteria
Band 6
* considered/qualified response to text
* details linked to interpretation
Band 5
* sustained response to elements of text
* effective use of details to support interpretation
Band 4
* explained response to element(s) of text
* details used to support a range of comments
Band 3
* supported response to text
* comment(s) on details
Band 2
* some clear responses
* range of details used
Band 1
* simple response(s)
* familiarity with text/reference to some details
Keywords
patriotism-strong support for
one’s country
conscience-a person’s moral
sense of right and wrong
Read ‘Flag’
 Why
do you think this ‘piece of
cloth’ holds such power?
I
think this piece of cloth holds
such power because….
Keywords: patriotism,
conscience
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
Poetic Techniques
Copy down the table below. Find examples in the poem and
write down the effect created.
Technique
Evidence
metaphor
‘that makes the guts
of men grow bold.’
Effect
personification
alliteration
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
Context
 John Agard was born in Guyana – when it was still
British Guiana – in 1949; his mother was Portuguese
and his father was black.
 He moved to Britain in 1977, he worked for the
Commonwealth Institute as a lecturer, promoting
greater understanding of Caribbean culture.
 ‘Flag’ is from a collection called Half-Caste and
other poems (2005), a mixture of poems concerned
with the theme of race and cultural identity.
 The poem uses the flag as a symbol of patriotism,
and in the poem’s final stanza, Agard throws out a
challenge: does patriotism and hence nationalism
lead us to commit immoral acts?
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
Flag
Here Agard JUXTAPOSES his
simple description of a flag as a
'piece of cloth' with the powerful
symbolism of a flag.
What's that fluttering in a breeze?
Its just a piece of cloth
that brings a nation to its knees.
Each Stanza begins with a
question followed by two lines
answering it. This gives the
poem a conversational tone.
‘just’ suggests it should
What's that unfurling from a pole?
not hold the power it
It's just a piece of cloth
does.
that makes the guts of men grow bold.
METAPHOR for the
feelings of patriotism
aroused by the flag.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
What's that rising over a tent?
PERSONIFICATION of the flag.
It's just a piece of cloth
that dares the coward to relent.
What's that flying across a field?
It's just a piece of cloth
PERSONIFICATION of
‘outlive’. This also shows the
flag will survive but the
person may not.
that will outlive the blood you bleed.
ALLITERATION of ‘b’
emphasises the barbaric
effect the flag can have.
Tone changes in last stanza.
How can I possess such a cloth?
The speaker is presenting
the flag as a dangerous
Just ask for a flag my friend.
object and one that
Then blind your conscience to the end. changes the way people
To know what tone means.
think and see.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by
selecting and evaluating relevant textual details.
Tone
How does Agard feel about Flags
and why does the poet feel this
way?
Write at least one PETER paragraph.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.
How does Agard feel about Flags and why does
the poet feel this way?
The tone of the poem becomes angry and
sarcastic about the power a flag possesses,
as Agard warns that following one can
encourage people to do things that they
know are dangerous. ‘that dares the coward
to relent’. The Flag is personified through
the use of the word ‘dares’. This signifies
the common feeling that those unable to
fight for their country should be challenged
as they must be a ‘coward’. This highlights
the pressure society can put on people in
order for them to fight for their country.
Here Agard is painting a negative image of
war for the reader by examining
how it can almost bully individuals.
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and evaluating
relevant textual details.
Plenary
Swap with the person next to you.
Annotate the following:

Point

Evidence

Technique

Explanation

Reader
To know what tone means.
To understand how Agard uses language to convey attitudes.
To be able to identify and understand the main ideas in Flag by selecting and
evaluating relevant textual details.