‘Poppies’, by Jane Weir Lesson plan Introduction What is Remembrance Sunday? When does it take place? What is the other name for it? Armistice Day. What does ‘armistice’ mean? Which armistice do we mark on the 11th of November? What symbol do people often wear or display to mark this occasion? Why? Development 1) Exploring the poem – Students complete the gap-­‐fill exercise below. Do not tell students the title of the poem, as this is one of the gaps to be completed. Students work individually, then compare answers with a partner. Discuss possible titles as a class. 2) Reading the poem – Distribute the poem. Students read it individually, then aloud as a class several times. Did you guess any answers correctly? Which words surprise you most? 3) Understanding the poem – Ask students the following questions, having them cite line(s) of the poem to justify their answer: -­‐ Who is the speaker? Who is she saying goodbye to? -­‐ What is her son’s job? Where is he going? -­‐ What time of year is it? Why is this an appropriate time for the son to be going to war? -­‐ Why did the speaker have Sellotape round her hand? -­‐ Was the son happy to be leaving? -­‐ What was the first thing the speaker did after her son had left? -­‐ Where did the speaker go after releasing the bird from its cage? Was she suitably dressed? 4) Analysing the poem – The speaker does not tell us that her son is going to war, but rather shows us with language. What words and phrases evoke a war, or battle? ‘spasms’, ‘blockade’, ‘bandaged’, ‘steeled’, ‘reinforcements’ 5) Symbolism – Why does the mother release the songbird from its cage? What could this symbolise? What could the dove symbolise? Read the following excerpt from the eighth chapter of the Book of Genesis: © Education Umbrella, 2016 6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. 10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. 6) Simile – To what does the mother compare herself as she stands against a war memorial? Why is this a fitting simile? 7) Write about it – Imagine you are the speaker. Write a diary entry about the day described in the poem. © Education Umbrella, 2016 Fill each gap, including the title, with a suitable word. Each gap represents one word. _______________________ by Jane Weir Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been _______________ on individual war graves. Before you left, I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals, _______________ of paper red, disrupting a blockade of yellow bias binding around your blazer. Sellotape _______________around my hand, I rounded up as many white cat hairs as I could, smoothed down your shirt’s upturned collar, steeled the softening of my face. I wanted to graze my nose across the tip of your nose, play at being _______________ like we did when you were little. I resisted the impulse to run my fingers through the gelled blackthorns of your hair. All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt, slowly melting. I was _______________, as I walked with you, to the front door, threw it open, the world overflowing like a treasure chest. A split second and you were away, _______________. After you’d gone I went into your bedroom, _______________ a song bird from its cage. Later a single dove flew from the pear tree, and this is where it has led me, skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-­‐less, without a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves. On reaching the top of the hill I _______________ the inscriptions on the war memorial, leaned against it like a _______________. The dove pulled freely against the sky, an ornamental stitch, I listened, hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind. © Education Umbrella, 2016