What I did on my holiday!

LO: To write an imaginative story describing what I did on my

holidays.

Thursday 4th March 2012

On the first day,

Then,

After that,

I had a good time on my holiday because...

Use these starter sentences to help you! Try your best!

Now enjoy your friend’s story!

Read each other’s work and underline any spelling errors you can see. Remember the 3 spelling rules!

1.An i before e except after a c.

2.If there is more than one, it ends in an S.

3.For things in the past, add ‘ed.’

Discussion – 3 minutes.Is this an appropriate activity for a Year 11 English GCSE

class? Why/ why not?

Did it remind you of a certain time in your life? When? Why?

Did it make you write in a certain way? How?

Do you think that “spelling rules” are the most important part of English? Does it matter if you can spell? Is that what English teachers should be teaching?

The poem we are studying today is written from

a primary school teacher’s perspective who has

set work like this for the students in her class.

Your dad did what? Sophie Hannah

LO: To explore how the poet uses structural and grammatical devices to explore the different perspectives of an adult and child.

STARTER – Match the primary school work to the correct grade.

Here are 4 primary school students’ descriptions of their holiday. Match the extract to the grades – B, C, D and E.

On the first day nana took me to beech. We made sandcastles. My one was best of all. Then Tom kicked it and I cried. After

that, I got ice creem and was happy. I don’t like Tom. I had a god time on

my holiday because of the beach.

On the first day, I stayed at

home with my brother and

sister. It was boring. Then,

dad took us to the park and

we played football. I scored

two goals. It was brilliant! I

had a good time on my

holiday because the sun was

shining and I am the best at

football!!!! Even better than

dad.On the first day I went to park. Then I watched pokemon. After that I went to sleep. I had a good time on my holidays because it was nice.

My holiday was horrible. My dad did.

EXT: Do you think we should give grades to Primary School students? Explain your answer in

full.

Watch the poem and consider the following questions!

http://www.myspace.com/video/the-poetry-station/your-dad-did-what-by-sophie-hannah/102382969

1.What happens to the boy’s work in the poem?2.What did the boy’s dad “do”?3.How do you feel at the end of the poem?

“and read the line again, just one ’e’ short”

My dad did. My dad died.

In pairs, rewrite the poem in lines and stanzas. Pay attention to the rhymes and

rhythm of the words.

Where they have been, if they have been away, or what they’ve done at home, if they have not - you make them write about the holiday. One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what? That’s not a sentence. Never mind the bell. We stay behind until the work is done. You count their words (you who can count and spell); all the assignments are complete bar one and though this boy seems bright, that one is his. He says he’s finished, doesn’t want to add anything, hands it in just as it is. No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad? You find the ’E’ you gave him as you sort through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did, and read the line again, just one ’e’ short: This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

Compare your poem with another pair. How

many stanzas did you create? What are the

similarities and differences?

Where they have been, if they have been away,or what they've done at home, if they have not -you make them write about the holiday.One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what?

That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell.We stay behind until the work is done.You count their words (you who can count and spell);all the assignments are complete bar one

and though this boy seems bright, that one is his.He says he's finished, doesn't want to addanything, hands it in just as it is.No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?

You find the 'E' you gave him as you sortthrough reams of what this girl did, what that lad did,and read the line again, just one 'e' short:This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

How does your poem structure compare to Hannah’s? - Higher

1.Why do you think Hannah uses a simple rhyme scheme (ABAB)? What effect does it create? And how does it contrast with the subject matter?

2.Can you spot any half-rhymes in the poem? What does that suggest about the teacher’s “authority”?

3.Identify where the poet has used enjambement across a stanza – what effect does this have?

4.Why do we only “find the ‘e’” in the final word? What is the effect of the poet holding back that information?

Where they have been, if they have been away,or what they've done at home, if they have not -you make them write about the holiday.One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what?

That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell.We stay behind until the work is done.You count their words (you who can count and spell);all the assignments are complete bar one

and though this boy seems bright, that one is his.He says he's finished, doesn't want to addanything, hands it in just as it is.No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?

You find the 'E' you gave him as you sortthrough reams of what this girl did, what that lad did,and read the line again, just one 'e' short:This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

How does your poem structure compare to Hannah’s? - Middle

1.Underline the words which rhyme in each stanza.

2.Is this a regular or irregular rhyme scheme?

3.Why would the poet use such a rhyme scheme? How does it reflect the main ideas in the poem?

4.How many times is “My dad did” repeated in the poem?

5.At what point, does the reader realise what happened to the father?

6.Why does the poet leave the discovery til then?

Where they have been, if they have been away,or what they've done at home, if they have not -you make them write about the holiday.One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what?

That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell.We stay behind until the work is done.You count their words (you who can count and spell);all the assignments are complete bar one

and though this boy seems bright, that one is his.He says he's finished, doesn't want to addanything, hands it in just as it is.No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?

You find the 'E' you gave him as you sortthrough reams of what this girl did, what that lad did,and read the line again, just one 'e' short:This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

Underline any short sentences. Identify who is speaking and what tone is created in them.

How does that contrast with the rest of the poem?

Where they have been, if they have been away,or what they've done at home, if they have not -you make them write about the holiday.One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what?

That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell.We stay behind until the work is done.You count their words (you who can count and spell);all the assignments are complete bar one

and though this boy seems bright, that one is his.He says he's finished, doesn't want to addanything, hands it in just as it is.No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?

You find the 'E' you gave him as you sortthrough reams of what this girl did, what that lad did,and read the line again, just one 'e' short:This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

Some of the short sentences are to imitate and replicate the voice of a child’s immature writing. The caesuras here create a sense of poignancy and finality to the statement on a second reading.

Some of the short sentences imitate the teacher barking orders and judgements; short questions portraying the lack of patience of the teacher. The caesuras here break up the rhythm, jolting the reader out of the complacency of the teacher’s inner voice.

In contrast, the teacher has an internal monologue with long, extended complex sentences– indicating the supposed superior intelligence and sophistication of the voice.

Where they have been, if they have been away,or what they've done at home, if they have not -you make them write about the holiday.One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what?

That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell.We stay behind until the work is done.You count their words (you who can count and spell);all the assignments are complete bar one

and though this boy seems bright, that one is his.He says he's finished, doesn't want to addanything, hands it in just as it is.No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?

You find the 'E' you gave him as you sortthrough reams of what this girl did, what that lad did,and read the line again, just one 'e' short:This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

The short sentences suggest the child’s babyish writing and also the short sentence suggests the finality of death.

The short sentences are the teachers voice – they sound like commands and instructions suggesting the power of the teacher. On a second reading, the questions sound cruel as we imagine how the child feels hearing them.

The long sentences are the teacher’s thinking voice. They are long and flowing, with lots of long words and complex punctuation. This shows how the teacher is educated and intelligent, in contrast to the child.

2nd Person Present...

The poem is written in 2nd person present (“you are”). This is one of the rarest narrative tenses in literature.

What is the effect on the reader of using 2nd person? Why would a writer use this unusual tense?

Why is it written in present tense? Would the poem be altered if it was written in the more usual past tense?

How do these quotations display the teacher’s attitude towards the students?

Quotation Technique EffectYou make them write about their holiday

Modal verb

You count their words (you who can count and spell);

brackets

And though this boy seems bright, that one is his.

Demonstratives (this/ that)

Through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did;

Repetition

How does Hannah use language and structure to create a sense of sadness in the poem?

You could consider:The use of rhyme.The variation in sentence types.The use of 2nd person present narration.The boys’ voice “doesn’t want to add anything”, “my

dad did”, “no change”.The teacher’s voice “you who can count and spell”.The way the poem builds to a climax.The difference between a first and second reading.

CLASHES AND COLLISIONS

What is the clash/ collision of ideas in this poem?

What feeling emerge from this clash?

Choose one poem we have studied that have a similar atmosphere and one that has a different atmosphere.