Eric demonstrates how the mood and message of the song can be sensed through the rhythm and his choice of words. Besides two of Eric's songs, two other poems that vary in style and pace are featured in this segment. Perhaps one of the reasons why many students find it difficult to respond to a poem is because they don't know how it's done. Four teenagers are asked their opinion of a locally written poem. It is hoped that their responses will act as a model to show pupils how they can focus on words and their connotations to respond to a poem.
Pupils watch the first segment of the programme.
As a class, pupils discuss what makes a poem a poem. In pairs, pupils look at Poetry Handout 1 and discuss which extract is a poem and which is not. As a class, the pairs share their findings. Pupils watch segment two of the programme. Pupils are given the worksheet in Poetry Handout 2 .