1. Poppies What was the reason poppies grew on Flanders fields/ no man’s land, after the war had ended?

3. poppies Today we will: Practise our independent reading of an unknown poem Be able to locate and comment on symbolism/imagery in a poem

4. …out of evil comes beauty ? Because… The chaotic activity of the war, such as constant bombing of the fields, had disrupted the ground-however, this stimulated the germination of poppy seeds into the sea of poppies that left their mark on the war land.

5. What type of conflict is present in this poem ? Internal Character feelings External conflict Worry

6. How does this poem show a mother’s feelings of conflict? Structure-look at the start and end of the poem Language- what devices/ symbolism/ vocabulary are used? Images- what image is created of both mother, and the way she sees her son? Themes-what are the ideas and messages of this poem?

7. Writer Jane overwhelmed as war poem touches so many hearts A POET has been overwhelmed by the response she has had from people across Europe to a poem she wrote about war. Jane Weir's piece, entitled Poppies, tells the story of a woman whose son has gone to war and in it she remembers the times they spent together as he was a child growing up. Since the piece was published in a national newspaper, Mrs Weir has been contacted by mothers of young soldiers killed in action. One woman thanked the 46-year-old for writing the poem, saying it summed up perfectly the way she felt about losing her 18-year-old son. Mrs Weir said: "I wrote the piece from a woman's perspective, which is quite rare, as most poets who write about war have been men. "As the mother of two teenage boys, I tried to put across how I might feel if they were fighting in a war zone. "From the overwhelming response I have had since it was published, I hope that I have achieved that."

8. Why may the mother notice the poppies before her son heads for war?

9. How does the mother’s behaviour towards her son reflect her feelings towards him?

10. What is her son’s attitude towards war?

11. How does she use imagery of birds to reflect her feelings towards her son and war? How might this imagery relate to, or reflect, conflict?

12. How does the last line of the poem relate to the rest of it?

13. What is unusual about this particular war poem ? 1.It is written from a _________ perspective; most war poetry was created by ______ who had been involved in the war itself, and were still generally the more educated and accepted voices. 2. The poem isn’t overly _______; most poetry during wartime was used as propaganda, whilst much anti-war poetry surfaced after the war ended to reveal the true reality of war. 3.It is a more _______ poem about recent experiences of war rather than WW1 poetry. 4. Anything else…?

14. Transformations We are going to transform this poem into a non fiction piece where we create a perspective of the son leaving home, to go to war.

15. Planning Which perspective will it be in? How will your piece open? What feelings will the young man express through his account? Will he reflect on past memories? How can you use symbolism in it to portray the young man? How can you vary the structure of the piece?

16. Assessment structurecontent Sentence/ punctuation appeal/interaction with the reader

17. 'Belfast Confetti' by Ciaran Carson Suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was raining exclamation marks, Nuts, bolts, nails, car-keys. A fount of broken type. And the explosion. Itself - an asterisk on the map. This hyphenated line, a burst of rapid fire... I was trying to complete a sentence in my head but it kept stuttering, All the alleyways and side streets blocked with stops and colons. I know this labyrinth so well - Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa Street - Why can’t I escape? Every move is punctuated. Crimea Street. Dead end again. A Saracen, Kremlin-2 mesh. Makrolon face-shields. Walkie- talkies. What is My name? Where am I coming from? Where am I going? A fusillade of question- marks.