1. Lesson Objectives Find out background information about “Vultures” Read and understand the opening of the poem Work in groups to think about the issue of good and evil

2. Vultures is a poem of two halves – the first half is a description of two vultures and their habits. The second half is about a Commandant from Belsen concentration camp Vultures was written by Chinua Achebe

3. VultureCommandant

4. The poem is about good and evil – how even if something that seems really bad it can still have positive aspects V Good Evil

5. At the end of the poem the poet asks us a question – Should we be sad that there is always evil in the world, or should we be thankful for every act of kindness and love?

6. Vultures are birds of prey that usually eat the remaining dead flesh of animals that have been killed by other animals

7. Belsen was a prison camp where Jewish people were gassed during the Second World War - BBC NEWS | In Depth | Audio slideshow: Liberation of BelsenBBC NEWS | In Depth | Audio slideshow: Liberation of Belsen

8. Group 1 – Kieron, George, Beth, Emma Group 2 – Harriet, Connor, Taylor, Alex Group 3- Billy, Hannah C, Justin, Lauren Group 4 – Luke, Kayleigh, Robyn, Sean Group 5 – Adam, Becky, Jake, Leyton Group 6 – Richard, Jack, Hayden, Tom Group 7 – Matt, Marcus

9. Working in your groups record your response to the following four questions: Does there have to be both good and evil in the world? Why are people evil? Why are people good? Is there more evil in the world or good? Divide your sheet of A3 into four and write then write down both the question and your answers In your group everyone should have a job; Scribe – write things down Summariser – Helps the scribe to summarise people’s opinions Speaker – Feeds back to the rest of the class Manager – makes sure that everyone is involved in the group

10. Lesson Objectives To re-cap knowledge of the poem ‘Vultures’ To think about the language used by the poet To explore the end of the poem

11. Working in groups of 3 (triads) try to answer the following questions: How would you describe the atmosphere of the opening 6 lines of the poem? Use evidence from the poem to support your answer What effect does the alliteration have in lines 2 and 3? Re-read lines 9-12. How is the vulture presented? Use evidence from the poem to support your answer There are several references to war in lines 13-21. What are they (write down the quotes) and why has the poet chosen these words. Each group should have; a writer, a speaker and a questioner (someone who questions the answers of the other group members) but all group members should contribute.

12. Group 1 – Connor, Harriet, Jake Group 2 – Adam, Kayleigh, Alex Group 3 – Justin, Lauren, Sean Group 4 – Robyn, George, Tom Group 5 – Becky, Kieron, Matt Group 6 – Billy, Hannah C, Beth Group 7 – Hannah H, Jack, Leyton Group 8 – Luke, Taylor, Emma Group 9 – Marcus, Richard

13. Read the final part of the poem where the poet summarises his feelings: Praise bounteous (bounteous providence = good luck) providence if you will that grants even an ogre (ogre = an ugly monster) a tiny glow-worm tenderness encapsulated (encapsulated = contained) in icy caverns of a cruel heart or else despair for in every germ of that kindred love is (kindred = shared) lodged the perpetuity (perpetuity = everlasting) of evil. In your threes, write down what message or idea you think the poet is trying to express

14. Despondent – Sad and dreary Harbinger – A bringer of bad news Remnant – Remains/Leftovers Charnel-house – A place where dead bodies are stored Bounteous – Good fortune Perpetuity – Lasts forever Providence – the care God takes over the world Key Vocabulary

15. Homework – Due date 22/6/09 Write four paragraphs about “Vultures” 1 st para – Briefly explain what the poem is about and what the theme of the poem is 2 nd para – explain how the poet describes vultures and their behaviour 3 rd para – explain how the poet describes the Commandant 4 th para – explain the conclusion of the poem

16. Success Criteria Have you followed the paragraph plan? Have you used punctuation accurately and proofread your work? Have you used short quotations to support your answer? Have you mentioned the language devices used by the poet (metaphor, alliteration etc.)

17. Quick Quiz Who wrote the poem? Write down one quote which shows the description of the vultures Where is the Commandant based? What is a charnel-house? What is the poet asking us to think about at the end of the poem?