Please note: additional material for this workshop plan may be found in the Key Stage 4 menu.

Workshop Plan

Date: Lesson:Year:Number in Class:

Key Stage: 4

Ability: MixedFocus :Idioms

Resources:

Interactive Whiteboard Post-it Notes/Paper Copy of Poem

Workshop title:

‘Do Not Go Gentle’

Workshop Opening:

Explain to the class that death is an inevitable part of the life cycle. Invite comments on their ideas of death. NB – care and sensitivity should be taken, especially considering some children may have suffered a bereavement recently.Workshop Objectives:By the end of the lesson, the groups will have a deeper understanding of a difficult poem through an interactive trial and error process. They will think of an original phrase, using this as a basis for creative work.Strategies

Organise the class in groups of two/three/four. Invite them to read the verse on the screen, and emphasise that understanding of

every word or phrase is not imperative. Give each group a copy of the poem, without the final word of each line. Invite them to make an educated guess about which words they would use at the end

of each line. Listen to their ideas. Decide on the final words by popular vote. Invite one student to drag the words to the end of the line. Click ‘Check’ to reveal the original words.

Follow-up idea

Student to think of a phrase which they would use to address a loved one for the last time. Again, care and sensitivity should be taken. Group/individuals to use some of the more striking phrases as a basis for a poem.

KS4 English-medium Workshop

This workshop will provide opportunities for learners to develop elements within strand 1 of the Literacy and Numeracy Framework such as their ability to communicate their feelings and thoughts, and express their experiences through the power of the spoken word. A very important element within this workshop is the ability to listen and respond sensitively to each other’s ideas/viewpoints. Their ability to communicate meaning within strand 3 is also an integral part to this workshop.

This workshop will provide opportunities to develop elements within strand two of the Literacy and Numeracy Framework; ‘using number skills’ e.g. to identify age, date of birth/ date of death of Dylan Thomas as well as other prominent dates in his life. In addition there is an opportunity to count syllables and to identify patterns within the literary form that has been chosen.