KS3 / KS4 English Language: Vicky Foster – Poet

Video summary

Vicky Foster, who works across a number of genres but is perhaps best known for her poetry, talks through her creative process when writing and editing a poem.

She talks about how writing is a really good way of processing things that are going on in the world and in your own life.

Vicky also talks about the techniques she uses when writing poems, such as alliteration, use of metaphors, imagery and the importance of rhythm in making a poem pleasurable to listen to and perform.

This short film is from the BBC Teach series Inside the Writer's Mind, and is supported by a free classroom resource from First Story.

Download using this link.

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Teacher Notes

Before viewing

Recap on poems studied or read in the classroom.

Remind students of poetic terms and devices.

After viewing

Give students a keyword or place. Students create an idea board of images associated with stimulus. Build ideas with the use of adjectives, similes and metaphors. Students could produce group poems for performance.

Discuss how Vicky Foster creates the image of school and education. What is her perspective?

This short film will be relevant for teaching English language at KS3 and KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4 and 5 in Scotland.

Topics covered include character and plot development in narrative writing; making links to word meaning, effective punctuation and narrative structure; understanding characterisation, narrative planning, story structure, editing, proofreading and redrafting.

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