Lesson Objectives
•Find out background information about“Vultures”
•Read and understand the opening of thepoem
•Work in groups to think about the issue ofgood and evil
Vultures is a poem of two halves – the first half is adescription of two vultures and their habits. Thesecond half is about a Commandant from Belsenconcentration camp
Vultures was written by Chinua Achebe
Vulture
Commandant
The poem is about good and evil – how even if somethingthat seems really bad it can still have positive aspects
V
Good
Evil
At the end of the poem the poet asksus a question – Should we be sad thatthere is always evil in the world, orshould we be thankful for every act ofkindness and love?
Vultures are birds of prey that usually eatthe remaining dead flesh of animals thathave been killed by other animals
Belsen was a prison camp where Jewish people weregassed during the Second World War - BBC NEWS |In Depth | Audio slideshow: Liberation of Belsen
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
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 andyour 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
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
Working in groups of 3 (triads) try to answer the followingquestions:
How would you describe the atmosphere of the opening 6 lines ofthe 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 evidencefrom 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.
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
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 istrying to express
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
Homework – Due date 22/6/09
•Write four paragraphs about “Vultures”
•1st para – Briefly explain what the poem is aboutand what the theme of the poem is
•2nd para – explain how the poet describes vulturesand their behaviour
•3rd para – explain how the poet describes theCommandant
•4th para – explain the conclusion of the poem
Success Criteria
Have you followed the paragraph plan?
Have you used punctuation accurately and proofreadyour work?
Have you used short quotations to support your answer?
Have you mentioned the language devices used by thepoet (metaphor, alliteration etc.)
Quick Quiz
•Who wrote the poem?
•Write down one quote which shows thedescription of the vultures
•Where is the Commandant based?
•What is a charnel-house?
•What is the poet asking us to think about atthe end of the poem?