Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson we will: 1. Be able to analyse Praise Song for my Mother by Grace Nichols

Context and Background Grace Nichols was born in Guyana in a small village by the sea. She worked as a teacher in the remote parts of Guyana where she was influenced by the folk stories and myths of her country. In 1977 at the age of 27 she came to live in England. She describes herself as belonging to two cultures. Born and brought up in the Caribbean and yet living and working most of her adult life in England she has absorbed both ways of life.

Praise Songs Praise Songs are of African origin, and are written to celebrate the lives of people they are written about.

Task One In the poem Grace Nichols says her mother was: ‘water’, ‘moon’ and ‘sunrise’. Draw a spider diagram for each of these words and list all the different connotations that you can think of.

Task Two Now write three P.E.E paragraphs explaining what each image conveys about Grace Nichol’s relationship with her mother. You should focus, as well, on how the context can also help us to understand what the poet is trying to get across.

Style What is the tone of the poem? How does the language the poet use get across this tone? Is the mood of the poet different to the tone of the poem?