2. These are 8 examples of ________________?
What do they all have in common?
Who is missing? How do you feel about this list?

3. A01 (12 marks) A02 (12 marks) A03 (6 marks)
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Clear and precise comparison of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points
A (12 marks)
Analyse the poets’ use of language
Analyse the poets’ use of structure
Clearly explain the effects on the reader
Use subject specific terminology
A (6 marks)
Relate the poems to their historical and social contexts
Knowledge: The poem explores a white-centric curriculum from a black perspective.
Skills: Close analysis of language and structure.
Understanding: Produce a set of revision notes to inform a comparison essay.

4. What is Agard’s ‘Checkin’ Out Me History’ about?
Knowledge
Agard writes in his own dialect and criticises common history textbooks and curriculums for ‘ignoring’ black history and black historical figures.
Skills:
Close reading of the poem, focussed on meaning and content.
Understanding:
Annotate your anthology to demonstrate your understanding.

5. 1066 = crucial to English history as it marked the take over of English society by the French.
Dick Whittington = a poor boy with nothing but a cat who became Lord Mayor of London – mentioned in fairy tales and pantomimes.
Touissant L’Ouverture = the black leader of the Haitian revolution against French Colonial rule. He abolished slavery in Haiti and turned it into an independent republic.
Nanny de Maroon = Maroon is a general term used to describe black slaves who escaped from slavery and lived in remote places within the areas they had been transported to. Nanny de Maroon led the maroons to victory in Jamaica against British rule.
Lord Nelson = famous English admiral who inflicted a massive defeat on the French which meant the British Empire was strengthened.
The Battle of Waterloo 1815 = the final defeat of the French army led by Napoleon which made Britain a world super power.
A01
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points

7. Old King Cole and The Cow Jumped Over the Moon = nursery rhymes
Shaka = an influential leader of the Zulu nation. He united the Zulu people against other tribes and the increasing presence of the white settlers.
Caribs and Arawaks = the original inhabitants of the West Indies at the time when Columbus ‘discovered’ the islands. They were killed off by the war or through exposure to European diseases that they had no immunity to.
Florence Nightingale = a famous British nurse. Famous for her work in the Crimean War and her innovations in hygiene.
Robin Hood = legendary English hero made famous from supposedly stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
Mary Seacole = a Jamaican woman who looked after soldiers in the same way that Nightingale did – a black woman who made a unique contribution to our history but has been forgotten.
Crimean War = Russian Empire vs Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. Lots of deaths occurred from fighting bit also from outbreaks of disease.
Old King Cole and The Cow Jumped Over the Moon = nursery rhymes
A01
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points

8. Is constructed to reclaim black identity.
Agard is pointing out how in the English Curriculum students only seem to learn about white people because he believes it is written by white people for white people.
He believes history in the English Curriculum deliberately leaves out information about black men and women who deserve more recognition.
The poem:
Is constructed to reclaim black identity.
Makes the reader aware that British history is only a point of view.
Introduces the reader to famous black people.
Reminds us that whoever controls the past, controls the present.
A01
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points

9. How is Agard’s ‘Checkin’ Out Me History’ written?
Knowledge
The poem contains strong imagery you need to consider, but the use of structure and form are probably of more importance.
Skills:
Close reading of the poem, focussed on language and structure.
Understanding:
Annotate your anthology to demonstrate your understanding.

10. Analyse the poets’ use of language
Explore how Agard uses his own dialect to forge his own identity.
“Bandage up me eye with me own history//Blind me to me own identity.”
Agard suggests that the omission of black history has ‘blinded’ him. Identify language associated with light and sight in the italic sections and explain their purpose.
Compare the effect of the rhyme at different points of the poem. Agard portrays taught English history as childish and simplistic: how?
A02
Analyse the poets’ use of language
Clearly explain the effects on the reader
Use subject specific terminology

11. Explain the statement above.
“Agard uses unconventionally organised stanzas to express unconventional ideas.”
Explain the statement above.
Agard dedicates a single line to ‘1066 and all dat’ and a whole stanza to Toussaint L’Ouverture. What point do you think he is making?
A02
Analyse the poets’ use of structure
Clearly explain the effects on the reader
Use subject specific terminology

12. Why was Agard’s ‘Checkin’ Out Me History’ written?
Knowledge
Agard is clearly angry about the way history is taught and discussed.
Skills:
Link contextual factors to textual details.
Understanding:
Annotate your anthology to demonstrate your understanding.

13. Relate the poems to their historical and social contexts
John Agard typically writes poetry which is to be performed and heard rather than just read.
Find evidence that he has written this poem as something you should hear rather than simply read. Explain what effect this has in terms of getting his message across to his audience.
A03
Relate the poems to their historical and social contexts

14. How are ‘Checkin’ Out Me History’ and ‘London’ similar/different?
Knowledge
Both poems discuss the failure of society to reasonably care for all of its members.
Skills:
Make connections between the two poems.
Understanding:
Write a thirty minute essay response to the comparison question.

15. Compare Agard’s portrayal of his anger at society in ‘Checking Out Me History’ with Blake’s portrayal of his anger at society in ‘London’.
A01
Clear and precise comparison of the poems