1. Guyana Which country’s flag is this?
Write down everything you know about this country’s history.
Guyana
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

2. ‘Checking Out Me History’ by John Agard
Watch the clip of John Agard reading his poem, ‘Checking Out Me History’.
First viewing: Try to work out what the poem is about.
Second viewing: Note down any words/features that you find interesting within the poem.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

3. 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.
Agard believes history in the English Curriculum deliberately leaves out information about black men and women who deserve more recognition.
John Agard is a black British poet, originally from Guyana, in the Caribbean.
At school in Guyana, Agard was taught a version of British history, but doesn’t know much about his own black roots.
In this poem, Agard explores the relationship between history, identity and language.
Agard talks about men and women from diverse backgrounds who should be celebrated and, at the end of the poem, he says he’s going to create his own identity based on his heritage.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

4. LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question
1066 = crucial to English history as it marked the takeover 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 that 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.
Shaka = an influential leader of the Zulu nation. He united the Zulu people against other tribes and the increasing presence of the white settlers.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

5. 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 was a Jamaican woman who looked after soldiers in the same way that Nightingale did – a black woman who made a unique contribution to 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.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

6. ‘Checking Out Me History’
This phrase isn’t grammatically correct.
Why do you think Agard has chosen to use the possessive pronoun ‘me’ instead of ‘my’?
‘Checking Out Me History’
If you ‘check out’ or ‘check something out’, what do you do?
Why do you think Agard says he is ‘checking out’ his history?
What is ‘history’?
Why do you think Agard wants to know so much about it?
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

7. What do the words mean? Dem - They Me - My Bout - About Dat - That
Lick back - Defeated
De – Of
See-far woman – A woman with a vision of the future
Who might Agard be referring to as ‘dem’?
What is the effect of the opening repetition of ‘Dem tell me’?
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

8. Discovering and Annotating
Use your discovering and annotating sheet to work through the key elements of the poem and to give you a chance to really understand Agard’s ideas.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

9. The poem…
Cleverly uses two types of stanza to show the differences between ‘official’ and ‘non-official’ history.
Shows that without a history and without a distinctive voice we may have no identity.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

10. ‘‘Checking Out Me History’ is a playful approach to a serious topic.’
Questioning...
‘‘Checking Out Me History’ is a playful approach to a serious topic.’
How far would you agree with this view?
Give detailed reasons for your answer.
To be able to comment on structural features and poetic devices in a poem
To be able to respond creatively to a poem through analysis paragraphs
To identify the meaning of a poem through close language analysis
LO: To be able to effectively respond to a poetry exam question

11. Today’s plenary
What was the point of me showing you the flag of Guyana and asking you to list all you knew about the country’s history?
Additional support: Complete the question sheet for home learning.

12. The key vocabulary for this poem is all on your glossary sheet 
To summarise…
Key theme:
The relationship between history, culture and identity.
The key vocabulary for this poem is all on your glossary sheet 
You could compare ‘Checking Out Me History’ to:
‘Tissue’ or ‘The Emigrée’