1. Mother, any distance than a single span Starter (10 mins) How do relationships change between parents and their children as they grow up? Make a list of key stages when relationships change – learning to walk; going to school; staying out with friends Challenge Write a 2/3 sentences explaining how your relationship with your parents has changed over the years. Challenge Write a 2/3 sentences explaining how your relationship with your parents has changed over the years.

2. Task (5 mins) Write down why you think Armitage uses ‘Mother’ rather than ‘Mum’. Is it because: his mother doesn’t like being called ‘Mum’ it’s more formal it makes the poem read like a letter he doesn’t think of her as ‘Mum’ Or can you think of a better reason?

3. Mother, any distance greater than a single span requires a second pair of hands. You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors, the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors. You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base, then leaving up the stairs, the line still feeding out, unreeling years between us. Anchor. Kite. I space-walk through the empty bedrooms, climb the ladder to the loft, to breaking point, where something has to give; two floors below your fingertips still pinch the last one-hundredth of an inch… I reach towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky to fall or fly. The poet has moved in to a new house. His mother has come to help him measure the house for curtains and carpets. She holds one end of the tape-measure, he unwinds the tape and calls out distances for her to write down. The poem is really about the poet trying to break away from the traditional ties which bind him to his mother. The tape represents the tie which holds them together. He gets further and further away, but she is still there holding down the other end of the tape. She is like the anchor which stops him from floating away. He is like the kite, flying into the sky but still tethered to the earth. In the poem he moves towards the top of the house. He sees a hatch through which he can see the sky. The sky represents freedom, the final breaking loose. But for the moment he is still tied emotionally to his mother. The tape might be at breaking point but she still holds one end of it.

4. Mother, any distance greater than a single span requires a second pair of hands. You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors, the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors. 1.Why has the mother come to the house? 2.What is the effect of using ‘Mother’ in the first line? 3.What is the effect of saying ‘the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floor? To help her son measure walls and other things He can not do it by himself. He is addressing his mother directly. This poem is a personal message to her. Can you find the other example? The walls and floors are big and they seem frightening without his mother. Tasks (10 mins) Answer the following questions in full sentences

5. You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base, then leaving up the stairs, the line still feeding out, unreeling years between us. Anchor. Kite. 4.What is meant by zero-end? 5.What effect does it have when he starts to walk away from his mother and up the stairs? 6.Who is the ‘Anchor’ and who is the ‘kite’? Do you think the poet likes this? The zero end is the start of the tape measure. It shows that the son is moving upwards and away from his mother – physically but also mentally. The ‘anchor’ is his mother who always keeps him from getting carried away. He is the ‘kite’ flying high with the direction of his mum. Tasks (10 mins) Answer the following questions in full sentences

6. I space-walk through the empty bedrooms, climb the ladder to the loft, to breaking point, where something has to give; two floors below your fingertips still pinch the last one-hundredth of an inch... I reach towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky to fall or fly. 7.What is meant by the ‘spacewalk’? 8.Why does something have to break when he gets into the loft? 9.Will the mum ever fully let go of her son? 10.Will he succeed or fail? He is an explorer exploring his new life and starting an adventure. The tape measure has been stretched and so have the mother/son bounds. He is breaking free of his mother as all children should do as they get older. The mum will still be a small part of his life –’last one-hundredth of an inch’. He doesn’t know whether he will ‘fall or fly’ but he has to take the risk.

7. Task (5 mins) How would you describe the tone of the poem? warm and loving cold and objective embarrassed amused nostalgic proud Write 2/3 sentences as to why you think this? Challenge The poem is directly addressed to Armitage’s mother. What do you think she would have felt about it when she read it? Challenge The poem is directly addressed to Armitage’s mother. What do you think she would have felt about it when she read it?

8. Task (10/15 mins) Imagine you are at the house the mother and son have been measuring up. Write at least half a side of A4 outlining what you think of the two people and imagine what their relationship is like, use the poem to guide your ideas Task (10/15 mins) Imagine you are at the house the mother and son have been measuring up. Write at least half a side of A4 outlining what you think of the two people and imagine what their relationship is like, use the poem to guide your ideas