Year 8 English- Homework Project

L.O. Culture Poetry is a unit taught in Year 8 and students will need to expand their knowledge and

understanding of how culture is defined. They will do this through research, analysing poems and songs

and writing their own versions.

Me, myself and I; my life in verse

In English, at some point this year, you will be studying a collection of poems all related to a variety of

cultures. In this project you will be finding out what makes you, you.

Hard copies of all work completed will need to be handed in to your English teacher at the end of the

project. If at any point you find yourself struggling or are confused, please find your English teacher who

will be happy to help. If you need a paper copy of these instructions or the worksheets, please ask your

teacher.

Due date: Monday 9th October 2017

Remember that English staff are available to help after school throughout this project and Homework club

takes place in the library every night after school.

Task 1: (40 minutes)

Research your family history and complete a family tree going back as far as you can to trace where you have come

from.

Or

Design your ideal family tree; use inspiration from celebrities/notable people from any walk of

life. You can have Kylie Jenner as your sister, Shakespeare as your dad and Emma Watson as

your mum. It does not have to make chronological sense; dead or alive, they can be family.

Task 2: (40 minutes.)

Choose 5 things that are either very important to you or to your family.

Write an explanation for each explaining its significance.

STRETCH: Do you think what people hold important varies across different cultures? Explain your thoughts in a

paragraph.

Task 3: (40 minutes)

What do you believe defines British culture? Research other ideas surrounding British culture. Make notes on:

Common ideas

The changing face of British Culture

What British Culture means to you

STRETCH: Find out what is meant by the term ‘counterculture’

Year 8 English- Homework Project

L.O. Culture Poetry is a unit taught in Year 8 and students will need to expand their knowledge and

understanding of how culture is defined. They will do this through research, analysing poems and songs

and writing their own versions.

Task 4: (40 minutes)

A Recipe for the British

Read the poem on ‘Worksheet for Task 4’ and complete all questions at the bottom of the sheet.

Task 5 (40 minutes)

Using your research and your own experiences, write your version of ‘Recipe for the British’ poem.

You can include:

Your ideas

Common ideas

Famous British landmarks/people

Anything else you think will work!

- It doesn’t have to rhyme if you don’t want it to; if you do…great!

Task 6: (40 minutes)

Look at the following sentences; can you complete these using your own descriptions? Which technique do you think

this is?

My love is like a…

You were as brave as a…

They fought like...

He is as funny as…

This house is as clean as a…

He is as strong as…

That guy is as nutty as a…

Can you now write 10 similes of your own about your chosen objects? (2 per item)

STRETCH: Can you write a metaphor about each of your chosen objects?

Year 8 English- Homework Project

L.O. Culture Poetry is a unit taught in Year 8 and students will need to expand their knowledge and

understanding of how culture is defined. They will do this through research, analysing poems and songs

and writing their own versions.

Task 7: (40 minutes)

http://royalcentral.co.uk/blogs/insight/a-complete-guide-to-god-save-the-queen-20050

Using the above link, listen to the National Anthem ‘God Save the Queen’.

Print off the Support Sheet for Task 7 and annotate the National Anthem to show you understand the message in

each verse. What seems to be the most important message in the anthem?

Task 8: (40 minutes)

Using all the ideas you have gathered over the week and any notes/pictures, create a collage poster encompassing

everything surrounding British Culture and what it means to you. You could include: maps, pictures, your similes,

your recipes and anything else you feel fits.

Task 9: (80 minutes)

The past two weeks you have been researching everything and anything to do with British culture; this will now be

used to write a poem about yourself and your culture. You can include all the things that influence you in your

everyday life, but also all the things that make you who you are.

Plan your own poem under the title of: Me, Myself and I.

What ideas from your research will you include?

What is important to your sense of who you are?

What message are you telling your reader?

Write or type your poem in full and decorate it before submission. You can decorate in any way, so long as

something about it represents the ideas you have presented.

Support Sheet for Task 7 : God Save the Queen

God save our gracious Queen

Long live our noble Queen

God save the Queen

Send her victorious

Happy and glorious

Long to reign over us

God save the Queen

O Lord our God arise

Scatter her enemies

And make them fall

Confound their politics

Frustrate their knavish tricks

On Thee our hopes we fix

God save us all

Thy choicest gifts in store

On her be pleased to pour

Long may she reign

May she defend our laws

And ever give us cause

To sing with heart and voice

God save the Queen

Not in this land alone

But be God's mercies known

From shore to shore

Lord make the nations see

That men should brothers be

And form one family

The wide world over

From every latent foe,

From the assassins blow,

God save the Queen!

O'er her thine arm extend,

For Britain's sake defend,

Our mother, prince, and friend,

God save the Queen!

Worksheet for Task 4

Take some Picts, Celts and Silures And let them settle, Then overrun them with Roman conquerors. Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years Add lots of Norman French to some Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously. Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans, Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese, Vietnamese and Sudanese. Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians And Pakistanis, Combine with some Guyanese And turn up the heat. Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians, Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese And Palestinians Then add to the melting pot. Leave the ingredients to simmer. As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish Binding them together with English. Allow time to be cool. Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future, Serve with justice And enjoy. Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste. Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.

What does this writing remind you of? Why?

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Highlight any words you don’t understand. What kind of

words are they?

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Which is your favourite line? Why?

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Which do you think is the most important line? Why?

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Who do you think wrote it? What is their message?

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Go back to the start. Give the poem a title.