Check your understanding 1. Describe and explain the impression Carson’s reading of his poem has on you.
2. What happens in the first line and a half of the first stanza? R E E L BEING CREATIVE
R E E L 4. What is happening in the final two lines of the poem? R E E L MANAGING INFORMATION AND THINKING
5. In the first stanza, Carson mentions many features of printed language (i.e. asterisk, hyphenated line). Why do you think he uses these terms?
6. There are three questions in the final two lines of the poem. Who might be asking these questions? Do you think there might be more than one way to understand them?
WORKING WITH OTHERS
7. Carson wrote this poem using very long lines. Why do you think he might have done that, given his subject matter? What effect does it have on you as a reader?
NUMERACY R E E L
8. Imagine you are adapting this poem into a short film for broadcast online. Choose at least two sounds and three images that would capture this poem for a viewer.
STAYING WELLMANAGING MYSELF R E E L
LITERACY BEING CREATIVEPoem 2:
Progress by Alan Gillis MANAGING INFORMATION AND THINKING
Before Reading
Alan Gillis was born in Belfast in 1972. His poem Progress addresses the aftermath of the Troubles. It was published in 2004, six years after the Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
WORKING WITH OTHERS
Discuss briefly with your partner: NUMERACY
n What does the word progress mean? n Think of three contexts in which you might usually hear this word.
Reading and Listening STAYING WELL
Listen to Alan Gillis read Progress at the following link: Link: Progress read by Alan Gillis Search Terms: Lyrick-line Allan Gillis Progress
14 COMMUNICATION
3. Describe what the poet wants to do (and his feelings about it) in the first two lines of the second stanza.
