What annoys or irritates you in your everyday life?

Does the level of your annoyance depend on mood, circumstance etc.?

Making connections…

Making connections…

‘Hitcher’By Simon Armitage

Learning Objectives:To EXPLORE and INVESTIGATE the poem ‘Hitcher’, focusing on

how meaning is shown through language

Band 4:• I can identify effective language used by the poet that shows

CONFLICT• I can use quotations to support my points about the

language used• I can show an understanding of the effects of the language

on the reader

Band 5:• I can identify and show a clear understanding of effective

language used by the poet that shows CONFLICT• I can use relevant quotations to support my points about the

language used• I can include clear and detailed explanations regarding the

effects of the language on the reader

Success Criteria:

Summarize the events of this poem in less than 100 words.

Activity 2:

What conflict is shown in each stanza?Read each stanza carefully and make some notes at the side of

each stanza.

When you have done this, UNDERLINE quotations which support your ideas regarding how conflict is shown.

Success Criteria:IDENTIFY

Success Criteria:

Use RELEVANT quotations

Conflict

Word or phrase in the poem

What it tells us

under the weather

I thumbed a lift to where the car was parked

he was following the sun from west to east

the good earth for a bed

The truth, he said, was blowin’ in the wind

This allusion to Bob Dylan lyrics could suggest that the hitchhiker is a ‘hippie’ and a free thinker, and it could also show the persona’s contempt for such beliefs, depending on the tone

I let him have it on the top road out of Harrogate

saw him bouncing off the kerb

The outlook for the day was moderate to fair.

Close reading:

Discuss and fill in what each word or

phrase tells us about the persona and the hitchhiker within the

poem so that they can build up a

character profile of both characters from

the poem.

Remorseless

BrutalViolent

Nonchalant

Gloating

Look at the following words. These have all been used to describe the narrator of the poem.

What quotes would you link with these words?Annotate your text.

Success Criteria:IDENTIFY

Success Criteria:Use RELEVANT

quotations

TOP TIP:Use a dictionary if

necessary!

I’d been tired, underthe weather, but the ansaphone kept screaming:one more sick-note, mister, and you’re finished. Fired.I thumbed a lift to where the car was parked.A Vauxhall Astra. It was hired.

I picked him up in Leeds.He was following the sun to west from eastwith just a toothbrush and the good earth for a bed. The truth,he said, was blowin’ in the wind,or round the next bend.

I let him have iton the top road out of Harrogate – oncewith the head, then six times with the krooklokin the face – and didn’t even swerve.I dropped into third

and lent acrossto let him out, and saw him in the mirrorbouncing off the kerb, then disappearing down the verge.We were the same age, give or take a week.He said he liked the breeze

to run its fingers through his hair. It was twelve noon.The outlook for the day was moderate to fair.Stitch that, I remember thinking,you can walk from there.

BRUTAL

Now let’s up-level…

Success Criteria:IDENTIFY

Success Criteria:

Use RELEVANT quotations

Success Criteria:Show

UNDERSTANDING of the EFFECTS of

the language

Conflict

I’d been tired, underthe weather, but the ansaphone kept screaming:one more sick-note, mister, and you’re finished. Fired.I thumbed a lift to where the car was parked.A Vauxhall Astra. It was hired.

I picked him up in Leeds.He was following the sun to west from eastwith just a toothbrush and the good earth for a bed. The truth,he said, was blowin’ in the wind,or round the next bend.

I let him have iton the top road out of Harrogate – oncewith the head, then six times with the krooklokin the face – and didn’t even swerve.I dropped into third

and lent acrossto let him out, and saw him in the mirrorbouncing off the kerb, then disappearing down the verge.We were the same age, give or take a week.He said he liked the breeze

to run its fingers through his hair. It was twelve noon.The outlook for the day was moderate to fair.Stitch that, I remember thinking,you can walk from there.

This quotation is brutal and shows CONFLICT

BECAUSE the hitcher hits his victim in the face,

suggesting that he wants the victim to see the

attack. The fact that he hits him six times is

brutal. The narrator wants to cause suffering and

pain to the hitcher.

ReflectionWhat progress have you made today?

Refer to your success criteria.Have you been SUCCESSFUL?

What do you need to do to improve?What have you learnt during the lesson?

Conflict

Band 4:I can identify effective language used by the poet that shows CONFLICTI can use quotations to support my points about the language usedI can show an understanding of the effects of the language on the reader

Band 5:I can identify and show a clear understanding of effective language used by the poet that shows CONFLICTI can use relevant quotations to support my points about the language usedI can include clear and detailed explanations regarding the effects of the language on the reader

Year 10 transition homework:

Write a response to this question:

How does Armitage present violence in the poem ‘Hitcher’?

• You must write at least 3 paragraphs of analysis in response.

• Use the skills you have developed in Year 9 and today.

• Check your writing for technical accuracy and expression e.g. capital letters in the right places, accurate spelling, sentences that are complete.