Checking Out Me History

A PPT that enables an exploration of ‘Checking Out Me History’ by John Agard.

The entry task is a true or false activity based on a paragraph from a 19th Century non-fiction text called ‘Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coast’ by Frank R. Stockton (1898). The paragraph hints at the answer to Agard’s question about what happened to the the Caribs and the Arawaks when Christopher Columbus and his crew arrived in the Bahamas in 1492.

After this, learners complete a quiz entitled ‘How much of a history buff are you?’ The aim is to match the historical figure or year to the correct explanation of its significance. Some of the explanations contain clues so that some elimination is possible. There is a context sheet to be given out after this activity, which learners can use in conjunction with their exploration of the poem.

Learners then watch a video in which Agard discusses his poem (link provided). As they watch, learners are encouraged to think about who is in conflict in the poem and who or what has power.

The next task is to read the poem in conjunction with a video of a recording of Agard reciting the poem (link provided). After this, learners explore the poem using a worksheet.

The lesson culminates in a summary task, which is differentiated according to challenge.

This resource is aimed at middle-upper ability learners and should take about 1.5 - 2 hours.

UPDATE: A few typos corrected on the Context Sheet. Simplified context table added.