1. Out of the Blue
Simon Armitage
Pg. 35
of
Moon on the Tides
Anthology

2. Out of the Blue Simon Armitage
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/simon-armitage-on-his-poem-out-of-the-
blue/13456.html

3. Success Criteria
Band 3 – ‘Clear, Consistent’
• Cleat links between sentences;
some discourse markers to create
fluency.
• Consistent accuracy with greater
range of punctuation.
Band 4 – ‘Confident, Assured’
• Phrase and sentence constructions
self-consciously crafted for effect.
• full range of punctuation marks
used assuredly and accurately.
Band 5 – ’Sophisticated, Impressive’
• High levels of whole text coherence.
• Varied and sophisticated sentence
structures used to impressive effect.
Success Criteria
Learning Outcomes
• Identify the success criteria for
Producing creative texts.
• Evaluate the best examples of
descriptive language and prioritise
which are most effective.
• Peer assess the work of others.
PROGRESS
English Language Unit 3 (b) Producing creative texts. Controlled Assessment
Learning Objective
LO1: To explore the poem ‘Out of the Blue’
by Simon Armitage.
LO2: Develop skills in creative and
descriptive writing in preparation for the
Controlled Assessment on “Re-creations
: Taking a text and turning it into
another ’

4. .
.
Controlled Assessment
Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another

5. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts (creative writing) Re-creations. Taking a text and turning it into another
.
.
“Re-creations :
Taking a text
and turning it
into another ”
Controlled Assessment.

6. .
.
Rules of Controlled assessment
Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another

7. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts (creative writing) Re-creations. Taking a text and turning it into another
.
.
Controlled Assessment.

8. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts (creative writing) Re-creations. Taking a text and turning it into another

9. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another
2012/2013 Bank
Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts
Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another
1200 words over 2 Controlled Assessments = approx 600 words per CA

10. Out of the Blue
• This poem comes, as its title suggests, from the
much longer poem 'Out of the Blue' which
Simon Armitage wrote to commemorate the
victims of the attack on the World Trade Centre
in September 2001 known as 9/11 and the fall
of the Twin Towers.

11. Out of the Blue – Simon Armitage
• Some things that you might like to note about the poem... It is a monologue in four-line
stanzas, in the voice of one of the victims of the attack on the World Trade Centre in
September 2001 known as 9/11.
• Armitage has imagined himself into the place of one of the people involved, a man who
finds himself trapped on the top floors of the burning building, aware of his position,
but unable to escape. This situation was one of the ones which most horrified people
who watched footage of the attacks--people could be seen waving from windows,
looking for help, and yet there was no way to reach them before the towers collapsed.
• The speaker directly addresses us as readers throughout, actually making us feel slightly
voyeuristic in watching this film, and selecting this person to watch: 'you have picked
me out / Through a distant shot of a building burning'. In this respect it is interesting in
that it deals with a non-combatant, and a victim of conflict, though not a victim of a
war, but of a terrorist attack. The speaker's horror and disbelief are powerfully
conveyed in the poem, and the extract ends with the dark suggestion that his ability to
keep speaking is disappearing 'I am failing, flagging'.

12. Out of the Blue – Simon Armitage
.
.

15. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yacjArDnRbY (Video)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj69WLACry8 (audio reading)

16. http://thunderbay.indymedia.org/uploads/woman-waving-close.avi

17. Extract from 'Out of the Blue'
You have picked me out.
Through a distant shot of a building burning
you have noticed now
that a white cotton shirt is twirling, turning.
In fact I am waving, waving.
Small in the clouds, but waving, waving.
Does anyone see a
soul worth saving?
And when will you come?
Do you think you are watching, watching
a man shaking crumbs
or pegging out washing?
I am trying and trying.
The heat behind me is searing, searing,
but the white of surrender is not yet flying.
I am not at the point of launching, leaving.
http://www.helpmewithenglish.co.uk/page_2111251.html
A bird goes by.
The depth is appalling. Appalling
that others like me
should be wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling, falling.
Are your eyes believing,
believing?
Here in the gills
I am still breathing.
But tiring, tiring.
Sirens below me are wailing, firing.
My arm is numb and my nerves are sagging.
Do you see me, my love. I am failing. Flagging.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj69WLACry8 (audio reading)

18. Can you
imagine the
horror of
this?

19. Out of the Blue – Simon Armitage
.
.

20. M
I
L
E
S
eaning
magery
anguage
motion / Effect
tructure
Meaning - What does it mean? What is the poem about?
Language -What words are used and what do you think of,
when these words are used? E.g. Black – usually has
connotations of death. Also use of simile, metaphor,
personification, sibilance, onomatopoeia etc...
Imagery – Use of word pictures, figures of speech, and
description to evoke ideas, feelings, objects, actions, states of
mind, etc...
Emotion /Tone – What emotions can you feel
while reading the poem? Is it a happy poem?
Sad/angry/morbid? What makes you think this?
Structure – How the poem appears on the page, how it is
constructed and organised. Eg. Ballad, acrostic, sonnet, blank
verse, etc... What shape is it – E.g. In ‘Flag’ the writing is set
out to appear like a flag fluttering in the breeze.

21. Analysis of the poem
‘Out of the Blue’

22. Out of the Blue Simon Armitage
1 You have picked me out.
Through a distant shot of a building burning
you have noticed now
that a white cotton shirt is twirling, turning.
5 In fact I am waving, waving.
Small in the clouds, but waving, waving.
Does anyone see
a soul worth saving?
Stanza 1 & 2
Implies the
reader is
watching
the TV
coverage of
the disaster
‘Distant’ suggests
everyone is staying at
a safe distance.
Pronoun ‘You’ immediately
engages the audience.
Alliteration adds to the horror
. .
-sounds
anonymous
and vague –
alliteration
emphasises
the distance
from the
people
watching.
Gentle calm
movements
(verbs) are
misleading at first.
. .
Does anyone see
a soul worth saving?
Creates images for
the reader.
Repetition to
show panic. More
rep on L6 shows
more panic.Sense of insignificance /
poignant feels the
watching world won’t
help.
. .
.
Sense of hopelessness
He feels insignificant
Pronoun ‘I’ gives
visual detail to ‘you’
and in doing so
creates images for
the reader.

25. Out of the Blue Simon Armitage
.
.

26. Out of the Blue Simon Armitage
Enjambment or enjambement
is the breaking of a syntactic unit (a phrase, clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or
between two verses.
Enjambment is sometimes referred to as a "run-on line."
Definition

27. Out of the Blue Simon Armitage
.
.

28. Out of the Blue Simon Armitage
.
.

29. Back to the
Controlled
Assessment
Task

30. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another
2012/2013 Bank
Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts
Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another
1200 words over 2 Controlled Assessments = approx 600 words per CA

31. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another
• You could be an onlooker describing the events unfold?
• A reporter
• A victim in the twin towers
• A survivor
• A relative of a victim watching the events on tv etc…
• The child of a victim. You have never met your father /mother etc and wonder what they
were like…
• A teenager watching the news as it unfolds on the news in front of your very eyes…
• Someone in the second hijacked plane.
The list is endless.
Pay attention to your writing skills: You will be marked on :
sentences structure, punctuation and grammar, etc..

32. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another

33. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another
“Mum, come watch this”, I scream, my eyes never leaving the TV screen for even a
fraction of a second, grappling desperately with the remote control to turn up the
volume.
“Oh my God! Jesus, your Father” wails Mum, her face turning ashen grey. Grabbing the
phone, punching in my dad’s cell phone number she desperately tries to connect to him.
Busy line. Again she punches in his numbers - 055412347. Dropping the phone as the
doorbell rings, both of us run for the door…
• A relative of a victim watching the events on tv etc…
1.

34. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another

35. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another

36. Unit 3: Part b: Producing creative texts Re-creations : Taking a text and turning it into another

37. PLENARY Complete the target sheet with
targets you have set yourself in
order to achieve the higher level
bands.
and fix into your exercise book

38. GCSE Anthology – Moon on the Tides: Conflict
Plenary
.

40. http://www.classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine
Random Name Selector

41. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Out of the Blue Simon Armitage