'Jock of Hazeldean' is a ballad by Walter Scott. It tells the story of a young woman who choses to marry the man she loves (Jock of Hazeldean) instead of the young man that everyone wants her to marry. The ballad has just four stanzas, and so as this is a shorter poem, this activity covers the entirety in the poem through a range of activities. Pupils are encouraged to read, view and listen to different versions of the poem to explore meaning and how meaning is conveyed through word choice and poetic devices; they are invited to answer questions and offer their own interpretations by designing posters and dramatic performances inspired by the events of the poem.
Our Teacher's Note (Word: Jock of Hazeldean Lesson Plan WORD / PDF: Jock of Hazeldean Lesson Plan PDF) complete with lesson plan and activities guide can help teachers to prepare for and teach this lesson.
This PowerPoint can be used in teaching the part of the lesson focusing on poetic devices and techniques.
After working out what the poem is about, pupils should be split into four groups. Each group should be given one stanza of the poem and answer the associated questions. Click here for the stanzas and questions in Word . Click here for the stanzas and questions in PDF . Pupils should then make posters about their stanza and present them to the rest of the class.
There is an optional word stress activity. Click here for the word stress activity.
A simple PowerPoint uses the poem to introduce the pupils to poetic devices. Click here for the PowerPoint.
Click here for final questions for pupils to discuss .
Finally, pupils can draw a picture and write a summary of the poem. Click here for a template for the summary and picture . Click here for the template in PDF.
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This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant Number AH/V011111/1.
It is part of The Edinburgh Edition of Walter Scott's Poetry: Engaging New Audiences. It was developed by Dr Anna Fancett as part of the Walter Scott Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen with the support of Abbotsford, Scott's home in the Scottish Borders and The Association for Scottish Literature.
