Tich Miller– Wendy Cope Date:

Objectives
1. Introduce the poem.
2. Examine the themes of ‘Youth’ and ‘A Person’ and
‘An important issue (Bullying)’.
(This could also be a poem with a special meaning for you or with interesting
images)
Warm –up – picture on next page
I see, I think, I wonder
Warm-up: write down a sentence with each of the following:

I see..........
I think.......
I wonder....
 Exercise 1: First Impressions
Having read the poem once, write down
one sentence in response and share it.

Try using: I think, I know, I don’t know, I want

to know.
 Notes - Stanza One – underline and note
•The opening lines introduce poor unfortunate Tich using
exaggeration. She needs sickly weak pink glasses and has clownish
shaped feet.

Why would the poet ,‘Tubby’,

exaggerate?

Tich Miller wore glasses

with elastoplast-pink frames
and had one foot three sizes
larger than the other.
 Notes – Stanza Two
• We can see the misery of being left out and alienated at school. Tich
and the poet stand by a “wire-mesh fence” like they are in prison or a
cage. They feel trapped.

(What other feelings

would you have being
last picked every time?)

When they picked teams for outdoor games

she and I were always the last two
left standing by the wire-mesh fence.
 Notes – Stanza Three
•The girls look awkward, embarrassed and humiliated. They are
hunched over trying not to look at each other. They want to do
anything except think about their situation.

If put on the spot, what

nervous actions do you
think you would have?

We avoided one another’s eyes

stooping, perhaps, to retie a shoe-lace
or affecting interest in the flight
 Notes – Stanza four
•The graceful bird is “fortunate” because it can fly away and be free.
The poet and Tich are trapped there, forced to listen as they are
rejected by the other students.

Can anyone explain

the term
‘Low self-esteem’?

of some fortunate bird, and pretended

not to hear the urgent conference:
“Have Tubby!” “No, no, have Tich!”
 Notes – Stanza five
•The words “usually” and “always” emphasise the girls misery is an
ongoing, everyday feeling with no end in sight. The poet is more
fortunate than Tich however, being the “lesser dud”.

How would you feel in

Tich’s shoes?

Usually they chose me, the lesser dud

and she lolloped, unselected,
to the back of the other team.
 Notes – Stanza six
•The poet did not learn that mockery is cruel and should be avoided.
Like many people who are picked on, she instead started to bully other
people to try to make herself feel better.

What happens to the people

she makes fun of then?

At eleven we went to different schools.

In time I learned to get my own back
sneering at hockey players who couldn’t spell.
 Notes – Stanza seven
•Tich’s death is sudden, shocking and sad. She never found a way to
stop the bullies. The poet speaks like a child. There is no flowery
language, no euphemisms here to try to hide the harsh reality.

What’s the lesson

here? What’s the
point the poet
wants to say?

Tich died when she was twelve.

 Homework questions.
Point-Evidence-Explain.

1. Has this poem made you think of other students any differently?

(No names please.)

2. What do you think of Tich and the poet ‘Tubby’?

3. What is your opinion of bullying after this poem?

4. Would you recommend this poem?

• Learn the first three stanzas

• Part 2
 Tich Miller 2 Date:
Objectives
1. Examine the technique of the poem. (1)
Look at the rhyme, tone, onomatopeoia
2. Reinforce the important message of the poem.

Warm –up – pictures on next page

I think..... I know...... I don’t know.....
I want to know......
 Warm-up
• Concerning these images and the poem Tich Miller, finish the
following four sentences:
• I think..... I know...... I don’t know..... I want to know.....
 Quick question before we start:

Can anyone find a rhyme in this poem?

 Quick question before we start:

Can anyone find a rhyme in this poem?

There is one... well, half a rhyme anyway.

Sneering at hockey-players who couldn’t spell.

Tich dies when she was twelve.

 Notes
• Rhyme: The absence of rhyme in a poem is very significant.
Rhymes create harmony, links and a feeling of comfort
because there is structure. The lack of rhyme in ‘Tich Miller’
conveys the poets experience.

• Question to discuss: Pretend that Tich is named “ Rhyme”.

What happens to her in the poem? METAPHOR! (Simile if we
use ‘like’)
 Notes
(If we ever can’t talk about rhyme, we talk about tone.)

• Tone: The speaker’s tone is matter-of-fact. She presents what

happened without approving or disapproving, leaving us to
judge.

• Question to write an answer to: Think – pair - share

• The poet invites us to judge so let us. What do you think of the
situation and her response? Make reference to the poem.
Before the next note:
• What does ‘Lolloping’ look like?

Usually they chose me, the lesser dud

and she lolloped, unselected,
to the back of the other team.
 Notes
Ono-mato-pay-YA
(There is one poetic technique used: Onomatopoeia .)

• Onomatopoeia: Being last picked, Tich “lolloped”

to the back of a team that did not want her. The
word lollop paints us a picture. Like the sound, she
moves without grace slowly to the back of the
group.
 Learning and reciting poetry
• Poetry is learnt easier by linking stanzas to images. You think
of the picture and remember the line. So let’s try this...
Put the poem onto a page with pictures illustrating /
showing the stanzas. Learn the poem.
Tich Miller by Wendy Cope
Tich Miller wore glasses
with elastoplast-pink frames
and had one foot three sizes larger than the other.

When they picked teams for outdoor games

she and I were always the last two
left standing by the wire-mesh fence.
 
We avoided one another's eyes
stooping, perhaps, to re-tie a shoe-lace
or affecting interest in the flight
 
of some fortunate bird, and pretended
not to hear the urgent conference:
'Have Tubby!' 'No, no, have Tich!'
 
Usually they chose me, the lesser dud
and she lolloped, unselected,
to the back of the other team.
 
At eleven we went to different schools.
In time I learned to get my own back,
11 sneering at hockey players who couldn't spell.
 
Tich died when she was twelve.