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Nature Poems for the Royal Norfolk Show!
This was another day of writing that I did at The TARDIS (Chapel Break Infant). I had the support of the main teacher at The TARDIS. There were 15 students. The aim was to help the students (Year 1 students) write poems for a competition at the Royal Norfolk Show, the theme of which was to write poems based on the countryside, food and/or farming. This provided an extra incentive for them, but obviously doesn’t have to be the object of the day.
To be done well – particularly with younger students – this would ideally have two days allocated to it to allow the students more time to have breaks between the hard thinking they are doing, plus to fit in all the steps.
Aim: To produce free verse poems based around nature. The emphasis is on word generation and sentence building by adding adjectives and verbs to these words.
Target Age: 5-9 (depending on ability and amount of time and support available – this is a challenging lesson)
Key Skills: Vocabulary and sentence building.
Resources:
Steps:
1. Explain about the Norfolk Show competition and its themes. Also explain that throughout the day we will have our own mini competitions and people might be able to get certificates for doing good work.
2. Read Compost Stew. Half the group taps a beat I have to read to, and the other half does thumbs up when they hear words that rhyme with ‘stew’.
3. Explain task – trying to find as many things as can outside and write them down. Try to look in different places to other people e.g. up high or low or round corners.
4. Go outside and write lists of things that they see.
5. Back inside – who has the most? – they read them out and people cross them out if they’ve already got them. Does anyone have any others? We compile a list of words on the flipchart.
This would be a good time for a break – during it, write down each student’s list of words (or if time ask them to do it – copy and cut them out ready for word shakers).
6. Model describing something using all of the senses.
7. Students pick five of their words at random using the word shakers (put all their words into the shaker – add some from group list if they didn’t have enough) and pick out five at random. (NB make sure they keep hold of these 5 words – put them in an envelope.)
8. They then try to fill in the table (as much as they can) of description words for these 5 nouns.
9. Share these words and add to flipchart.
10. If time, talk about things that you can do outside – mime actions and they have to guess what you’re doing e.g. running, walking, sitting, picking things up, looking at things.
11. If time, in groups of 3 think of 3 things that you can do outside (actions) and prepare how to mime them. (Make sure each group has a separate area.)
12. If time, group performs their mime.
(This would be a good time for a lunch break.)
13. Say that poems do not always have to rhyme. Read out example poem that was done using some words and adjectives and verbs.
14. Read poem again – 1 group of students has to listen for objects/things, 1 group of students has to listen for descriptions of the things, and 1 group has to listen for actions. What words can they remember?
15. I explain how I wrote the poem – picked words from a list like theirs at random and had to try to link them together.
16. (Over lunch must have 1. Judged Top Observer, Top Describer and Top ‘ing’ People and done certificates.)
17. They use the word shakers again – picking one word at a time and writing them down a page in a list – to work out the order of the words in their poem.
18. As a group we look at some people’s orders of words: how could we describe them? What actions could be happening? – write it on the board and see what poem appears.
19. People (with support from teachers) try to add adjectives and verbs to their nouns to make a poem.
20. Read out and feedback.
21. Hand out certificates (awards ceremony).
22. If time/as a later activity, write out their poems neatly on large paper and then draw and stick on illustrations of the nouns.
To be done well – particularly with younger students – this would ideally have two days allocated to it to allow the students more time to have breaks between the hard thinking they are doing, plus to fit in all the steps.
Aim: To produce free verse poems based around nature. The emphasis is on word generation and sentence building by adding adjectives and verbs to these words.
Target Age: 5-9 (depending on ability and amount of time and support available – this is a challenging lesson)
Key Skills: Vocabulary and sentence building.
Resources:
- Compost Stew: An A-Z Recipe for the Earth, Mary McKenna
- Example poem
- Clipboards, paper and pencils
- Top Observer certificate
- Senses description sheet
- Top Describer certificate
- Top ‘ing’ people certificates
- Word shakers
- Envelopes
- Scissors
- Flipchart
Steps:
1. Explain about the Norfolk Show competition and its themes. Also explain that throughout the day we will have our own mini competitions and people might be able to get certificates for doing good work.
2. Read Compost Stew. Half the group taps a beat I have to read to, and the other half does thumbs up when they hear words that rhyme with ‘stew’.
3. Explain task – trying to find as many things as can outside and write them down. Try to look in different places to other people e.g. up high or low or round corners.
4. Go outside and write lists of things that they see.
5. Back inside – who has the most? – they read them out and people cross them out if they’ve already got them. Does anyone have any others? We compile a list of words on the flipchart.
This would be a good time for a break – during it, write down each student’s list of words (or if time ask them to do it – copy and cut them out ready for word shakers).
6. Model describing something using all of the senses.
7. Students pick five of their words at random using the word shakers (put all their words into the shaker – add some from group list if they didn’t have enough) and pick out five at random. (NB make sure they keep hold of these 5 words – put them in an envelope.)
8. They then try to fill in the table (as much as they can) of description words for these 5 nouns.
9. Share these words and add to flipchart.
10. If time, talk about things that you can do outside – mime actions and they have to guess what you’re doing e.g. running, walking, sitting, picking things up, looking at things.
11. If time, in groups of 3 think of 3 things that you can do outside (actions) and prepare how to mime them. (Make sure each group has a separate area.)
12. If time, group performs their mime.
(This would be a good time for a lunch break.)
13. Say that poems do not always have to rhyme. Read out example poem that was done using some words and adjectives and verbs.
14. Read poem again – 1 group of students has to listen for objects/things, 1 group of students has to listen for descriptions of the things, and 1 group has to listen for actions. What words can they remember?
15. I explain how I wrote the poem – picked words from a list like theirs at random and had to try to link them together.
16. (Over lunch must have 1. Judged Top Observer, Top Describer and Top ‘ing’ People and done certificates.)
17. They use the word shakers again – picking one word at a time and writing them down a page in a list – to work out the order of the words in their poem.
18. As a group we look at some people’s orders of words: how could we describe them? What actions could be happening? – write it on the board and see what poem appears.
19. People (with support from teachers) try to add adjectives and verbs to their nouns to make a poem.
20. Read out and feedback.
21. Hand out certificates (awards ceremony).
22. If time/as a later activity, write out their poems neatly on large paper and then draw and stick on illustrations of the nouns.
