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Hi Year 3,
Welcome to…
Poetry Appreciation Week!
We love poetry for many reasons. These collections of spoken or written words can have
such powerful effects on the reader and are a way for people to express their thoughts
and emotions.
Poems can…
make you laugh, make you think, make you smile and make you cry.
They can be long, they can be short.
and no two poems are the same!
Narrative, shape, nonsense, acrostic, rhyming, limericks, haikus.
Poetry is a wonderful, imaginative world and we can’t wait to explore it with you this
week!
Read on to visit our ‘Poetry Gallery’, showcasing a range of poems that we enjoy.
At the end of the week, we hope to create a new gallery full of your poems!
Miss Cosby and Miss Evans
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The Laughter Forecast
by Sue Cowling
Today will be humorous
With some giggly patches,
Scattered outbreaks of chuckling in the south
And smiles spreading from the east later,
Widespread chortling
Increasing to gale-force guffaws towards evening.
The outlook for tomorrow
Is hysterical
An elderly man named Keith,
Mislaid his set of false teeth,
They’d been laid on a chair,
He’d forgot they were there,
Sat down, and was bitten beneath.
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!
What Can You Do With A Football?
Well...You can
kick it you can catch
it you can bounce it – all
around. You can grab it you can
pat it you can roll it – on the ground.
You can throw it you can head it you
can hit it – with a bat. You can biff it
you can boot it you can spin it you
can shoot it you can drop it
you can stop it – just
like that
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Aliens Stole My Underpants
To understand the ways
of alien beings is hard,
And I've never worked it out
Why they landed in my backyard.
And I've always wondered why
on their journey from the stars,
these aliens stole my underpants
and took them back to Mars.
They came on a Monday night
when the weekend wash had been done,
pegged out on the line
to be dried in the morning sun.
Mrs Driver from next door
was a witness at the scene
when aliens snatched my underpants -
I'm glad that they were clean!
It seems they were quite choosey
as nothing else was taken.
Do aliens wear underpants
or were they just mistaken?
EVERYTHING ON IT
by Shel Silverstein
I asked for a hot dog
With everything on it,
And that was my big mistake,
‘Cause it came with a parrot,
A bee in a bonnet,
A wristwatch, a wrench, and a rake.
It came with a goldfish,
A flag, and a fiddle,
A frog, and a front porch swing,
And a mouse in a mask —
That’s the last time I ask
For a hot dog with everything.
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The dark is cosy, still and calm
And never does you any harm
In the loft, below the sink
It’s somewhere nice and quiet to think
Deep in cupboards, pockets too
It’s always lurking out of view
Why won’t it come out till it's night?
Perhaps the dark’s afraid of light
The Dark
Why are we so afraid of the dark?
It doesn’t bite and doesn’t bark
Or chase old ladies round the park
Or steal your sweeties for a lark
And though it might not let you see
It lets you have some privacy
And gives you time to go to sleep
Provides a place to hide or weep
It cannot help but be around
When beastly things make beastly sounds
When back doors slam and windows creak
When cats have fights and voices shriek
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Lesson 1- Acrostic Poems
Today, we are going to learn about acrostic poems! We think you
are all familiar with this style of poem as we created Great Fire of
London acrostics last year for our exhibit and volcano acrostics
when learning about Pompeii.
Just in case though, here is a reminder!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z4mmn39/articles/ztdvw6f
When writing our acrostic poems today, we want you to focus on building up descriptions
using a range of adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Look at the examples below and discuss
what these two examples do well. Remember, your poem does not need to rhyme!
Task:
Pick something that you want to describe. Write an acrostic poem about this subject.
You may wish to draft your poem first and then write it up in best. You can use a different
colour pen or pencil for the word you are spelling.
You can choose to write about whatever topic interests you but below are some ideas if
you are unsure.
- Weather (raindrop, sunshine)
- Seasons (winter, summer, autumn, spring)
- Space
- An animal (butterfly, sloth, jaguar)
- Someone special
Raindrops drip drop on my shoes
And more drops fall, in ones and twos
I think of all my friends inside
Not me, I think, I shall not hide
Stormy weather makes me run
To puddles outside, so much fun
On rainy days, I’ll always be
Running around for all to see
Mud and splashes cover me!
Violent, massive explosions.
Orange and red sparks flying in the smoke filled air.
Lightning flashing viciously, lighting up the sky.
Crackling, sizzling, hot, bubbling lava cascading
down.
Ash cloud spreading, darkness descending.
Nothing can stop the volcanoes anger.
Overflowing, spreading fear.
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Lesson 2 – Shape poems
Today, we are going to focus on shape (or concrete)
poetry!
A shape poem is a poem that is shaped like the thing it describes. So, a poem about the
stars would take the shape of a star (or stars).
Task:
Like yesterday, we would like you to think of your own topic. You may wish to draft your
poem first and then fit it onto your shape or write straight into your shape. There are lots
of templates on the internet that you can use.
Below are some examples to help you. Your
poem can be descriptive or informative and
filled with facts. How you write yours is up
to you!
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Lesson 3 – Repeating patterns
In poetry, you will often find that the writer repeats sounds, words,
ideas, lines or even entire stanzas (a grouped set of lines.)
When you repeat something in a poem, this is called “repetition.”
Repetition helps draw the reader’s attention to a thought, idea, or
feeling. It can make the main ideas of the poem more memorable.
One of the easiest ways to include repetition in a poem is to repeat the first line in a
stanza. For example, if you were writing a poem to tell everyone how great a teacher I
am, you might begin each stanza with, “I like Miss Cosby because…”
Example of a repeating pattern in a poem:
Now it’s your turn!
Today, we want you to create a poem about the world around you. The earth is a
wonderful place but as recent news has shown, we sometimes need to look and reflect on
how we treat each other and the planet itself.
It might be useful to go to the Newsround website to help with this discussion.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround
We might not be able to change the whole world all by
ourselves, but by making small improvements in our own lives
and inspiring other people to do the same, a snowball effect
may occur that can positively affect our planet in time.
So, what are the things we can do to bring positive change to
the world?
The best kinds of people are warm and kind,
They are always there and they never mind.
The best kinds of people smile and embrace,
They support you with strength and grace.
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Task:
Write a poem about the world or an issue that we are facing today. Decide on a
repeating line or phrase and build your poem around this.
Your poem might be about showing kindness to others, it might be about protecting the
planet. The choice is yours. If you are unsure, you could copy the same pattern as my
example below.
Miss Cosby’s Example:
If I were in charge of the world
People would be treated fairly,
We would work together,
And there would be no inequality.
If I were in charge of the world
We would work as a team,
Listening to each other,
And building on our dreams.
If I were in charge of the world
We would prevent global warming,
Learn to protect our planet,
And listen to the warning.
…
Lesson 4 – Narrative poems
Narrative poems tell stories through verse. Like a novel or a short
story, a narrative poem has plot, characters, and setting.
Click here to learn more!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z4mmn39/articles/z3btrwx
If you go to the Poetry Gallery, you will find a brilliant narrative poem
called ‘Aliens Stole My Underpants.’
Roald Dahl has also written some wonderful narrative poems. His fairy
tale themed poems are particularly funny but one of my favourite
poems of his is ‘The Crocodile and the Dentist.’
When you read the poem below, look closely as the rhyming pattern. He uses rhyming
couplets throughout. Chair/repair, shook/look, first/worst.
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The Dentist and the Crocodile
BY ROALD DAHL
The crocodile, with a cunning smile, sat in the dentist’s chair.
He said, “Right here and everywhere my teeth require repair.”
The dentist’s face was turning white. He quivered, quaked and shook.
He muttered, “I suppose I’m going to have to take a look.”
“I want you”, Crocodile declared, “to do the back ones first.
The molars at the very back are easily the worst.”
He opened wide his massive jaws. It was a fearsome sight—
At least three hundred pointed teeth, all sharp and shining white.
The dentist kept himself well clear. He stood two yards away.
He chose the longest probe he had to search out the decay.
“I said to do the back ones first!” the Crocodile called out.
“You’re much too far away, dear sir, to see what you’re about.
To do the back ones properly you’ve got to put your head
Deep down inside my great big mouth,” the grinning Crocky said.
The poor old dentist wrung his hands and, weeping in despair,
He cried, “No no! I see them all extremely well from here!”
Just then, in burst a lady, in her hands a golden chain.
She cried, “Oh Croc, you naughty boy, you’re playing tricks again!”
“Watch out!” the dentist shrieked and started climbing up the wall.
“He’s after me! He’s after you! He’s going to eat us all!”
“Don’t be a twit,” the lady said, and flashed a gorgeous smile.
“He’s harmless. He’s my little pet, my lovely crocodile.”
Task:
We would like you to create your own narrative poem. You can pick a subject of your
choice or use ‘The Dentist and The Crocodile’ or ‘Aliens stole my underpants’ as
inspiration.
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Below are some words that rhyme to help you and an online rhyming dictionary.
https://www.rhymezone.com/
hat
cat
sat
mat
you
blue
stew
grew
threw
time
climb
crime
rhyme
day
say
play
they
pay
walking
talking
heart
art
smart
dart
me
be
flee
tree
she
cave
gave
save
pave
Extras:
- Publish and send your poems to us to add to our gallery
- Create a new version of ‘Everything on it’ which you can find in the Poetry Gallery.
The Crocodile and the Dentist
The crocodile, with a cunning smile, sat in the dentist’s chair.
He said, “Right here and everywhere my teeth require repair.”
The dentist’s face was turning white. He quivered, quaked and shook.
He muttered, “I suppose I’m going to have to take a look.”
Aliens stole my underpants
To understand the ways
of alien beings is hard,
And I've never worked it out
Why they landed in my backyard.
Lines 2 and 4 in each
stanza rhyme.
Rhyming
couplets.
Pairs of lines
rhyme