ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
MEDIUM TERM PLAN
YEAR 7
Poetry, Please!
Aims:
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This scheme of work aims to develop students' knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of poetry and
to meet National Curriculum and Key Stage 3 Framework requirements.
It is designed to make students enthusiastic about reading pre-1914, post-1914 and contemporary
poems, to analyse them, and then recreate the effects in their own writing.
The scheme not only requires students to write their own poetry, but also aims to build the skills
required for analytical writing about poems required at GCSE and beyond.
The medium term planning format allows teachers the freedom to choose resources and plan individual
lessons, including starter activities. However, in order to ensure equality of provision and progression
for all pupils, teachers will adhere to the stated objectives and outcomes for each week.
Duration: 6 weeks
Resources:
How to Eat a Poem – Eve Merriam
November Night – Adelaide Crapsey
Quieter Than Snow – Berlie Doherty
The Orange Balloon – Stanley Cook
On a Breezy Day – Iain Crichton Smith
Rags and Spill - Judith Thurman
The Sea – James Reeves
The Fog – FR McCreary
Danse Macabre
Snow and Snow – Ted Hughes*
Noise – Jessie Pope
Snow – Walter de la Mare**
Week of Winter Weather – Wes Magee
Snow Towards Evening – Melville Cane
Haiku
Snow Haiku
Nature – H.D. Carberry
National Curriculum Coverage:
** Specified major poet pre-1914 (4 to be studied KS3-4)
* Example of major poet post-1914 (4 to be studied KS3-4)
Recent and contemporary poetry
Poetry from other cultures and traditions
Most students will: read poems both as shared text and within groups. They will write poetry showing
understanding of both the poetic techniques used by the poets studied, and the themes within their work.
They will produce pieces of analytical writing and also engage in speaking and listening activities.
Some student will not have progressed so far and will: read the poems and enjoy and engage with most
of the material and related activities. They will write about, and in response to, the poems and will write
their own poems. These pupils may need a variety of scaffolds to support reading and writing.
Some students will have progressed further and will: respond to the poems as pieces of well crafted
writing and then attempt to replicate these devices in their own work. They will read and discuss poems
independently. Analytical writing will show control of language and some evidence of independent study.
KEY TEACHING AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Pupils should be taught to:
WORD LEVEL
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Define and deploy words with precision, including their exact implication in context (Wd14)
Understand and have the terminology to describe the role of word classes (Wd16)
SENTENCE LEVEL
TEXT LEVEL – READING
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Identify the main points, processes or ideas in a text and how they are sequenced and developed by
the writer (R7)
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning e.g. repetition, emotive vocabulary,
varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects (R14)
Explore how form contributes to meaning in poems from different times and cultures e.g. story telling
in ballads (R19)
TEXT LEVEL – WRITING
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Plan, draft, edit, revise, proof-read and present a text with readers and purpose in mind (Wr1)
Collect, select and assemble ideas in a suitable planning format, e.g. flow chart, list, star chart (Wr2)
Experiment with visual and sound effects of language, including the use of imagery, alliteration,
rhythm and rhyme (Wr8)
Write reflectively about a text, taking account of the needs of others who might read it (Wr19)
TEXT LEVEL – SPEAKING AND LISTENING
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Use talk as a tool for clarifying ideas, e.g. by articulating problems or asking pertinent questions
(S/L1)
POSSIBLE TEACHING SEQUENCE
Week 1: Imagery - Similes
OBJECTIVES:
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Understand and have the terminology to describe the role of word classes (Wd16)
Identify the main points, processes or ideas in a text and how they are sequenced and developed by
the writer (R7)
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning e.g. repetition, emotive vocabulary,
varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects (R14)
Experiment with visual and sound effects of language, including the use of imagery, alliteration,
rhythm and rhyme (Wr8)
RESOURCES:
What is Poetry?
How to eat a Poem by Eve Merriam
Call My Bluff flashcard – Simile
The Storm – cloze exercise
November Night by Adelaide Crapsey
Thesauruses/dictionaries
Quieter Than Snow by Berlie Doherty
IDEAS FOR TEACHING:
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Give pairs the poem ‘How to Eat a Poem’ without the title. Pairs read and discuss what they think it is
about. Share ideas as a class. Give them title. Decide what point the poet is trying to make in the
poem. Pairs come up with one golden rule about reading and studying poetry.
What is Poetry? Give out definitions of poetry by poets on strips of card. Ask pupils to explain
meaning and write their own definition.
Revise definition of a simile using ‘Call My Bluff’ flash cards. Get pairs to complete new and original
similes e.g. as red as a …, as cold as …, as quiet as a …, etc.
‘The Storm’ – pupils complete cloze exercise experimenting with similes. Compare ideas.
Option: Look at the poem ‘November Night’ and how the poet uses a simile for effect.
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Pupils produce own poem using similes with the title ‘Rain.’ Give them some pointers to get them
started e.g. what does it look like, feel like, smell like, sound like, are there different types of rain,
how does it make you feel, etc. Encourage them to share ideas, offer suggestions for improvement,
redraft, use thesaurus/dictionary. Completed poems may be shared with the rest of the class and/or
copied out for display.
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Listening/drawing task – pupils listen (eyes closed) to reading of the poem ‘Quieter Than Snow’ and
draw images/symbols of what they see/hear. You could give them a grid with a box for each stanza in
which to draw.
Show pupils a copy of the poem and compare with the images they picked out. Why did they remember
these? Pick out the examples of similes used.
Pupils discuss questions about the poem in pairs/small groups and spokesperson feeds back ideas. How
is the narrator of the poem feeling and why? Why does he see children and teachers? Is it an
effective poem and why?
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OUTCOME:
o
Simile poem entitled ‘Rain.’
NOTES:
Week 2: Imagery - Metaphors
OBJECTIVES:
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Identify the main points, processes or ideas in a text and how they are sequenced and developed by
the writer (R7)
Plan, draft, edit, revise, proof-read and present a text with readers and purpose in mind (Wr1)
Experiment with visual and sound effects of language, including the use of imagery, alliteration,
rhythm and rhyme (Wr8)
Write reflectively about a text, taking account of the needs of others who might read it (Wr19)
Listen for and recall the main points of a talk, reading or television programme, reflecting on what has
been heard to ask searching questions, make comments or challenge views expressed (S/L6)
RESOURCES:
Metaphor flashcard
What is … the sun? by Wes Magee
The Orange Balloon by Stanley Cook
On a Breezy Day by Iain Crichton Smith
Rags and Spill by Judith Thurman
The Sea by James Reeves
IDEAS FOR TEACHING:
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Revise definition of a metaphor using Call My Bluff flashcard. Practise turning similes into metaphors
e.g. he eats like a pig becomes he’s a pig!
For lower ability pupils/classes read the poem ‘What is … the sun?’ Then play Imaginaerobics: choose
an object. Then pass a sheet of paper round the group or the class, each person adding one metaphor
to the list. Read your list of metaphors carefully. In your group, discuss which images work best and
whether you have used any clichés. Turn your collection of metaphors into a group poem: you can
change the order, get rid of stale images and add more details if you like. Possible subjects: fire, the
moon, the sea, the dark, the wind.
More able pupils may begin with Imaginaerobics activity e.g. In small groups, decide on an object.
Write down as many metaphors for it you can in a set time (five minutes).
Give pupils title ‘The Orange Balloon’ and ask them to guess what they think it is about. Read the poem
to see if they were correct. Discuss where in the poem the metaphor actually begins.
Pupils write their own short metaphor poem. They may use the object and metaphors they completed
earlier as the basis for their poem.
You could show them other poems as stimulus e.g. On a breezy day, Rags, Spill.
Class reading of ‘The Sea.’ Pupils answer questions as a way of getting them to start writing some
analysis.
OUTCOME:
o Metaphor poem
o Comprehension questions on ‘The Sea’
NOTES:
Week 3: Imagery - Personification
OBJECTIVES:
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Define and deploy words with precision, including their exact implication in context (Wd14)
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning e.g. repetition, emotive vocabulary,
varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects (R14)
Use talk as a tool for clarifying ideas, e.g. by articulating problems or asking pertinent questions
(S/L1)
RESOURCES:
The Fog by FR McCreary
Danse Macabre
Snow and Snow by Ted Hughes
Noise by Jessie Pope
Snow by Walter de la Mare
IDEAS FOR TEACHING:
 Show the class a copy of ‘The Fog’ which has the word ‘fog’ blanked out. Read together and get the
class to make suggestions about what the missing word may be. Make them explain there answer
picking out the part of poem that convinces them. Explain personification using this poem.
Highlight/underline the personification used in it.
 Give groups either ‘Snow and Snow’ or ‘Danse Macabre’ (or another poem using personification). Pupils
read poem together, then underline examples of personification. What does the personification tell us
about this imagined person? Report back.
 Pupils experiment with personification. Give them a list of possibilities: the cold, the wind, trees, the
night, the clouds. They do not need to write it as poetry.
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Pupils shut their eyes and remain completely silent for 5 minutes. In this time they have to listen
carefully for any sounds they can hear, inside and outside the classroom. Go around the class and get
everyone to contribute one thing. Try to categorise the sounds e.g. people, technology, nature, etc.
Revise the term onomatopoeia. Give them examples: CRASH! SMACK! ZAP! THUD! SIZZLE! WHOOSH!
WALLOP! Can they come up with any more?
Class reading of ‘Noise.’ Underline the onomatopoeia. Option: Read ‘Snow’ to look at examples of more
subtle use of onomatopoeia.
Pupils write a short poem purely out of sound words. They don’t need to worry too much about
meaning, just concentrate on the sound and the way it flows. They may want to think of a situation to
help them e.g. fairground, fireworks, traffic jam, thunder storm.
OUTCOME:
o Example of personification
o Onomatopoeia poem
NOTES:
Week 4: Rhyme
OBJECTIVES:
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Plan, draft, edit, revise, proof-read and present a text with readers and purpose in mind (Wr1)
Collect, select and assemble ideas in a suitable planning format, e.g. flow chart, list, star chart (Wr2)
Experiment with visual and sound effects of language, including the use of imagery, alliteration,
rhythm and rhyme (Wr8)
Make links between their reading of fiction, plays and poetry and the choices they make as writers
(Wr9)
RESOURCES:
Danse Macabre
Rhyming Couplet flashcard
Week of Winter Weather by Wes Magee - Sorting activity and complete poem
Week of Weather Planning grid
IDEAS FOR TEACHING:
 Introduce the idea of alliteration by putting an example of a tongue twister on the board and get
pupils to pick out the language feature and come up with any other examples e.g.
She sells seashells on the seashore;
The shells that she sells are seashells I’m sure.
So if she sells seashells on the sea shore,
I’m sure that the shells are seashore shells.
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Reread ‘Danse Macabre’ or another poem of your choice which uses alliteration. Pick out examples of
alliteration. Examine the difference between hard and soft sounds being repeated. They could pick
out other examples of alliteration from other poems and extend this to finding other poetic
techniques for the more able.
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Introduce the idea of rhyming couplets by giving pairs an envelope with poem ‘Week of Winter
Weather’ cut up on strips of card. Pairs sort the poem as they think appropriate. Compare to the
original. Alternatively, use the flashcard and look at the complete poem as a class. What is the effect
of the rhyming couplet? Teaching point: each couplet contains a separate point/image.
Give pupils a planning grid for their own ‘Week of Weather’ (e.g. summer). In each box they should jot
down symbols or pictures to represent the type of weather and below they should write a couplet to
accompany it. For weaker pupils they may only complete a weekend or could be given semi-completed
couplets. Copy out neat version of poem if appropriate.
Option: You may want to extend some pupils by reading ‘Snow Towards Evening’ with them. This is an
example of a poem that uses some rhyming couplets but is less rigid in its structure.
OUTCOME:
o Pupils own ‘Week of Weather’ poem
NOTES:
Week 5: Poetic Form
OBJECTIVES:
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Define and deploy words with precision, including their exact implication in context (Wd14)
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning e.g. repetition, emotive vocabulary,
varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects (R14)
Plan, draft, edit, revise, proof read and present a text with readers and purpose in mind (Wr1)
Experiment with visual and sound effects of language, including the use of imagery, alliteration,
rhythm and rhyme (Wr8)
Use talk as a tool for clarifying ideas, e.g. by articulating problems or asking pertinent questions
(S/L1)
RESOURCES:
Haiku flashcard
Example of a Haiku
Haiku Recipe
Snow Haiku Task sheet
‘Snow and Ice Poems (iii)’ by Roger McGough
Giant Rocket by Wes Magee
IDEAS FOR TEACHING:
 Introduce Haiku using flashcard activity.
 Look at an example of a Haiku as a class. We picture the clogs left at the door. This is the first idea.
The second idea refers to the arrival of spring. And the connection? Even the mud, not generally
thought to be attractive, is a sign for rejoicing, since it means that the ground, frozen hard during
the winter, has softened with the warmer weather; in short, the mud is a sign of the welcome spring.
 Come up with a class ‘recipe’ of all the ingredients needed in a Haiku. Write up on a flip chart to keep.
 Pupils complete ‘Snow’ Haiku task sheet.
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Read an example of a snapshot poem, ‘Snow and Ice Poems (iii)’ by Roger McGough. Give students a
photograph and/or they bring their own snapshot of a scene or situation. Pupils write their own
snapshot poem. These may be displayed with the image accompanying them.
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Ask pupils what they think is meant by a ‘shape poem.’ Look at the example ‘Giant Rocket’ together and
discuss how effective the form is to the overall meaning. Brainstorm other subjects a shape poem e.g.
a storm, a tree, etc. Pupils produce own or group shape poem.
OUTCOME:
o Own Haiku
o Snapshot poem
o Shape poem
NOTES:
Week 6: Anthology and Analysis
OBJECTIVES:
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Define and deploy words with precision, including their exact implication in context (Wd14)
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning e.g. repetition, emotive vocabulary,
varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects (R14)
Explore how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning in poems from different times and
cultures, e.g. story telling in ballads (R19)
Collect, select and assemble ideas in a suitable planning format, e.g. flow chart, list , star chart (Wr1)
Write reflectively about a text, taking account of the needs of others who might read it (Wr19)
RESOURCES:
Poetry Terms
Nature by H.D. Carberry and PEE Grid
Writing About Poems
Paper, pens, paper
ICT opportunity
IDEAS FOR TEACHING:
 Revise poetic terminology – through wordsearch or other starter activity.
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Class reading of ‘Nature’ (poem from another culture) and discuss meaning. Pick out the poetic devices
that have been used. Pupils will write a short piece of analysis of the poem, expressing their feelings
about the poet’s use of imagery and other techniques. In order to scaffold this, they should first
complete the PEE grid and then use this to write up at least one paragraph. More able students should
be pushed to develop their comments. Some pupils may benefit from using the Writing About Poems
sheet to help them.
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Pupil Anthology – pupils produce an anthology of the poetry they have completed during this unit. It
should contain a minimum of three poems. They should choose their best and redraft/improve if
necessary. If there is time/facilities pupils may use ICT to produce their anthology.
OUTCOME:
o Analysis of poem
o Pupil Anthology containing at least three of their poems written during this unit.
NOTES: