British Isles
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users
UKS2 – BSWW2 – P – Plan 1 – Wks 1-2
Europe
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users
UKS2 – BSWW2 – P – Plan 1 – Wks 1-2
The World
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users
UKS2 – BSWW2 – P – Plan 1 – Wks 1-2
CAT MYTHS
Non-rhyming – original poem in development
Possible titles:
CAT MYTHS
HUMANS SAY STUPID THINGS
STUPID HUMANS
CAT FICTION
IT ONLY RAINS DOGS
MEOW IS ME!
I’ve never smothered a baby,
Or got into a bag,
Or worn boots.
I’ve never been on a hot tin roof with any smelly pigeons
Or cared about what games the mice play while I’m away
I’ve never been killed by curiosity,
Or been thrown down a well.
Having said that, I can grin
And no, I’m NOT from Cheshire!
But as for being swung around
Just to see how much room there might be
Just how stupid are humans?
MEOW IS ME!
ps. For your information, it only rains dogs
Andrea Shavick
Author’s note: This is one of the earliest versions of Cat Myths. Most of
my work on this poem was spent attempting to make it rhyme
satisfactorily!
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Final version
CAT MYTHS
I’ve never smothered a baby
Or needed letting out of a bag
I’ve never been near a hot tin roof
Do you think I’m totally mad?
I’ve never been the least bit curious
About what the mice do while I’m away...
I’m no nosy, meddlesome snoop
And if I was, would it kill me? No way!
I’ve never been seen amongst pigeons
Such smelly, flea-ridden brutes
I can grin, but I’m not from Cheshire
And I’m far too cool to wear boots
I’ve never been out when it’s raining dogs
Clever cats stay indoors
Just how many lives do you think I’ve got?
Certainly not nine, for sure!
And as for being swung around
Just to see how much room there might be
What is wrong with a ruler?
All I can say is MEOW IS ME!
Andrea Shavick
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Poetry Checklist
Once you have discussed
Have you noticed any pattern in the way
the verses are written?
Tick them off
Is repetition used? How?
The sound and rhythm - how does it make
you feel? Is it regular?
Does the poet use any good adjectives or
descriptive phrases?
What subject areas are covered?
Has speech been used?
Other notes:
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
The British
Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.
Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.
Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese.
Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat.
Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add to the melting pot.
Leave the ingredients to simmer.
As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish
Binding them together with English.
Allow time to be cool.
Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,
Serve with justice
And enjoy.
Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one
ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.
Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and
cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.
By Benjamin Zephaniah
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Three Stars and a Wish!
Children work in their pairs
Each child reads out their poem to their partner in turn
The partner finds three good examples of the features – 3 STARS!!
The partner then has 1 WISH for another feature to be used!
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose
Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Y5_6 BSWW2 P
Benjamin Zephaniah
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose
Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Y5_6 BSWW2 P
Benjamin Zephaniah Fact File
Insert picture here
Benjamin Zephaniah Fact File
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Benjamin Zephaniah Fact File
Insert picture here
Place and date of birth:
Origin of parents:
Early life and education:
Achievements:
Well-known books, poems, etc:
His influences:
His passions (what he often writes about and why):
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
Body Talk
Dere's a Sonnet
Under me bonnet
Dere's a Epic
In me ear,
Dere's a Novel
In me navel
Dere's a Classic
Here somewhere.
Dere's a Movie
In me left knee
A long story
In me right,
Dere's a shorty
Inbetweeny
It is tickly
In de night.
Dere's a picture
In me ticker
Unmixed riddims
In me heart,
In me texture
Dere's a comma
In me fat chin
Dere is Art
Dere's an Opera
In me bladder
A Ballad's
In me wrist
Dere is laughter
In me shoulder
In me guzzard's
A nice twist.
In me dreadlocks
Dere is syntax
A dance kicks
In me bum
Thru me blood tracks
Dere run true facts
I got limmericks
From me Mum,
Documentaries
In me entries
Plays on history
In me folk,
Dere's a Trilogy
When I tink of three
On me toey
Dere's a joke.
By Benjamin Zephaniah
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
We Refugees
I come from a musical place
Where they shoot me for my song
And my brother has been tortured
By my brother in my land.
I come from a beautiful place
Where they hate my shade of skin
They don't like the way I pray
And they ban free poetry.
I come from a beautiful place
Where girls cannot go to school
There you are told what to believe
And even young boys must grow beards.
I come from a great old forest
I think it is now a field
And the people I once knew
Are not there now.
We can all be refugees
Nobody is safe,
All it takes is a mad leader
Or no rain to bring forth food,
We can all be refugees
We can all be told to go,
We can be hated by someone
For being someone.
I come from a beautiful place
Where the valley floods each year
And each year the hurricane tells us
That we must keep moving on.
I come from an ancient place
All my family were born there
And I would like to go there
But I really want to live.
I come from a sunny, sandy place
Where tourists go to darken skin
And dealers like to sell guns there
I just can't tell you what's the price.
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
I am told I have no country now
I am told I am a lie
I am told that modern history books
May forget my name.
We can all be refugees
Sometimes it only takes a day,
Sometimes it only takes a handshake
Or a paper that is signed.
We all came from refugees
Nobody simply just appeared,
Nobody's here without a struggle,
And why should we live in fear
Of the weather or the troubles?
We all came here from somewhere.
By Benjamin Zephaniah
Who’s Who
I used to think nurses
Were women,
I used to think police
Were men,
I used to think poets
Were boring,
Until I became one of them
By Benjamin Zephaniah
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2
You!
You!
Your head is like a hollow drum.
You!
Your eyes are like balls of flame.
You!
Your ears are like fans for blowing fire.
You!
Your nostril is like a mouse’s hole.
You!
Your hands are like drum-sticks.
You!
Your belly is like a pot of bad water.
You!
Your legs are like wooden posts.
You!
Your backside is like a mountain-top.
Igbo (Nigerian peoples)
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be
reproduced for any other purpose
Y5_6 BSWW2 P Plan 1 – Wks 1 & 2