Poetry Day Ireland – 7 May 2015 Lesson Plans for Primary Schools Welcome to Poetry Ireland Writers in Schools. Here you will find some downloadable lesson plans and resources for Poetry Day Ireland, 7 May. Whether you are an experienced teacher of poetry or a more hesitant one, we hope that these ideas (tried and tested in primary schools all over the country) will help you and your class enjoy and get the most out of the day. They are all easily differentiated for age and ability (suitable for SEN & EAL) through use of templates provided, choice of poems (in session 1) but also by outcome. Lessons can be extended or cut and the ideas adapted to best suit you and your class. The warm ups for lessons 2 and 3 are intended to scaffold the reading of the poem as well as the later writing. There are also suggestions provided for linkage and integration with music, drama, art, SESE and SPHE. English Curriculum Objectives Oral and Reading All of the lessons meet English Curriculum Objectives in these strands under 1. Receptiveness to language; 2. Competence and confidence in using language; 3.Developing cognitive abilities through language; 4. Emotional and imaginative development through language. Writing Lessons 2 and 3 meet a significant number of the objectives for all age groups. Share the children’s work on www.poetryday.ie We’d be delighted to receive a selection of the poetry created by the children in your class in response to these lesson plans. We will share a selection of the poetry created in schools around the country in the weeks following Poetry Day Ireland on www.poetryday.ie and via Poetry Ireland’s social media sites. Please email the work to writersinschools@poetryireland.ie or upload a video of children reading their poems to YouTube or Vimeo and send us the link. LESSON 1 Reading and performing poetry using teacher selected poems Suggested Levels
Linkage & Integration
Length
Junior Infants - 6th Class*
Drama
20 - 45 mins *
This is a lesson that is straightforward to organise and gets students immediately reading and engaging with poetry as well as working in groups exploring meaning and intonation and performing for an audience. Put together a selection of 5-­‐ 8 poems and provide each table/ group with several copies of each. The poems can be any sort -­‐ use poems they are reading throughout the year and or ones that you would like to introduce. Short and lively work best for younger groups and reluctant readers. Include some funny ones, some which lend themselves to physical action but also one or two more challenging ones. For younger classes maybe use familiar nursery rhymes/ songs. For more confident readers you can also provide anthologies. Explain that each group has to choose one poem to perform for the class -­‐ give them 10-­‐15 minutes to read, discuss and choose the poem they would like to perform. Once poems have been chosen give the class suggestions -­‐ they can experiment with different voices for different lines, with chorus and repetition as well as actions and using different levels (standing, kneeling etc). Then let them at it for 15 minutes -­‐ you will be amazed at what they come up with. Depending on how engaged they are you can always stop after five minutes and ask a group to show a sample of what they are doing -­‐ good motivation for the others! You might also challenge them to perform it without the text. They perform their piece for their own class and all of the pieces could then be developed into a short performance for other classes. For younger classes 20 minutes may be enough for this activity. Use rhymes/ songs that they already know and encourage them to add in movements/ repetitions of their own* Junior Infants could also try this with rhymes and songs that they know by heart. * depending on class level LESSON 2 Reading, writing and performing poetry using ‘The Sound Collector’ by Roger Mc Gough Suggested Level Junior Infants -­‐ 6th Linkage and integration Music, SESE Length aprox 45 mins Wordy Warm Up 10 -­‐15 mins Warm up with a series of exercises & games designed to fire the children’s imagination and get them using onomatopoeic words (words that sound the same as their meaning eg splash, crash, buzz etc) These warm ups can form the basis of their later group or individual poems. For older classes it can work to put up the word Onomatopoeia and get them guessing. Junior Classes Animal noises and the sound of the rain are a great way in for this age group and the board will quickly fill up with suggestionns. You can also provide a bag and ask them to come up to the top of the class and ‘place’ their sounds in the sack. Eg What sound are you collecting and ‘putting’ in the sack? The ‘buzz’ of a bee. The‘plip-­‐plop’ of a raindrop etc Get them to make the sound as they ‘put’ it in the sack. Senior Classes Brainstorm & record onomatopoeic words as a whole class and or in groups that report back. Get them recording as many sounds of the classroom as they can in 2 minutes of silence. Encourage them to be as specific as possible – ie not the sound or noise of the pencil on the paper but the scratch the scuffle of shoes etc. You could also send them out at break time with small notebooks and get them recording sounds of the playground. Reading and Responding 10 -­‐15 mins Read ‘The Sound Collector’ by Roger McGough for the class (Downloadable 1) For a second and third reading with Seniors, get different groups / individuals to read verses or lines. With Juniors or reluctant readers read it aloud for them a second and third time leaving a gap for the sounds, which they have to fill in. Ask children to pick some favourite lines and say why. You may wish to extend the warm up and reading slightly and conclude the lesson here or move on to writing a Sound Collector poem. Writing a Sound Collector poem 20 minutes Depending on the age/ability and interest of the class it might suit to pick one setting for everyone eg The Sound Collector in our School, which you could then develop from the warm up, guiding them to identifying sounds, make suggestions and create a whole class poem from the board. Use Downloadable 2 for junior classes/ reluctant writers which they can also illustrate. However if you and they are feeling adventurous, you can encourage the class to suggest other settings a sound collector might visit – examples could include zoo, football stadium, shopping centre, home, seaside etc but settings based on their interests and favourite places will work best. Pick one of your own and have a go in front of the class, writing up possible sounds ( and even discounting them as you go along, modelling the writing process) getting them to help you with suggestions. Once their setting has been chosen, get the children to close their eyes for a minute and imagine their setting and imagine the sounds. Let them work in silence for up to 5 minutes putting these sounds down as roughwork. Remind them of the warm up and how they are looking for strong words. Listen to some of the lists of setting s and their sounds and discuss. If needed, give out a writing templates (Downloadables 2 and 3) so children can flesh out their poems. A great way to get them rhyming is to fill out every second line and only then begin to play with rhyming end words (see Lesson 3 for more help with this) Feedback 5 mins Ask for volunteers to read out their poems. If you are feeling brave, you can read out yours! Linkage and Integration Music – create a sound piece varying the tempo/ volume of the sound words and using percussion to produce sound effects for Roger Mc Gough’s Sound Collector or the children’s own poems. SESE -­‐ senses English -­‐ Put together a Sound Collector Class Anthology Gaelige -­‐ Cloisim … Downloadable 1 The Sound Collector By Roger Mc Gough A stranger called this morning Dressed all in black and grey Put every sound into a bag And carried them away. The whistling of the kettle The turning of the lock The purring of the kitten The ticking of the clock The popping of the toaster The crunching of the flakes When you spread the marmalade The scraping noise it makes The hissing of the frying-­‐pan The ticking of the grill The bubbling of the bathtub As it starts to fill The drumming of the raindrops On the window-­‐pane When you do the washing up The gurgle of the drain The crying of the baby The squeaking of the chair The swishing of the curtain The creaking of the chair A stranger called this morning He didn’t leave his name Left us only silence Life will never be the same. Downloadable 2 The Sound Collector by _______________________ At the ____________________________I can hear The _____________ing of the __________________ The _____________ing of the __________________ The ______________ing of the __________________ The ______________ing of the _________________ The ______________ing of the _________________ The ______________ing of the ________________ Downloadable 3 The Sound Collector at the ______________________________ by ______________________________________ A stranger called this morning Dressed all in black and grey Put every sound into a bag And carried them away. The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ The ____________________ ing of the _____________________ A stranger called this morning He didn’t leave his name Left us only silence Life will never be the same. LESSON 3 Reading, writing and performing poetry using ‘Louder than a Clap of Thunder’ by Jack Prelutsky Suggested Level: JI -­‐ 6th Length: aprox 50 mins Linkage and Integration: Art, Drama There is great scope with this humorous poem, ‘Louder than a Clap of Thunder’ by Jack Prelutsky (Downloadable 4) to play around with comparisons and exaggerations, through reading and discussion with younger classes and/ or encouraging older children to make up their own poems. The suggested lesson also introduces an easy and effective way to help students write rhyming poems. Rhyming warm up 10 mins Warm up the class for the writing part of the lesson by putting a word on the board and challenging them to see how many rhyming words they can record on rough paper in a set time ( 20 or 30 seconds etc) Do this orally with younger classes. Show them how, if they get stuck they can go through the alphabet to find ‘real rhymes’ discounting phonetic ones, ( eg rhymes for hat at, bat, cat ..... fat ...hat etc) Move on to words of more than one syllable and get them to find rhymes for part or all of the word. Continue by letting one person at each table pick the word and set the challenge for the others or they can do this in pairs. Reading and responding to ‘Louder than a Clap of Thunder’ 10 mins Read the poem once to them and then read it together twice – you can keep it high energy and keep them focused by pointing randomly to the reader of the next line! Get each table to read a section of four lines. Let everyone pick their favourite line and explain why. Talk about the exaggeration in the poem and get children to suggest examples for Quieter than.../ Brighter than.../ Faster than...... poems. Start writing a poem 15 minutes Work on a class/ group poem with younger classes by providing the start and end lines. Examples might include; Quieter than a........(x 4 times) Faster than a .... (x 4 times) That’s how quiet I can be That’s how fast I can run. Slower than a .... (x 4 times) Smaller than a ...etc that’s how slow my baby sister goes. Older classes can be encouraged to generate their own start and end line keeping to same structure as the original. Get them to keep the scenario realistic but their comparisons fantastical. Encourage 5th and 6th to write their poems for junior classes if you/ they feel the poem is a little young for them. Explain that they don’t have to worry about rhyming yet, as you are going to show them an easy way to do it. Some of them will go for it naturally, which is great. Using the Downloadable template 5 (if required, it may not be long enough for more advanced group, just use the strategy in this case) students take a bit of time to write their sentences on the starred Lines A,B,C,D and E, F ie: only writing on the first two lines in every four (decide how many you want them to aim for) Rhyming Lines 10 mins Using the rhyming roughwork box or a piece of paper they then brainstorm a rhyme for the end word of the first Line A (starred). Once they have a few rhymes they will find it easier to come up with a line suggested by a good match and so on for the remaining lines. You can do an example with them and/or model it – there is a great element of play to this and no right or wrong answers. So if their first line A is ‘Quieter than a worm underground’ they can then play with rhymes for underground – eg sound.. mound ..found ..bound... brown or down might even work ( tell them that poets ‘cheat’ with rhymes all the time!) so a possible second line A might be ‘Quieter than a leaf falling down’ etc which they then fill in. Setting it out like this also means that reluctant writers do not have to rewrite their poem. Tell them not to write the title till the end when they can pick their favourite line or use the first. Reading Poems 5 mins Ask for volunteers to read their poems Linkage and Integration Drama: Children perform their poems in groups using actions and effects. English: A Class Anthology of Poems Art: Illustrate poems Downloadable 4 Louder Than a Clap of Thunder by Jack Prelutsky Louder than a clap of thunder, louder than an eagle screams, louder than a dragon blunders, or a dozen football teams, louder than a four alarmer, or a rushing waterfall, louder than a knight in armor jumping from a ten-­‐foot wall. Louder than an earthquake rumbles, louder than a tidal wave, louder than an ogre grumbles as he stumbles through his cave, louder than stampeding cattle, louder than a cannon roars, louder than a giant's rattle, that's how loud my father SNORES Downloadable 5 ________________er Than a ___________ ___________ By ____________________________________ *A ___________er than a ________________________________, *B _________ er than a _______________________________, A ___________er than a _________________________________ B __________ ______________________________________ *C ___________er than a ________________________________, *D _________________ _______________________________, C ___________er than a _________________________________ D __________ er than a _________________________________ That’s how ____________ ___ ___________ _________________! Rhyming Roughwork
for the last word of line *A
Rhymes
*B
*C *D