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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