All Rights Reserved. Copyright © B.R. Hainsworth 2012. Permission for use by purchasing school or individual.

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 Lesson 5: Shape Poetry.

   Intended Learning. Pupils should be taught to:

• Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by writing for different purposes

• Use expanded noun phrases to describe and specify

• Use adjectives to complement or modify nouns

• Develop their understanding and enjoyment of stories and poetry

Introduction. With shape poems, the way the words are laid out represent an aspect of the subject. This means the poem has a visual content as well as an aural impact, which can make the poem more entertaining. It would be very worthwhile reading and showing children some good examples of shape poems in books that you have. A list of possible sources is provided below. Whole Class. If you have not read the story, ‘Boris The Lost Badger’, do so now, or recap the story with the children seeing what they can remember, looking at the book together. Recap with some questions:

⇒ Who were the animals Boris met in the wood? ⇒ Can the children describe how they looked? ⇒ How would they move? ⇒ Where do they live? ⇒ Can they think of a word or words to describe their animal homes?

Write down some examples offered by the children or use the following examples used to describe the animal’s homes:

⇒ Boris-a deep, warm sett (modify) ⇒ Squirrel-a tree so tall (complement) ⇒ Squirrel- a dark drey (modify) ⇒ Ladybird- a smooth, green leaf (modify)

All Rights Reserved. Copyright © B.R. Hainsworth 2012. Permission for use by purchasing school or individual.

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Explain to children that words that describe people, places or things are called adjectives, which modify or compliment a noun. Move from writing the simple descriptions to composing a few sentences about Boris. Do this together and write the sentences down to show the children. Use some of the words in the chart to help you and definitely ask for and use some of the children’s ideas.

Animal Descriptive words/phrases Where it lives Boris

Happy, adventurous, striped, furry, worried, lives in a set, naïve, careless, young, inquisitive, friendly

Lives in a Sett Dark, damp, cosy, snug, deep, dug from the earth

Fly

Grumpy, solitary, prickly hairs, large eyes, miserable, unpleasant

On a stone Cold, hard, warmed by the sun, rough, smooth,

Bee

Busy, disorganised, worried about the mess, stripey, hovering

Lives in a hive Delicate, busy, fragrant, pleasant smelling,

Ant

Organized, regimental, like a soldier, precise, concentrates on his job

In a colony in a nest Like a city, busy, tall, narrow passages, corridors, sandy

Squirrel

Twitchy whiskers, fluffy tailed, busy, nervous, acrobatic, nimble, fast, grey

A drey Tall, high, nibbled, leafy, safe

Pheasant

Caring, a little scared, feathery, camouflaged, helpful

A nest Feathered, comfy, warm, safe, soft, hidden

Ladybird

Dotted, Busy, caring, responsible, helpful, red and black, hard-shelled

On a leaf Smooth, rough, spiky, rounded, waving

Snail

Slimey, slow, friendly, shell, slippy, soft body, glossy, leaves a slime trail, antennae, feelers

A shell Hard, heavy, patterned, swirly

Butterfly(Streak)

Magical, pretty, beautiful, fluttering, delicate, kind, quiet, strong, graceful, light

A glade Beautiful, quiet, hidden, peaceful,flower-filled, lushious, pretty

All Rights Reserved. Copyright © B.R. Hainsworth 2012. Permission for use by purchasing school or individual.

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Group Work. Ask the children to write a shape poem based on one of the animals in book. Have different groups write about the different animals. They will put their words in a shape of the animal. With teacher or teaching assistant help as needed, get the children to make some notes about their animal. It might help to use an acrostic of the animal word to get the children to generate their ideas. Some children may just collect words and phrases and place these into the shape. The words, phrases or sentences can travel around the edge or the shape, be written in the shape. Alternatively, the shape can be traced in pencil; the poem then written in pen and the shape erased leaving purely word. Remind the children to think about:

⇒ What it looks like ⇒ Where it lives ⇒ What it eats ⇒ How it moves

. If the children think what the animal reminds them of, they may even get a few similes in their work:

‘The butterfly flutters like a falling leaf’ Plenary. Ask the children to read and show some of their poems to the others and encourage active listening for powerful words and expanded noun phrases. What words are descriptive? Which poems did they enjoy the most? Why? Shape Poetry. You should be able to find good shape poem examples using a web search. Two useful books: ‘Wordwhirls and other shape poems’ by John Foster(Oxford University Press) ‘What Shape is a poem?’ Shape poems chosen by Paul Cookson.(Macmillan Children’s Books)