This KS2 lesson plan focuses on John Agard poems – particularly More Pointless Questions. Pupils will use the poem as a vehicle for exploring the natural world.
They’ll also learn about using rhetorical questions to provoke, and how to consider the presentation elements of a poem.
It’s a great lesson to try on National Poetry Day in October.
John Agard poems starter activity
Read the poem out loud to the children. Give them time to consider the poem themselves and to reflect on what connections they might start making; what the poem makes them think and how it makes them feel.
Give a copy of the poem to mixed pairs or groups of children, re-read it and allow them time to discuss, encouraging them to mark up and annotate the text with their thoughts and ideas, looking for interesting vocabulary and examples of particular poetic devices.
Come back together to reflect on and discuss some of their thoughts and ideas. This might include the:
- repetition of the natural object at the start of each stanza, holding your attention on it
- opposition in the two choices presented in each verse
- carefully chosen verbs and adjectives that create such evocative imagery
- use of rhetorical questions to provoke the reader to think or question
Encourage children to follow up by recording the most effective examples on word cards or sentence strips to refer to in the main writing activity.
Charlotte Hacking is the Learning Programme director at CLPE. She is an experienced teacher and senior leader who has taught across the primary school age range.
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