In this text based, 5 session English planning, the features of various concrete poems linked to animals are investigated, with an emphasis on wordplay and use of adventurous vocabulary. Pupils research giraffes, collecting information to create their own shape poem.

All aspects of poetry from the national curriculum in reading, spoken language and writing composition will be covered across the full set Au1-Su2.

National curriculum skills for this unit:

Spoken language:

• Listen and respond
• Ask relevant questions
• Build vocabulary
• Use spoken language: speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
• Speak audibly and fluently
• Consider and evaluate different viewpoints

Reading comprehension:

• Listen to and discuss a wide range of texts
• Identify themes and conventions
• Prepare poems and play scripts to read aloud
• Discuss words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination
• Identify how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
• Retrieve and record information from non-fiction
• Participate in discussion about books

Writing composition:

• Plan writing by discussing the structure, vocabulary and grammar of similar writing
• Discuss and record ideas
• Assess the effectiveness of own and others’ writing
• Propose changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency
• Read aloud own writing using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear

For schools that use Pathways to Write, this unit aligns with the Su2 set 1 unit.

Poems for this unit can be found in:

Apes to Zebras: An A-Z of Shape Poems by Liz Brownlee, Sue Hardy-Dawson & Roger Stevens