In this text based, 5 session English planning, links to the Caribbean and leaving home in Windrush Child by John Agard are used as the model for a similar structured poem. Pupils explore feelings, learning to write effective similes and making careful language choices using images from the Windrush era.

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:

• Gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listeners
• Use spoken language: imagining and exploring ideas
• Build vocabulary
• Select and use appropriate registers for effective communication

Reading comprehension:

• Use dictionaries to check the meaning of words
• Prepare poems and playscripts to read aloud and perform
• Show understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action
• Recognise different forms of poetry
• Discuss words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination
• Explain meaning of words in context
• Ask questions to improve understanding of a text

Writing composition:

• Plan writing by discussing the structure, vocab and grammar of similar writing
• Discuss and record ideas
• Compose and rehearse sentences orally
• Assess the effectiveness of own and others’ writing
• Propose changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
• 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 Sp2 set 1 unit.

Poems for this unit can be found online and in:

Under the Moon, Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems edited by John Agard & Grace Nichols