In this text based, 5 session English planning, a poem about tropical fruit is the starting point for an exploration of the mighty trees of the rainforest and the life they support. Pupils use ideas from Grace Nichols poem about Caribbean fruit to investigate their own favourite. They research the animals and sounds of the rainforest.

National Curriculum skills for this unit:

Spoken language:

• Listen and respond
• Build vocabulary
• Use spoken language: speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
• Maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations

Reading comprehension:

• Recognise different forms of poetry
• Discuss words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination
• Explain meaning of words in context
• Identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning

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
• Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors

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

For schools that use Pathways to Write, this unit aligns with the Su1 set 1 unit.

Poems for this unit can be found in:

The Sun in Me: Poems about the Planet compiled by Judith Nichols

or The Barefoot Book of Earth Poems compiled by Judith Nichols