In this text based, 5 session English planning, pupils experiment with metaphors to write kennings and create their own good luck spells. They imagine they are Viking poets or ‘Skalds’, exploring synonyms and finding language features in the poem, before writing and performing their own.

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:

• Ask relevant questions
• Use spoken language: speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
• Speak audibly and fluently
• Participate in discussions and performances
• Select and use appropriate registers for effective communication

Reading comprehension:

• Read and discuss a wide range of texts
• Identify and discuss themes and conventions
• Make comparisons
• Learn poetry by heart
• Prepare poems and plays for performance
• Check sense, discuss understanding and explore the meaning of words in context
• Identify how language structure and presentation contribute to meaning

Writing composition:

• Identify the audience for and the purpose of writing
• Use consistent and correct tense
• Distinguish between the language of speech and writing
• Choose the appropriate register
• Perform own compositions using appropriate intonation, volume and movement

For schools that use Pathways to Write, this unit aligns with the spring 1 set 1 unit. Poems for this unit are included with the resources.