Lesson plans for 1f3 introduction to writing poetry block.

UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE
Faculty of Education Jordanhill Campus

LESSON PLANNER
……………………


1. Year/Class
F1

2. Lesson Title

Introduction to Writing Poetry for Pleasure

Lesson 1 Smart as Simile

3. Curricular Areas to be Addressed

Writing level D/E – imaginative writing

Appropriate organisation and vocabulary/appropriate literary conventions

Talking level B/C - talking in groups

Discussing how to deal with tasks, taking turns, valuing other’s contribution, express reasons, preferences, opinions

Reading level D/E – Awareness of Genre. Knowledge about language

4. Links with Pupils’ Previous Learning/Knowledge/Experience

· All will have experienced Poetry at varying levels in primary school.
Most have some knowledge of simile. Some are skilled in this area.
Many are confused about the difference between simile and metaphor.
I need to find out more about their level of awareness of poetry at the beginning of the lesson





5. Aims of this Lesson/Series of Lessons

To introduce a range of different language skills including simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification.
To build pupils confidence in producing their own poetry
To improve the skills of the class in talking in groups
To allow pupils to experience satisfaction in creating first a class poem then an individual poem to give to someone for Christmas and to enter the Scholastic Books winter poetry competition



Objectives for this Lesson

We are learning more about similes
We will be able to create our own similes
We will have learned how to write a poem using similes








7. Differentiation
Christopher is working at level A/B for reading and writing. He uses green acetate to help him with reading. Check he has this with him. Resources for the whole class will be printed clearly in Arial 14 with no background pattern or distracting graphics to help him without drawing attention to his difficulties. Sometimes learning support attend to help him if so ask them to help in the group he is to work with otherwise I will be involved in supporting this group in “Talking in Group tasks.” Annelise, Dylan and possibly also Robin appear to be struggling with work aimed at level D/E and this may be why they are frequently off task and sometimes disrupt the learning of the other pupils. Differentiate by question and response Daniel has ADHD and also struggles with written work although he performs well in verbal tasks. I will change activities every 10 mins rather than aiming for the 14 I would expect for a class of this age group. He and C define themselves regularly as “thick” and need opportunities to be successful in front of the class as well as to move around. Involve D in behaviour management; make sure he gets a turn at ringing the bell for silence after group talk and chances to answer correctly in front of class. Arrange groups so that the more able are partnered with those who are struggling to allow for peer support.







8. Resources: (Please state to what extent these resources have been developed completely by yourself, whether they have been partially or totally developed by the department or whether they are commercial or web based resources.)

25 copies of “A Classroom” by Jason Lester, aged 12 in Arial 14.
12 coloured pencils (2 per group. 1 to underline similes, 1 to circle words or ideas the group don’t understand
6 flipchart sheets, 6 markers.

The poem is from Succeed in English from The Learning Library.

Other Factors to be Considered: e.g. background to class, including organisation/risk assessment/safety

Last period – Thursday. Children may be tired. This will be the first lesson their usual class teacher will not be with me and they are not expecting it so some may need reassurance that he hasn’t disappeared for good. I am changing their seating to allow for peer group support in group task this will unsettle some of the pupils. They will need reassured that they can return to their usual seating arrangements after this class.


10. Strategies for the Assessment of the Achievement of Objectives
Formative and informal;
By questioning
By response
Peer assessment of the quality of similes offered.
Summative
Returned resource – how many/ well have they identified simile










11. Outline of Lesson/Teaching Strategies/Timing

Settle and register –Allow extra time as regrouping and not prepared for teacher change (approx 10 mins)

Personal reading – Stipulated in departmental plan (5 mins)

Transition to task – Puzzle on board 24 SDUC – try to work out what it means as they put their books away and get ready to work.
When they have worked out “ 24 school days until Christmas” tell them I’ve put this on the board because what we are going to do in this lesson is start a unit of work which will lead to them all having written a poem to be entered in the Scholastic Winter Poetry competition and that as well as going forward to the competition they will decorate and laminate a copy of their poem to give to a loved one as a present. To practice this we will write a poem together about the Classroom at Christmas. (3-5 mins)

Paired discussion. Why is a poem a good gift?
Get them thinking about what makes poetry more special than for example a Book Report or copy of a formal letter they have written.

Whole class teaching. Teach little bell as their signal to stop talking in pairs/groups and listen to the teacher. Ring until they stop talking then teach then practice by asking them to continue their paired discussion until it rings again. Give bell to Daniel to ring to provide new stimulus – practice little bell response.

Formative assessment – questioning to reveal what class in general know about poetry as they give their explanations of why poems make good gifts. Ask for examples of their favourite poems. Open questions aimed at uncovering experience of poetry and awareness of different poetic forms. (5 mins)
Summative assessment – returned resources will help identify extent of individual understanding.

Transition Danielle and Robyn to hand out poems. Daniel and Christopher to hand out 2 coloured pencils to each group.
Practice little bell response choose pupil who has made best contribution to ring this time. (2mins)
Whole class teaching – explain simile. Explain how they are used to make poems more interesting. Write objectives for lesson on board. Check for understanding by questioning.

Individually underline the similes in the poem.
As a group circle any words you don’t understand or anything that confuses you. Everyone pick his or her favourite simile from the poem. Circulate groups with flipchart paper and pens checking progress and helping with group discussion skills, helped by support assistant) (7 mins).

Transition – use bell (Christopher)
As a group write similes on your flipchart sheet which describe a classroom at Christmas. Some similes should describe the classroom on the last day of term before the bell rings when it is full of children who are excited about the holiday, some similes should describe the classroom after the bell has rung and the children leave. (7 mins) Support as previously

Transition - use bell (Dylan)

Ask one member from each group to feedback group similes to the class. Allow peer assessment, which are our favourites and will be included in our class poem. (5 mins)

Summary -relate to objectives – what we learned today. (3 mins)

Dismiss in orderly fashion –rewarding good behaviour and effort with prompt dismissal.


12. Next Steps: homework/follow-up/future lessons

Appoint “teachers for 2 mins” to summarise what we learned yesterday about similes. Quick clarification simile vs. metaphor, Blackboard tally exercise. Reminder of the similes we chose for our poem. Next lesson to examine alliteration in poetry and come up with examples for our class poem.

13. Post Lesson Analysis/Evaluation
Success factors
Have they learned little-bell classroom management technique?
Have they produced similes in groups?
How well can they summarise and recount the key learning points from the lesson the next day.

Could be better:

Changing the group structure was a mistake. My carefully worked out gender and ability mixed groups had them all unsettled. It was made worse by several pupils having to leave class to attend pupil council as I had not been warned of this in advance also they were all in different seats and I didn't know their names as well as i thought and hence management of the initial chaos was more difficult.

Simile exercise may have been to simple for some pupils and I should have provided more scaffolding for others.

Timings were out, they were working on task when the bell rang. I didn't have time for them to analyse their group work results or methods or do a summary vs objectives.

In particular they did not have time which they should have had to analyse the process of talking in groups and how they could improve. This was a real lost opportunity.

What went well:

Regained control after initial chaos. Established and maintained safe,disciplined working atmosphere.

Achieved behaviour objective re bell.

Achieved clearer awareness of class' previous knowledge

Most identified all similies in task 1. Three identified at least 2 similes.

All groups created their own similes. one group did this very well. 3 groups well, 2 groups poorly.

Took positive steps towards aim of building confidence re writing their own poems with a number of pupils who were originally dismissive of the whole idea of poetry.

1. Year/Class
F13

2. Lesson Title

Astounding Alliteration



3. Curricular Areas to be Addressed

Writing level D/E – imaginative writing

Appropriate organisation and vocabulary/appropriate literary conventions


Reading level D/E – reading for enjoyment. Awareness of Genre. Knowledge about language

4. Links with Pupils’ Previous Learning/Knowledge/Experience

· Some have experienced different types of poetry at primary. All are aware of rhyme some are aware that a poem does not have to rhyme
· Some have written a poem before.
Some have knowledge of alliteration.
None have used alliteration in a poem

5. Aims of this Lesson/Series of Lessons

To introduce a range of different types of poetry
To build pupils confidence in producing their own poetry
To improve the skills of the class in talking in groups
To allow pupils to experience satisfaction in creating first a class poem then an individual poem to give to someone for Christmas and in participating in the Scholastic Books winter poetry competition



Objectives for this Lesson

We are learning about alliteration
We will be able list the examples of alliteration in a poem
We will have practiced writing our own lines for a poem using alliteration.
Behaviour objective –reinforce Little bell response and exit by behaviour/effort reward








7. Differentiation
Christopher is working at level A/B for reading and writing. He uses green acetate to help him with reading. Check he has this with him. Resources for the whole class will be printed clearly in Arial 14 with no background pattern or distracting graphics to help him without drawing attention to his difficulties. Resources for Christopher, Annelese, Ian and Dylan will use simpler language and give more examples.
Differentiate by question and response
Daniel has ADHD and also struggles with written work although he performs well in verbal tasks. I will change activities every 10 mins rather than aiming for the 14 I would expect for a class of this age group. He and C define themselves regularly as “thick” and need opportunities to be successful in front of the class as well as to move around. Involve both in behaviour management; make sure they get a turn at ringing the bell for silence after paired discussion and chances to answer correctly in front of class.


8. Resources: (Please state to what extent these resources have been developed completely by yourself, whether they have been partially or totally developed by the department or whether they are commercial or web based resources.)

25 copies of Sea Nymph by Anna Hopkins aged 13 in Arial 16.
21 copies of alliteration resource
5 copies of alliteration resource with additional scaffolding marked with an unobtrusive nick in the corner

The poem is from Succeed in English from The Learning Library.

Other Factors to be Considered: e.g. background to class, including organisation/risk assessment/safety
Period after morning interval. Pupils may be wound up and/or full of fizzy drink. Changing the groups for yesterdays lesson was not entirely successful with some pupils achieving less well than might be expected. Several pupils missed the previous lesson due to their attendance at the School Council and are unaware of our goal of producing a class poem and individual poems as Christmas gifts.

10. Strategies for the Assessment of the Achievement of Objectives
Formative and informal;
By questioning
By response
Summative
Returned resource – how many/ well have they identified alliteration











11. Outline of Lesson/Teaching Strategies/Timing (Timings are approximate)

Settle and register – greet at door and tell them to return to their normal seating not yesterdays groups (5 mins)

Personal reading – Stipulated in departmental plan (5 mins)

Transition to task – Puzzle on board 23 SDUC – people absent yesterday and usual class teacher try to work out what it means as class put their books away and get ready to work.
When they have worked out “ 23 school days until Christmas” Ask for some “Teachers for two mins” to tell the class and the usual teacher what we did yesterday and about the poetry competition/present and the class poem/what we learned about simile. If Zoë or Robyn raise hand pick them as they are showing signs of disinterest. They will be encouraged to take questions and comments from their peers to help the class remember and understand. Get them to explain little bell signal. (5 mins)

Whole class teaching simile vs. metaphor. Give examples and have individuals come to board to identify which it is by tally mark. Differentiate by question to allow Dylan and Christopher to succeed. Alert Annelese and Danielle that they will be coming to the board to answer to help them focus on task. (9 mins)
Transition Put yesterdays similes on wall to discuss favourites as we didn’t accomplish this yesterday. Whilst 2 pupils (probably Daniel and Craig/ Danielle decide by who seems to need to move most) put the flipchart sheets on the wall have the pupils who attended pupil council come to the front of the class and report what happened and answer questions from their peers (4 mins)
Transition - ask for appreciation for school council report and thank participants. Read yesterdays similes and ask them to think of any others and choose their favourites for the class poem
Transition - use bell (Dylan) have Caroline and Christopher hand out resource 1 (Poem)
Write objectives on board and share with class.
Whole class teaching – ask what alliteration is. Ask for examples. Offer examples.
Individual work – read the poem Sea Nymph to them then have them read it by themselves ask them to list the examples of alliteration from the poem on their resource. (9 mins)
Transition by bell
Individual work pupils to create their own lines for the class poem using alliteration
Group discussion- share their ideas and choose the best. One to feed back to class these lines to be added to class poem ideas bank along with the similes (10 mins)
Summary -relate to objectives – what we learned today. (3 mins)

Dismiss in orderly fashion –rewarding good behaviour and effort with prompt dismissal.


12. Next Steps: homework/follow-up/future lessons
Some are champing at the bit to start their individual poems, tell them if they want to they should go ahead with their first draft and I will read them next week. Tell them they must include at least one simile and one alliterative line. Those who are not ready to start their individual poem should think up more similes to describe the Christmas classroom and more alliterative lines
13. Post Lesson Analysis/Evaluation
Was much better at getting them in settled and ready to work. Was this due to presence of usual class teacher? He reported pupils as engaged involved and learning. Liked the manner of my delivery, the starter and recap he thought the classroom management using the bell was excellent as was the management of yesterday’s absences. We both thought the simile revisit with the flipchart pages on the wall was clumsy and didn’t achieve what it was aimed at. The differentiation was good and Zoë, Dylan, Christopher and Daniel were engaged and learning well. He cautioned that Claire asks a lot of unnecessary questions and that it is wise to ignore her sometimes as she can lead the whole class off task. Danielle was not focussed on task several times Annalese was not listening and not focussed. I had been aware of this yesterday but as as she was not disrupting others today I was not so aware of her inattention and actually thought she was on task.
Timings were out again but better than yesterday. I will again have to finish today’s task at the next lesson. I need to plan the practicalities better. I realised too late that I didn’t have enough time to do the work on the second resource but it was too soon to pack up. The Class teacher
helped by stepping in with a quick quiz. I will make sure I haves something like this as an emergency filler