1 - Poem for your overhead projector. 2 - Voice Recording 3 - Word document with permission to print off for your class

1 - PDF of this poem for your classroom screen. 2 - Voice Recording by poet Josie Whitehead 3 - Word document with author's permission for you to print off for use in your class. This is a funny poem and also a poem that your children will absolutely LOVE to perform. I'd love to do a skype visit to meet the children and see their performances, help them with metre and writing etc. See my profile or website for my bookings. They are for 40 minutes and not expensive.

1 PDF for your classroom screen 2 Word document with permission from author to print off for use in your classroom 3 Voice Recording by author, Josie Whitehead 4 Worksheet: Figurative Language, personification, iambic tetrameter etc.

1 - Pdf for your classroom screen 2 - Word document with permission from author to print off for your class 3 - Voice Recording of the poem by author Josie Whitehead This poem is written in iambic tetrameter, ie di DUM di DUM four times each line with rhyming aabb. I've written this poem, painting the picture of the daffodils, using lots of imagery and personification to help younger children appreciate and understand how this helps with painting a picture even more vividly than a picture in paint. My five websites contain 1,500 poems which I've written over the last ten years and encouraged to do so by children in my local primary school. The websites were made at the request of children in my town who loved to visit it again at home to listen to and to read the poems they'd done in class and to listen to and read many of the other poems I've written. This is so important for children. People have added to what I've done by contributing music to turn some of the poems for younger children into songs, children's illustrators have contributed by adding their wonderful work, one poem has been turned into an animated film and another has had music written for organ and choir. If you can contribute anything, please contact me. This is one of 400 poems which was published in five books in 2010 by AMS Educational Ltd, Leeds and was chosen by teachers and children in schools right across West Yorkshire in a 9 month market-research. You'll find them all on my five websites by Googling JOSIE'S POEMS.

1 Sound file: Voice recording by author, Josie Whitehead 2 PDF to project onto your classroom screen. 3 Word document with permission to print. 4 Worksheet which helps to perform poetry really well, and also explains what Dactyls are, with the chance for them to write some sentences. Why not get them to look at people's names in the class. They are often dactylic: eg JER e my; AN ge la; (my own: JO se phine) - JENN i fer; PAM e la; JESS i ca; OL i ver; PERFORMANCE POEM: Do get your children to perform this poem. There are many speaking parts. It is very important that children should listen to poems and by Googling JOSIE'S POEMS they can regularly hear me reading many of the poems that I've written. I made the recordings at the request of children at my local primary school who wanted to hear the poems over and over again at home. Put a sheet up on the wall where they can add any dactylic words they can find - perhaps other than names: EL e phant; AM bu lance; TERR i er; TEL e phone; CEN ti pede; DAN ger ous; BLUS ter y; CIN e ma; THE a tre; etc This is a good exercise and helps children to realize that we have little accentuations within our words that make the rhythms in poetry - and helps to promote phonemic awareness, ie the ability to break down words into sounds.

1 - PDF for your classroom screen 2 - Voice Recording by Author, Josie Whitehead] 3 - Word document with permission to print off for class. Get your children talking: I would suggest that you stop the recording at the point where Choo Choo cannot pull the coal truck and ask the children what do they think the end of the story will be. After their discussion they may then listen to the whole recording. Then secondly show them the words on the pdf and their printed sheet. There are lots and lots of story poems for these children on my five huge websites and do the same thing. Get the children to perhaps finish the stories themselves to develop their imaginations. If you have some really wonderful stories from them, I can always turn them into poems for the children. Contact me. I also make skype visits to classrooms worldwide. See website.

1 - Voice recording of poem by author, Josie Whitehead 2 - PDF for your classroom screen of this poem. 3 - Word document with permission by author, Josie Whitehead, to print off for class use only. This particular poem is suitable for KS2 (stretching vocabulary); KS3 and KS4 I'm now taking bookings for skype class visits for both National Poetry Day and for the rest of the term. If you're interested in these short visits, please contact me.

EASTER EGGS - Easter Poem for KS1 and KS2 by Josie Whitehead 1 - PDF with exercises for your classroom screen (Easter Eggs pdf1) 2 - PDF of poem Easter Eggs by Josie Whitehead (Easter Eggs pdf2) 3 - Word document of poem with permission to print off 4 - Voice Recording by author, Josie Whitehead for your class This and other poems are on my five websites which I made especially for children, with the poems they know and love for them to both hear and read. There are 1,500 poems which I've written over the last ten years and a great deal of work I've done in the making and illustrating of the five websites. I did this at the request of children at my local primary school. Please tell the children to simply Google JOSIE'S POEMS. Poetry isn't just for the school classroom but for children to enjoy at home with their families. Josie

1 - PDF to project onto your classroom screen 2 - Word document with permission to print off for your class 3 - MP3 voice recording for your class This poem is written in iambic heptameter, ie di DUM di DUM di DUM seven times over two lines, and repeated each verse. The rhyming is abab Let the children try some sentences: The PELiCAN's a PIGGish BIRD The MOTor CAR'S a NOISy THING etc

KS2 - Figurative language in poetry: Sunup by Josie Whitehead 1 - PDF for your classroom screen 2 - word document with permission to print 3 - Voice recording of poem by author, Josie Whitehead There is an explanation of figurative language in my pdf. It is written in a steady tetrameter with four iambic beats/feet per line. However, the rhyming is abab, with the alternative lines being indented (the rhyme line) starting under the third letter from the line above. The SUN's bright BEAMS deVOURED Moon's RAYS. Its BURNing TONGUE deVOURED the NIGHT. NOTE: No apostrophe in the word "Its" - - only when it means it is, ie - It's wet today. Otherwise, when possession is indicated you use the apostrophe. NOTE: This poem goes very well and as a contrast to my poem "Sundown" which is also on TES. Show the class the two poems together if possible.

KS1 AND KS2 - The Very Strange Tale of Ginger the Cat, a Story-Poem by Josie Whitehead Written in iambic heptameter, ie 7 iambic feet over 2 lines with abab rhyming. 1 - Pdf for your classroom screen 2 - Plain word document of this poem with permission to print off by author, Josie Whitehead 3 - Voice Recording by author for your class to hear 4 - Cat facts This is a wonderful performance poem and hopefully, children will be told to learn all or part of the poem by heart, to throw their voices clearly and without shouting, and to put expression into their performances. This story poem leads to question/answer on the subject of cats as family pets.

1 - PDF for your classroom screen 2 - MP3 with voice recording by author, Josie Whitehead 3 - Word document with permission by author to print off for your class PS DON'T FORGET THAT THERE ARE LOTS MORE EASTER POEMS ON TES WRITTEN BY MYSELF (last year) These and other poems can be freely found on my own websites by simply Googling JOSIE'S POEMS. I've put voice recordings at the request of local children who wanted to listen to the poems again at home with parents and siblings.

FIVE CHOCOLATE BUNNIES - an Easter poem for KS1 - by Josie Whitehead 1 - PDF - for your classroom screen 2 - Voice Recording by author Josie Whitehead 3 - Plain word document with permission to print off for your class This is a fun Easter poem for younger children with a "subtraction" game incorporated into it, as each of the bunnies are sold to different customers.

Lady Sun and Lady Moon - Poem by Josie Whitehead - Figurative Language - KS2 1 - PDF of poem for your screen 2 - Word Document with permission to print off for your class 3 - Voice Recording by poet, Josie Whitehead

1 - PDF for your classroom screen 2 - Voice Recording by poet, Josie Whitehead 3 - Word document with permission to print off. Figurative Language: Onomatopoeia - The use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound or the sound made by an object or an action. Example: snap crackle pop ... Get children to think of sounds made. Get them to write down the name of the thing which makes the sound and then the name we give to the sound, eg: kettle boiling: - hiss; telephone -ringing; - dog - bark; cat - meow etc etc. Then they could be given some small cards where they write the name of the object on one side and the name of the sound on the other. Share with others on the same table. They can call out the name of the object and the others think of the name-sound. Or: they could have some small cards and write name-sounds on them and put on classroom wall board, building them up during the week as they hear the sounds. If you like my poems and use them often in your classroom, you might consider contacting me to do some useful lesson plans to go with them which can be sold via TES. Also Google JOSIE'S POEMS for lots of other poems for your class. My email is on my welcome page under photo.

A World Full of Noise - by Josie Whitehead This is one of the hundreds of poems chosen by teachers and children for publication, and it helps children to understand that we give names to the noises that we hear and which are made by many different things. 1 - Voice Recording by author: I believe strongly that poetry should be HEARD first and foremost, well before children read the words. I also have this and other senses poems on my JOSIE'S POEMS 3 website with voice recordings so that children can listen to them at home. 2 - PDF of the poem for you to use on your classroom screen. 3 - Word document of this poem with permission from myself (author) to print off for use in class. The poem is written in Iambic Tetrameter, ie di DUM di DUM - four per line and with aabb rhyming. Often when a poet introduces a subject, they will start the line on a heavy beat to emphasize the subject. Get the children to see where I've done this. They could write some sentences of their own in the same way: MOTHer's BAKing CAKES toDAY BRIan's DRAWing IN his BOOK MATTHew's EATing CHOColate CAKE PENNy's GOT a RUNny NOSE etc What noise do the following make? Ducks, sheep, cows, frogs, pigs, owls, dogs, cats, hens PERFORMANCE POEM: This poem, with its lyrical nature and rhyme, makes for a wonderful performance poem. Children should learn, perhaps, a verse each, and, standing at the front, project the voice clearly, put expression into their performance to make it interesting to listen to. Why not put this poem onto the classroom board and get the children to bring in pictures to surround it, with the sound of the animal/bird with the picture?

KS1 and KS2 - Alliterative Poetry AN AGGRESSIVE ALLIGATOR 1 - Voice Recording by author, Josie Whitehead 2 - Pdf for projecting onto your classroom screen 3 - Word document of poem, with picture to colour, and full explanation with examples of alliteration for the children to keep. - - Permission from author to print off this poem for your class.

Whistling Down the Wind - KS1 and KS2: This poem demonstrates well imagery, personification, alliteration, assonance and all the other techniques that a poet employs in order to write well. The poem is written in iambic heptameter, with excellent metre and rhyming, and with the rhyming lines abab (rhyming lines indented 3 from line above - not centred). 1 - Voice Recording by poet - Listening to poetry should well precede reading poetry. Children should just listen and enjoy the poem and absorb all the imagery etc within it. I would then suggest that it be played more than once and children encouraged to join in. They can hear this poem again if they go to my Weather/Seasons poems, and they can read it also at home. 2 - PDF for use on your classroom screen (although the poem is also on my website). 3 - Word document with permission to print off for use in your class. DRAMA Poetry, especially written with rhyme and with good metre, links so well to other arts subjects, ie film, photography, artwork etc but it also links to music, dance and drama. It is so important that children speak our English language well, knowing how to throw their voices effectively without shouting, how to put expression into their voices and even body language. Children need to learn their poems by heart and not to mumble down into a piece of paper, and this poem is short and is a wonderful performance poem. This, to me, is far more important than tearing a poem apart and looking for this and that. It brings fun to poetry and is the first foot on the drama ladder. I, as an author, am often invited to skype into classrooms to see children perform poetry and to give advice, answer their questions and to ask them questions also. It isn't expensive. Contact me.

1 - Voice Recording by author Josie Whitehead 2 - PDF for your classroom screen 3 - Word document of poem with explanation of metre, and exercises for your children

1 - Voice recording by poet/author Josie Whitehead 2 - Pdf of poem for use on your classroom screen 3 - Word document of poem with permission from author/copyright holder to print off for use in your class. 4 - Learning to write poetry? I hope, from my message on this sheet, that I have helped both you and the children to understand metre in poetry, and to show the children how is the best way to learn to write poetry, ie by lots and lots of listening, and then understanding what distinguishes poetry from prose, and how metre helps link poetry so well to song. This poem takes the children into the world of a much-loved little animal, ie the meerkat. It tells them a lot about life in the meerkat world, and it is written in the lovely flowing anapaestic metre which links poetry so well to music and song, because, after all, it is a performing art and set apart from prose by its musical qualities. But how do we get rhythm into poetry? My sheet will explain this to children and encourage them to try writing themselves a little bit of anapaestic metre. DRAMA - This poem, with its wonderful lyrical rhythm, makes for a wonderful performance poem. I have added my voice recording to this because it will help children to hear how, by raising and lowering their voices, stopping and pausing at the right places, and by learning how to throw their voices without shouting, and especially by learning the poem off by heart and putting expression into their voices, far away from flat diction, they can really perform well.

1 - Voice recording by poet, Josie Whitehead 2 - PDF for use on your classroom screen 3 - Word document of poem with permission to print off for use in class 4 - Exercises based on this poem for your class This poem, written in iambic heptameter, is a perfect poem for children to learn by heart for a poetry performance in your classroom. The children will also benefit from simply listening to the poems by myself, the author, and they can access the poems again at home both to read and to listen to via my website. Tell them: Google JOSIE'S POEMS (Weather/Seasons poems in index). There are hundreds of poems for them to enjoy at home as well as at school. Make poetry fun for them - not just another exercise at school. This way, their enjoyment will grow and extend as something to be enjoyed life-long.