At the end of Term 4, children in Gareth’s tutor group had been showing a great deal of interest in animals and particularly endangered species, talking about them in Community Meetings. Therefore, the implementation plans for term 5, which were for poetry, were adjusted slightly to take this into consideration.
Children started by exploring animal poems by other writers, before building on their knowledge of similes, metaphors and adjectives. After choosing the animal they wanted to write a poem about, children made 'simile faces', researched their animals on the computers, used writing frames and other forms of adaptive teaching resources before finally coming up with their own poems.
Alongside this, children showed what great global citizens they were by deciding to raise money to sponsor an animal through the World Wildlife Fund. Children used their reading and problem-solving skills to research and identify which animals they felt would best be helped by sponsorship, before finally settling on a Snow Leopard and a Panda. Children used super speaking and listening skills to talk about this in Community Meeting. It was decided by the other children and adults that, on the day of the Coronation Party, all the adults and children would make a donation of £1 to wear something red, white and blue. This along with very generous donations from other attendees of the party meant that they eventually raised enough money to also sponsor a Wolf through Wolfwatch UK. A massive 'thank you' on behalf of Gareth's group to everyone who contributed.
Read poetry created by the children here, and below!
Animal Poetry written by pupils
Leopard
One strong nose
One powerful body
Two sharp eyes
Dashing, jumping, ripping
Hundreds of spots – four strong legs
Sleeping like an exhausted boy
Graceful queen of the plains.
By Kyle Farrant with support.
Four fast legs
One spotty body
One nimble tail
Spotty, deadly cat
As calm as a cat
As fast as a car
By Ryan Cottrill
Lion
One huge mane
Twenty Sharp teech
One swishy tail
Growling, groaning, roar
Four strong legs
One scary mouth
Like a fluffy Teddy Bear
King of the Jungle
By Kyle Farrant with support
Lilly the Lion
Four Powerful legs.
One thick tail
One huge mouth to eat fruit
One mane as big as an afro
Two eyes as green as emeralds
Teeth as sharp as knives
Four feet as smelly as old socks
One roar as loud as thunder –
Lilly is her name!
By Kyle Farrant with support.
Lion
Two large fangs
Four deadly paws
Two good eyes
Roaring, growling beas
Golden and Royal
As wise as a king
King of them all
By Ryan Cottrill
Leo The Lion
Eyes that shine like diamonds
A growl that rumbles like an earthquake
Teeth as pointy and as sharp as daggers
Leo’s ears can hear everything
His nose can smell food and prey from far away
Leo’s mane is fluffy and stylish.
By Ryan Cottril
Rhinoceros
Two twitching ears
One sharp horn
Two beady eyes
Chewing, stomping, snorting
Bulging muscles – huge ears
Like a tank at war
Horned charger of the plains
By Kyle Farrant with support
One strong tank-like body
Four powerful legs
Two deadly horns
Armoured and powerful
As mad as a road truck
A giant, moving tank.
By Ryan Cottrill
Vulture
One pointed sharp beak
Two huge wings
One large, long neck
Squawking, flapping, gliding,
Two beady eyes
Two Sharp talons
Like a graceful ballet dancer –
As hairless as Gareth.
By Kyle Farrant with support
Two sharp and deadly eyes,
Two shredding talons
Two gliding wings
Deadly glider
As grim as a killer
A beast of the sky.
By Ryan Cottrill