Poems about parents and

children

By Fleur Adcock

How is poetry different to other kinds of writing?

It does not follow any strict rules. It does not need paragraphs, full stops,

capital letters. You can change the way you spell

some words

What are some of the common features of poetry?

Stanzas Rhyme Rhythm Metaphors Similes Imagery

What is the point of a poem?Why not just use prose? (Writing other than poetry)

Discuss this with your group.

Write down one thing you like about poetry and one thing you don’t like about poetry.

Where do we come across poetry in our everyday lives?

How to read a poem

The skills you develop by reading a range of poetry make you a better reader all around.

What do you think the first thing we should read is and why?

“For Heidi with Blue Hair”

The title of a poem includes valuable clues as to what the poem will be about. Often it can hold the key to helping us understand what the poet is expressing

Based on the title what do you think the poem is about?

The first reading

Just like a song is written to be sung, poems are designed to be read aloud.

The first time we read the poem we are getting a feel for it, the same way we get a feel for the melody or sound of a song

The second reading

The second time we read a poem we need to spend the time to go through each line slowly and carefully, in the same way we would listen to the lyrics of a song more carefully the second or third time we heard it.

Approaches to understanding

Ask the 5 ‘w’s and 1 ‘h’. Who is in the poem? What is happening? Where is it happening? Why is it happening When does it happen How do the people involved feel?Answer as many of the question as possible in note form

Approaches to understandingDraw the chart below in your books. Fill in each column

What I know about the poem What I am yet to find out about the poem

After going through the poem carefully compare your chart with a partner

What strategies can you use to help you find the meaning of parts of the poem you are yet to understand?

Analysing poetry

In your own words, describe what the poem is about. Make sure you use full sentences, the title and the poet. Eg

The poem “……..” by ……… is about

Language features

There are many types of language features found in all sorts of writing.

Sound devices are concerned with the way a word or group of word sound.

Copy the following chart into your books

Sound Device Definition

Onomatopoeia

Alliteration

Assonance

Sibilance

Rhyme

Use a dictionary to find the definitions for each of the sound devices.

Re-read the poem. Look for any of the sound devices in the poem. When you find an example, underline it and label it in the margin. This is called annotation

What effect do sound devices have?

Sound devices can do a number of things

They can slow down the speed at which we say the poem (the rhythm)

They can speed up the sound of the poem (also rhythm)

They can sound harsh or slow

Harsh sounds

Which sounds in English are harsh or hard?

K T Q Z

Soft sounds

Which sounds in English are soft? M N F Plus many more

Look at the sound devices you identified. Decide if they are a soft or harsh sound

Slow sounds

The vowels are all soft and slow. Label any examples of assonance as soft/slow

Why do you think the poet uses these soft and slow sounds?

Three level reading guide

Level Two

As with short stories, films and novels, poems too contain a main idea, or theme. That is, something the poet is trying to communicate to the reader.

Complete the following sentenceI think the main idea of the poem “For Heidi with Blue Hair” is…..