Our first Talk Time of 2023 has a reading and oracy theme.
I know a poem.
This week, you’re going to be learning a famous poem. It takes great resilience and remembering skills to be able to learn a poem – two of our 8Rs for learning.
Y1,2: Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan
On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There’s a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can’t catch ’em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!
Y3,4: Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Mirriam (CC)
Once upon a time
I caught a little rhyme
I set it on the floor
but it ran right out the door
I chased it on my bicycle
but it melted to an icicle
I scooped it up in my hat
but it turned into a cat
I caught it by the tail
but it stretched into a whale
I followed it in a boat
but it changed into a goat
When I fed it tin and paper
it became a tall skyscraper
Then it grew into a kite
and flew far out of sight …
Y5,6: Daffodils by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
These talking points could be used to support your initial reading and understanding of the poem:
- What’s the poem about?
- Can you work out the meaning of tricky words and phrases by using the clues in the poem?
- What’s the rhythm of the poem? Where do you pause for breaths?
- Are there any rhymes (words ending with the same sounds (eg cat and hat)?
- What other patterns do you notice (repeated words/lines, line lengths, themes/key messages)?
When you have a sound understanding of your chosen poem, turn your attentions to reading it aloud with confidence and clarity. This week’s Remember 2s (R2s) will help with that:
- Speak clearly in a loud voice without shouting.
- Pause for breath at the right places to make sure you read at an appropriate pace.
- Face the reader as often as you can.
Here are some creative strategies that you might use to help you remember the poem – do what works best for you:
- Create actions to go with certain words or phrases.
- Draw a series of pictures to help you remember what comes next.
- Say or sing the poem in a unique or funny voice.
- Echo phrases/lines with someone at home.