Rib-tickling Rhymes

1. Responding to rib-tickling rhymes
2. Patterns in poems
3. Capital letters
4. Two servings of Hey, Diddle, Diddle

1. What do you think?
2. All about me
3. Writing a My Name is... poem
4. Performing poetry

1. Rhyming my name
2. Pet school
3. Water, water everywhere
4. My name is...

1. Introduce Fantastic First Poems. Read My Sister (p.41) and A Boy Went Walking (p.90). What do poems look like? Identify rhymes in each poem. Say which is best, giving a reason.
2. Read Cats by Eleanor Farjeon (p.6) at least twice. How many of the places the cat slept can you remember? Which was the funniest place? Can you think of other funny places?
3. Re-read Cats. Then read the Hamilton Group Reader Animal Upsets (resources). What does the cat in the poem do? What do children think is the worst of the upsets caused by the animals? Why so?
4. Read first The Old Man of Peru then Higgledy-Piggledy Pop (both p.82). How could you make eating a shoe or a mop nicer? Fill the shoe with melted cheese, dip the mop in chocolate, etc.
5. Read Witch, Witch (p.91). Note the question-and-answer pattern to the poem. Reread each question, but this time children try to give their own funny answers. Can they rhyme them?

Poetry/Rhyme of the Week: Hey Diddle Diddle

Share both the traditional rhyme (resources) and Michael Rosen’s version of it from Fantastic First Poems (p.10) and rehearse at suitable times throughout the week, e.g. start/end of day.

Essential texts
The Fantastic Book of First Poems edited by June Crebbin