You Will Need
Essential text
Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho
Websites
Day 3 Poetry Performance Tips from bbc.co.uk
Poetry
English Year 5 Spring Poems by the Same Poet
Joseph Coelho
Meet Joseph Coelho! Read, watch and discuss his work (in Werewolf Club Rules). Write and perform poetry. Revise noun phrases, and brackets, dashes and commas.
Start with the core unit to introduce key texts. Then select from comprehension, SPAG and composition units.
Unit 1 Core: Introduction to Joseph Coelho
(suggested as 4 days)
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Discuss what poets are like and introduce Joseph Coelho. Read ‘I am a writer’, thinking about what the poem says a poet is and does. Display Discussion Prompt: today children will be reading and discussing a selection of poems by Coelho.
Activity
In groups, children read selected poems and discuss the themes and style of Coelho. They pick their favourite, justifying their choice and consider what they can learn about the poet from his poems.
Day 2 Teaching
Read or watch ‘I am a Writer’ being performed. Explain that children will be finding out more about this writer. Discuss and list research questions. Model how to choose one and use the Internet to research and make notes to answer it.
Activity
Children choose some questions and generate more of their own. They then research the answers using the Internet.
Day 3 Teaching
Watch a clip of Coelho explaining how he performs poetry and the decisions he makes. Display Preparing to Perform, explaining that this will help to guide them through their preparations. In groups, children choose a poem to perform.
Activity
In groups, children read and prepare their poem for performance, guided by the resource and using Coelho’s tips.
Day 4 Teaching
Discuss what children think of the poetry they have read so far. Encourage them to justify opinions giving examples. Today children will choose a poem to recommend to Y4. Discuss and list things to include in the recommendation.
Activity
Children choose a poem. After rereading and making notes, they draft a recommendation, referring to the list created in the class discussion. They organise their writing in paragraphs and give examples from their chosen poem.
Unit 2 SPAG: Expanded noun phrases to convey information concisely
(suggested as 3 days)
You Will Need
Optional text
Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho
Grammar Presentation: Noun Phrases
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Read ‘Golden Time’ by Joseph Coelho. Discuss how he builds the metaphor images using noun phrases. Share Grammar Presentation: Noun Phrases (slides 1-8) to revise noun phrases. Identify noun phrases in the poem, underlining the head noun.
Activity
In pairs, children read two poems and identify expanded noun phrases. They underline the head noun and highlight the words which make up the phrase. They discuss the image that is created and the impact on the reader.
Day 2 Teaching
Reread ‘Red Ruby Rings’. Recap Grammar Presentation and extend to slides 9-10 to explore how expanded noun phrases can create images concisely. Model creating images about a special noun, as in ‘Golden Time’, using expanded noun phrases.
Activity
Children generate a list of nouns, which they develop expanded noun phrases around, aiming for powerful and evocative use of language to create images of their special noun.
Day 3 Teaching
Today children will write a poem, using their expanded noun phrases. Model the process: be explicit about using expanded noun phrases as you write them, ensuring that children know which words make up the phrase and why you are using them.
Activity
Children write their poems, using the steps modelled in the Teaching. Encourage children to use expanded noun phrases, selecting the most impactful and continuing to improve them as they write.
SPaG: Grammar and Punctuation
Grammar Presentation: Noun Phrases
Revise how to construct, identify and use expanded noun phrases to convey detailed information concisely. Explore how poets use language economically but with impact.
Unit 3 Comprehension: Poetry appreciation: terms and techniques
(suggested as 4 days)
You Will Need
Essential text
Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho
Websites
Day 1 Joseph Coelho performing ‘M.O.R.E.R.A.P.S.’ from thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com
Day 2 Joseph Coelho performing ‘Miss Flotsam’ from YouTube.com
Day 3 Joseph Coelho explaining how to write about emotions (emotion riddles) from bbc.co.uk
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Share ‘M.O.R.E.R.A.P.S.’ poem by Joseph Coelho. Discuss and define the terms and use to explore techniques in ‘Halloween’s Crumble’. Discuss why poets might use these techniques and their impact on a reader.
Activity
In groups, children read selected poems, picking out examples of techniques, identifying them and describing their impact.
Day 2 Teaching
Introduce ‘Miss Flotsam’ and play the clip of Coelho performing the poem. Explain that many poems can be understood or appreciated better by reading several times. Introduce today’s comprehension activity.
Activity
Children answer questions on the poem, considering the language and structure of the poem and using technical terms to write about them.
Day 3 Teaching
Read and discuss ‘Byron Hates Water’. What emotions does Byron experience? Watch a clip of Coelho explaining how he writes about emotions. List and discuss emotions. Model writing an emotion riddle, being explicit about creating images.
Activity
Children prepare and write short emotion riddles. They aim to create powerful images which will help their reader guess the unrevealed emotion.
Day 4 Teaching
Discuss how many anthologies contain poems by different poets. Introduce today’s task: children will nominate one poem to be included in an anthology, writing persuasively, justifying choices and using poetry terminology in a formal register.
Activity
Children choose a poem. After rereading and making notes, they draft a formal recommendation, justifying their choice with examples from the poem and using poetry terms.
Unit 4 SPAG: Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis
(suggested as 3 days)
You Will Need
Optional text
Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho
Grammar Presentation: Brackets, dashes or commas
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Read ‘School tomorrow – excuses for Mum’ by Joseph Coelho. Discuss the different excuses. Share Grammar Presentation: Brackets, dashes or commas (slides 1-7) to explore parenthesis and how it can be indicated.
Activity
Children complete structured activities, identifying and punctuating parenthetical information. They then correct punctuation errors, explaining what is wrong.
Day 2 Teaching
Recap the Grammar Presentation and then extend (slide 8) to constructing and punctuating parenthesis. Model how to add parenthetical information to the sentences about the boring tasks the poet will do if he says at home.
Activity
Children generate parenthetical information to add to a set of given boring tasks and decide how to punctuate them.
Day 3 Teaching
Display slide 9 of the Grammar Presentation, explaining that this text is part of a bio (biographical sketch) on Joseph Coelho. Note the use of parenthesis. Explain that the children will write their own bios today, ensuring interesting parenthesis.
Activity
Children write their bios, including information about themselves and the type of poems they enjoy (to read and/or write). Encourage them to add extra pieces of information and to decide how they will punctuate them.
SPaG: Grammar and Punctuation
Grammar Presentation: Brackets, dashes or commas
Explore parenthesis and how it can be indicated using brackets, dashes and commas. Identify parenthetical information and decide the best punctuation, depending on content and formality.
Unit 5 Composition: Write a poem inspired by Joseph Coelho
(suggested as 4 days)
You Will Need
Essential text
Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho
Websites
Day 1 Joseph Coelho on making pictures with words
Day 3 Joseph Coelho on playing with words
Day 4 Joseph Coelho on tips to perform poetry
all from bbc.co.uk
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Discuss the power of words to build images. Read one of Joseph Coelho’s poems and then play the clip of him explaining how to paint pictures with words. Introduce today’s activity: choosing an image, framing it and making notes.
Activity
In an interesting space, children choose an object, consider different angles and then choose one. Using verbal prompts, they make notes about the object’s appearance and speculate about its feelings and motivations.
Day 2 Teaching
Use the clip from Day 1 to introduce the process of developing a poem from notes. Recap on expanded noun phrases and other imagery techniques. Draw up a list of steps to guide children as they develop their poems (example in resources).
Activity
Children use the displayed steps to shape their poems. Encourage them to discuss ideas and get feedback from their partner as they develop and shape the poem.
Day 3 Teaching
Children watch and discuss a clip where Coelho describes how to use sound elements in poetry (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme). Model developing a poem draft with some of these in mind.
Activity
Children work on their poems for sound quality. They then check spellings, using dictionaries if needed. Lastly, they produce a neat copy, either through handwriting or typing.
Day 4 Teaching
Discuss and list poetry performance tips, adding to this after watching a short clip of advice from Coelho. Explain that children will be developing a performance and a short introduction to explain the inspiration for their poem.
Activity
Children rehearse reading their poem to themselves, working on learning as much as they can and developing a simple performance. They perform for a partner and act on feedback, ready to record a polished performance.