This lesson explores the use of verbs to add dramatic interest to poems. The activities will encourage pupils to think more carefully about the use of verbs to describe action and should enable them to develop their knowledge of verbs and stimulate them to write more descriptive poems. The whiteboard activities will encourage whole class/group discussion, collaboration and participation.

The lesson could be used at the beginning of a unit of work on writing poetry or as an extension lesson at the end of work on verbs. The final whiteboard activity provides a stimulus for more open-ended poetry writing, though the example given could also be used as a template for less able children to follow. Use of the whiteboard tools (eg pen, highlighter) would also enable the teacher to address other word-level work associated with nouns/adjectives.