Summary This lesson provides an opportunity for children to develop their understanding of verbs and expand their use of them in poetry. Discuss the activities with the class as they first appear on screen. Without interacting with the whiteboard ask the class to think of reasoned choices of verbs. In this way children are looking more carefully at contextual clues. Carry out the first two whiteboard activities choosing individuals or groups to operate the activity and justify choices. Thoroughly discuss the meanings of the verbs used and indicate why more precise choice of language leads to a more interesting piece of writing. The final activity extends the use of descriptions and involves the class in a thinking exercise with the computer that will enable the children to write their own extended poems using the same framework. Suitable for Year 4/5 Using a non-interactive whiteboard The activities can be used in the same way and controlled from the desktop computer. Prior learning required Children should understand the terms noun, adjective and verb. Aims and objectives - To understand the purpose of verbs
- To expand their descriptive vocabulary
- To experiment with verbs in poetry
Timings - Part 1 (10 minutes) Whole class introductory session revising purpose of verbs in a sentence. Children to give examples.·
- Part 2 - Classroom sounds (5 minutes) When complete discuss why verbs fit the descriptions. Encourage the class to suggest interesting alternatives. (5minutes)
- Part 3 - Autumn leaves (10 minutes) Thoroughly discuss choice and again ask for possible alternatives from the class (5 minutes)·
- Part 4 (15 minutes) To be undertaken as part of main lesson or as an extension following the activities below.
Suggestions for group activities - A selected group of children could operate the first two interactive activities and tell the class why they choose the particular verbs.
- Away from the whiteboard, groups could be given copies of the first two completed poems or Word files. They could then make their own versions substituting their own choice of verbs or synonyms using a thesaurus. If they are using Microsoft Word, the thesaurus can be accessed by highlighting the word and pressing shift F7.
- Using a word processor, groups could collaborate writing their original poems based on "sounds" and "seasons".
Suggestions for differentiation - Less able children may need support when tackling the last activity. A writing frame could be provided with verb choices blanked out and the name of the animal given to the children.
Further activities Each activity could be extended when presented or in a follow-up lesson, as indicated - Using the whiteboard software, flipcharts can be used to record the alternative vocabulary offered by the children, building up a word bank for future use.
- Carry out a text-marking activity on other classes of words eg adjectives could be studied using the highlighter facility and they could then be blanked out and alternatives substituted.
- All children should attempt activity 3 individually. Poems could be exchanged with a response partner to guess the animal. Examples can be read out, discussed and displayed either on the wall or in a class book.
Curriculum links Language Oracy
1.1, 1.4 share ideas and opinions, make reasoned comments
3.3, 3.6 extend and enrich vocabulary and use an increasingly varied vocabulary Reading
2.1 develop grammatical knowledge, word recognition and contextual understanding
2.6 use ICT resources Writing
1.3 write in response to a range of stimuli
1.5 write in forms which includes poetry
3.6 distinguish between words of similar meaning, explain the meanings of words and experiment with choices of vocabulary ICT Use ICT to generate, organise and communicate ideas. | 