SUGGESTIONS FOR USING THE WORLD BOOK DAY POSTER
SECTION 1: POETRY AND RHYMES
Rhyming Patterns:
The poem is arranged in 4 line
verses, with a rhyming pattern of abcb defe
ghih jklk.
·
Discuss the alphabetical pattern being established and
decide what would be the rhyming pattern for the next four verses. (Ans : mnon pqrq
stut vwxw)
· Examine a selection of other poems (perhaps using Francesca’s collection One Busy Book) and work out the rhyming patterns for these.
Find the Rhymes:
· Identify the rhymes in each verse, and make a list of other words with the same rhyme. Rearrange the list in alphabetical order.
Vi sticky/tricky ( dickey/ garlicky/hickey(a gadget)/quickie)
Vii bounds/nouns (clowns/crowns/drowns/frowns or
grounds/hounds/pounds/ sounds)
Viii poetic/energetic (alphabetic/diabetic/phonetic/sympathetic)
Viv time/rhyme (chime/crime/lime/slime )
· Find rhymes for the non-rhyming words in lines 1 and 3 of each verse. Unfortunately, verse one is the most difficult – so start with verse two!
Vi adjective (fictive/predictive or effective/selective)
adverb (blurb/kerb/herb/Serb/suburb)
Vii know (crow/flow/grow/show)
night (fight/flight/light/sight)
Viii emotions (commotions/lotions/motions/potions)
places (cases/chases/faces/races)
Viv stuff (enough/gruff/huff/tough)
poetry (basketry/marquetry/puppetry/toiletry)
· Invest in a set of rhyming dictionaries for World Book Day!
For pupils: Black’s Rhyming and Spelling Dictionary – A&C Black ISBN 0713665106, £6.99
For teachers : The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary – Penguin Reference ISBN 0140511369, £8.99
Word Classes:
At the heart of this poem is a
knowledge and understanding of parts of speech, or what we now term word
classes, that is nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs (mentioned in the text
itself), and also pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and determiners
(sometimes called articles, a,an, the– but also including some
and many).
· Ensure that children understand this terminology, and then check out the text for examples of each of the word classes. These could be underlined in different colours on copies of the poem.
noun things/ability/bed/night/hero
adjective sticky/tricky/poetic/energetic
verb get/help/find/knows
adverb fantastically (in the illustration)
pronoun he/you/it/them
conjunction if/and/because
preposition on/in/to
determiner an/the/a
Chris Glynn, the illustrator, uses a pictorial form of the adverb fantastically, to complement the movement of the superhero.
· Create other adverbial pictures in cut-out letters. These could apply to either how the superhero moves – speedily, courageously, bravely – or how the poet creates her poems – creatively, cleverly, amazingly. Follow the illustrator’s example by using a variety of fonts, and upper- and lower-case letters. Old magazines and newspapers would be an ideal source – recycling text on World Book Day! Display the results on an adverbial pinboard display.
Alliterative phrases :
Alliteration occurs when ‘adjacent or closely connected words begin with the same sound or phoneme’.
(National Literacy Strategy Glossary).
A phrase is strictly a group of words that ‘act as one unit’. In the poem we can have noun phrases (his ability), adjectival phrases (very energetic) and adverbial phrases (all the time). There are also prepositional phrases which can be either adjectival (with an adjective) or adverbial (at night). This is very technical and beyond the scope of most primary children. However we can use the word phrase in a more general way, to indicate a group of words which fit together and make sense – and we can have fun creating such phrases.
· Captain Poetry, Superhero appears to be ‘polevaulting with a pencil’ right into the picture! Using other desk and stationery items, create word cartoons of other sporting activities in which the superhero might be involved. Make sure that children understand the effectiveness of alliteration
and use the same letter for the verb form as for the office noun itself.
eg. Pogo-ing on a
paperclip Balancing on
a biro
Fencing with a fountain-pen Gambolling over a gunstapler
S…………….. on a sharpener B……………. on a blotter
L…………….. on a laptop R……………. on a ruler
Captain Poetry might even be adept at rhyming with a rubber, thinking things out with a Thesaurus and even dating with a dictionary!
Superheroes:
A hero is variously defined as ‘a person admired for courage or outstanding achievements’, ‘the chief male character in a play or story’ and ‘a man of superhuman powers, a demigod’.
· Ask for definitions, or explanations of the term ‘hero’, before sharing the above. Jot down the ideas on slips of paper, together with the definer’s name, and use these as the basis for further discussion and the beginnings of a hero display.
· Research some superheroes from fiction, books, films, entertainment – SuperTed, Superman, Asterix, The Incredibles – and also from everyday life. Are sports personalities really heroes? Do they inspire hero worship?
· Choose 4 superheroes from fiction or myths and legends – Robin Hood, Odysseus, King Arthur and William Tell. Devise a poll to see who is the most popular in the class and /or school.
·
Conduct a survey/questionnaire
amongst adults to find out whom the older generation refer to as ‘their
heroes’. There could be categories here for comic heroes (Dan Dare, Roy of
the Rovers), war heroes (Winston Churchill, Douglas Bader), and sporting heroes ( Stanley Matthews, Roger
Bannister).
The poem itself provides opportunities for writing in a variety of genres, and for a variety of purposes, both real and imagined.
·
Imagine that Captain Poetry has gone missing on an
important writing task on World Book Day. Create a LOST poster
with relevant details, based on your knowledge of him through the text and
illustration. Include references based on a physical description (as shown by
Chris Glynn) which might begin with the words Last seen wearing .
. ., and on his qualities and skills: He is able to . . . Remember
to include a contact reference: If you have seen . . . please
ring . . .
· Write a review of the poem/poster using exactly forty words. This is to be included on the World Book Day website – or on your own school website, or on a ‘recommended reading board’ in a section entitled Good poems and posters. (Further ‘rules’ could be applied to this review, based on work in Section 2: it must contain at least 3 nouns, 2 adjectives and 1 preposition.)
· Write a dialogue between the two children and their unexpected visitor when he arrives, unannounced, with his pencil. This could be set out as a playscript, and include a setting, and stage directions (in italics).
· Create a storyboard or mind map for the opening sequence of an adventure film in the style of the Harry Potter films. It could be entitled Captain Poetry and the Lost Rhyming Dictionary.
Include a list of characters (good and evil) and a description of some of the locations to be used – the summit of Snowdon, Cardiff Castle, or places in your own area.
Whichever activities you choose to use, or adapt, with
your class – don’t forget to let children enjoy Francesca’s words, and Chris’s
illustration! World Book Day is a fun-day.
SECTION 4: DOWNLOADABLE COPY OF THE TEXT
CAPTAIN
POETRY
SUPERHERO!
He’s on hand with an
adjective,
If ever things get sticky,
He’ll help you with an
adverb
If you find them tricky.
His ability with verbs, you
know,
Really knows no bounds,
And when he goes to bed at
night
He only dreams in nouns.
He likes to feel emotions,
Because they are poetic,
He likes people, pets and
places,
He’s very energetic.
Describing things, and
thinking stuff,
He does it all the time,
Hooray for Captain Poetry,
A hero who can rhyme!