Comparing John Lyons' poems ‘Happy Hummingbird Food’ and ‘Tadpole Comets’
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can compare two of John Lyons’ poems: ‘Happy Hummingbird Food’ and ‘Tadpole Comets’.
Key learning points
- Reading and rereading poems leads to a richer response and a greater understanding of language within the poem.
- Engaging in conversations about poems allows us to make connections with our own lives and the world around us.
- Comparing poems explores the themes, structures and language within them.
- A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs in a poem.
Keywords
Poem - a piece of writing that uses creative and rhythmic language to express thoughts, feelings or ideas
Language - includes the words, phrases and techniques used by the poet to convey meaning, evoke emotions and create imagery within the poem
Comparing - involves identifying similarities and differences between two or more things, ideas, themes or texts
Common misconception
There is a set of rules to follow when comparing poems.
Comparing poems often involves exploring similarities and differences, but remind pupils that it is a subjective process.
Teacher tip
Copies of both poems should be printed out for children to annotate in pairs.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Why do we compare poems?
Q2.Which of the following is true about poetry?
Q3.Who illustrated John Lyons' poetry collection 'Dancing in the Rain'?
Q4.What is the job of an illustrator in the context of a book?
Q5.What role does rhythm serve in poetry?
Q6.What does the term 'rhythm' refer to in poetry?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the poem 'Happy Hummingbird Food' mainly about?
Q2.True or false. John Lyons feels positively towards hummingbirds.
Q3.What are the main themes in both poems 'Happy Hummingbird Food' and 'Tadpole Comets'?
Q4.Match the animals to their corresponding poems.
'Tadpole Comets'
'Hummingbird Happy Food'
'Hummingbird Happy Food'
Q5.Which of these words rhyme with 'about'?
Q6.Which of these words rhyme with 'tune'?
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Comparing John Lyons' poems ‘Happy Hummingbird Food’ and ‘Tadpole Comets’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Comparing John Lyons' poems ‘Happy Hummingbird Food’ and ‘Tadpole Comets’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the John Lyons poetry unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.