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Lesson 6 of 10
  • Year 5

Reading and performing 'Blackbird' by John Foster &'Hawk Roosting' by Ted Hughes

I can read two poems aloud with confidence and expression.

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Lesson 6 of 10
New
New
  • Year 5

Reading and performing 'Blackbird' by John Foster &'Hawk Roosting' by Ted Hughes

I can read two poems aloud with confidence and expression.

Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and

Copyrights help

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. 'Blackbird' is a cinquain by John Foster with five lines of a set syllabic structure.
  2. ‘Hawk Roosting’ can be described as a fixed verse poem; it consists of six verses, each with four lines.
  3. 'Hawk Roosting' is written in first-person perspective.
  4. We can explore poems in depth by reading them aloud and performing them.

Keywords

  • Enjambment - when a line in poetry continues onto the next line without pause or punctuation, creating a sense of flow

  • Perspective - the point of view from which the poet writes, influencing the way events or ideas are portrayed and understood

  • Interpretation - the process of understanding and assigning meaning to a poem

  • Cinquain - a form of poetry consisting of five lines, typically with a specific syllable count or pattern

Common misconception

Pupils may find it challenging to discuss how perspective can have an effect on their understanding of the poem and its themes.

It may be useful to remind pupils of the different perspectives that writing can take and the effect they can have on a reader or listener.


To help you plan your year 5 English lesson on: Reading and performing 'Blackbird' by John Foster &'Hawk Roosting' by Ted Hughes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils could explore a typical food chain of a hawk, to gain a deeper insight into its perspective and how it is portrayed in the poem.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’ which is featured on page 41 in the 2019 Faber & Faber edition of ‘The Thought Fox: Collected Animal Poems Vol 4’ written by Ted Hughes for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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