Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 5
Reading and responding to 'The Invaders' and 'Kingfisher' by John Foster
I can explain what the poems are about and the impression they create.
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- Year 5
Reading and responding to 'The Invaders' and 'Kingfisher' by John Foster
I can explain what the poems are about and the impression they create.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘The Invaders’ and ‘Kingfisher’ are two poems based on a similar theme: birds.
- Both poems are written in free verse, they do not adhere to a specific rhyme scheme or meter.
- ‘The Invaders’ describes the competition between two rival species, the sparrows and starlings.
- ‘Kingfisher’ describes the story of a kingfisher who successfully hunts for its food.
- Both poems use imagery to convey an atmosphere to the reader or listener.
Keywords
Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a text
Imagery - the use of language to create a mental picture or sensory experience for the reader or listener
Atmosphere - the mood created in a section or whole of a text
Impression - refers to initial feelings about a person, place or thing, gained from reading a poem
Common misconception
Pupils may not know the birds described prior to reading the poems.
Pupils could research the three species before reading. Alternatively, the poem could act as a stimulus to prompt further reading.
To help you plan your year 5 English lesson on: Reading and responding to 'The Invaders' and 'Kingfisher' by John Foster, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 5 English lesson on: Reading and responding to 'The Invaders' and 'Kingfisher' by John Foster, 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.
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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.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the Poetry inspired by animals unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
The poems used in this lesson are available in the additional materials.
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