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      Reading and responding to ‘Who Has Seen the Wind?’ by Christina Rossetti

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can give a personal response to the poem and give some evidence to justify my ideas.

      Key learning points

      1. 'Who Has Seen the Wind?' is a short, simple poem that explores the invisible and mysterious nature of the wind.
      2. Personification is describing a non-living thing as if it is a person.
      3. The poem uses rhetorical questions to demonstrate the mysterious nature of the wind.
      4. The structure of a poem is the way it is ordered, including its pattern of lines, verses and rhyme.

      Keywords

      • Repetition - the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases or structural elements that are repeated for emphasis or for a particular effect

      • Personification - describing a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human

      • Rhetorical question - a question asked that does not expect an answer, but rather to make a point or create emphasis

      • Elusive - something that is difficult to catch, find, or achieve, often because it is quick or hard to grasp

      Common misconception

      Children may think rhyming words have to have the same spelling of the repeated sounds.

      Explain that rhyme is repeated sounds, not spelling. Highlight the rhyming sections of the rhyming words within the poems. Look at the different spellings. Generate further rhyming words and identify the same or different spelling patterns.

      Teacher tip

      You could use the structure of the poem to generate two further verses, with pupils creating alternative ideas for Line 3 in each verse. What else shows us that the wind is around us?

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      What is a verse in a poem?

      rhyming words
      Correct answer: a group of lines
      ending

      Q2.
      Which words rhyme with 'night'?

      knit
      Correct answer: kite
      not
      Correct answer: fright

      Q3.
      Match the rhyming words.

      Correct Answer:bright,white

      white

      Correct Answer:flew,you

      you

      Correct Answer:one,fun

      fun

      Q4.
      Select the true statements about poems.

      Correct answer: Poems are a type of fiction text, that are often short.
      Poems are a type of non-fiction text.
      All poems rhyme.
      Correct answer: Some poems rhyme.

      Q5.
      Select the definition of personification.

      when words that begin with the same sound are placed together
      when rhyming words are found at the end of each line
      Correct answer: describing a non-living thing as if it is a person
      a way of describing something by saying it is something else

      Q6.
      Which sentence shows personification?

      The classroom is a fortress.
      Correct answer: The sofa cuddled me at the end of the day.
      The car was as fast as lightning.

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Who wrote 'Who Has Seen the Wind?'

      Chris Rossetti
      Correct answer: Christina Rossetti
      Grace Nichols
      John Lyons
      Michael Rosen

      Q2.
      What is a rhetorical question?

      a question beginning with the words 'Are you'
      a series of three questions
      a statement
      Correct answer: a question asked that does not expect an answer

      Q3.
      Which line from the poem 'Who Has Seen the Wind?' is a rhetorical question?

      Correct answer: Who has seen the wind?
      Neither I nor you:
      But when the leaves hang trembling,
      The wind is passing through.

      Q4.
      Select the words which could describe the wind from 'Who Has Seen the Wind?' by Christina Rossetti.

      violent
      Correct answer: mysterious
      loud
      Correct answer: elusive

      Q5.
      What is the definition of elusive?

      Correct answer: something that is difficult to catch or find
      something very big
      something transparent
      something natural

      Q6.
      Which of the below are types of figurative language?

      rhyming words
      Correct answer: simile
      Correct answer: personification
      Correct answer: metaphor
      facts

      To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Reading and responding to ‘Who Has Seen the Wind?’ by Christina Rossetti, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...