In the summer months, it is fun to lie back and watch the clouds pass by, observing the shapes that they form in the sky. Explore poetry using this summer themed writing pack based on cloud watching.
Pupils will read a model poem ‘Cloud Watching’, showing WAGOLL (what a good one looks like); exploring its structure and how noun phrases have been expanded to create description. They are then encouraged to carry out their own ‘cloud watching’ before writing about the shapes and patterns that the clouds formed in the sky. Pupils will then write their own poems, based on ideas from their own cloud watching, describing the clouds in the sky.
The resource pack provides suggested activities, including teaching or revisiting the use of expanded noun phrases to describe or specify.
What is included in this KS2 Poems resource pack?
- Model text – Cloud Watching
- Cloud image cards
- Planning sheet
- Themed writing paper
- Teaching notes with guidance on how the resources could be used
What is an expanded noun phrase?
An expanded noun phrase is comprised of a noun and additional words help to further describe that noun. Typically, adjectives are added, separated by commas, to describe the noun and create the expanded noun phrase. Additional information can also be added after the noun using a preposition.
Expanded noun phrase examples
- The big brown bear
- The little, run-down house
- The shoes with yellow laces
- Sarah’s bowl of cereal
- The cheeky monkey climbing the tree
National Curriculum English programme of study links
Year 3/4
WRITING - composition
- Pupils should be taught to plan their writing by discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar.
- Pupils should be taught to draft and write by composing sentences orally, progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
WRITING - Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
- Pupils should be taught to use noun phrases