What is a poem?
A poem is a piece of writing that expresses a thought, an emotion or a story.
Poems can rhyme, use alliteration or have a rhythm, but they don't have to.
Watch: Writing a poem
Explore how to write a poem.
NARRATOR:
This is a chef.
He's not going to make food though.
No. He is going to make a poem.
Stop that!
The main ingredient in a poem is words.
Poems can be about anything:
They can tell a story,
Or they can be a thought you had,
Or an emotion you felt.
But a poem can't exist without words.
So make sure you put plenty of them in.
THE! A! BUT! IS!
Some poems rhyme.
That means words that sound the same.
Branch! Lunch!
Now we’re getting somewhere.
Next we need rhythm.
So the words can sound fast like:
"tiny speckled bird"
Or they can drag like:
"the snake slides slowly"
Season with alliteration…
This is when you string together words which have the same first letter or sound,
Like:
"the snake slides slowly"
…aaand I think we’re done.
"The tiny speckled bird flits from branch to branch,
The snake slides slowly looking for its lunch."
Words, rhyme, and rhythm:
That's how you make a poem.
Watch: Counting poem
There are many different types of poem. One type is a counting poem.
These poems contain some sort of counting, usually counting backwards from ten.
Watch this video to see an example of a counting poem.
Watch this video to learn more about counting poems.
Five little speckled frogs,
Sat on a speckled log,
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were four green speckled frogs.
Glug glubg!
Four little speckled frogs,
Sat on a special log,
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were three green speckled frogs.
Glug glug!
Three little speckled frogs,
Sat on a speckled log,
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were two green speckled frogs.
Glug glug!
Two little speckled frogs,
Sat on a speckled log,
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there was one green speckled frog.
Glug glug!
One little speckled frog,
Sat on a speckled log,
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum yum!
He jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were no green speckled frogs.
Glug glug!
Sentences
When you are writing anything (for example, a story or a poem) you need to group your words together into sentences.
There are a few simple rules you need to follow to make sure your sentences are clear.
1. Every sentence needs a capital letter at the beginning.
2. Every sentence needs a punctuation mark at the end, like a full stop (.), a question mark (?) or an exclamation mark (!).
3. Sentences also need to have a verb in them.
4. Sentences must make complete sense all on their own.
Watch: Buckle my shoe
Watch this video to learn more about counting poems.
Activity 1
Take a look at the incomplete counting poem below and see if you can add in words to complete it.
Once you've filled in the missing words, highlight the words that rhyme.
Jenny and her friend were searching Jenny's missing dog Spot. Whilst searching they found some interesting things.
They found seven baby bears
Sitting on rocking chairs.
They . . . . . . six beautiful bees.
Buzzing around the trees.
They found . . . . . . cool cats.
All wearing hats.
They found four . . . . . . pigs.
Playing happily with twigs.
They found . . . . . . tiny mice.
Who were pleasant and nice.
They found two slimy frogs.
Hiding under some . . . . . .
And they found one dog called Spot.
Who had missed them a lot.
Activity 2
Watch ‘The Five little speckled frogs’ video again. Do you know any other poems like this?
You are now going to create your own counting poem!
Think of an animal, bird or insect to write about. Maybe you could choose one from the image below?
Answer these questions.
What will your poem be called?
What will they be doing?
What will they do?
Now have a go at writing or singing your very own counting poem!
Karate Cats English game! game
Head to the dojo to become an expert in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
More on Poems
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