Joseph Coelho:
Sounds are all around us. We are constantly hearing them and so they have made their way into our language.
There are many words for sounds. Words that recreate the sounds. Ring, ding, screech, clunk, whoosh.
These words are onomatopoeic. The word you write down is an instruction for how to make the sound….
Choo-choo
I was caught up in the muttering crowd.
I huffed and puffed to the train.
The doors clunked open
And beeped closed.
The engines boomed
And the train whooshed off.
The words help bring the poem to life. They help me put the reader of the poem onto the train, in their imagination.
I love train journeys. I like to look out the window at the fields and changing landscape. I like to look out for farm animals like sheep. I like the word sheep. I like the double e, the vowel sounds. It reminds me of other words that have similar sounds inside them. Words that it shares an assonance with.
Words like unique, sleek, and weep. Assonance is a bit like rhyme, but instead of having words that sound the same at the end, we have words with middles that sound the same…
There are other poetic devices that do not flow quite as easily. I love the challenge of a tongue-twister. Many tongue-twisters use alliteration, where you have lots of words that start with the same letter.
Rabbits.
Rare, red rabbits.
Rare, red rabbits revel by the railway.
Rare, red rabbits revel with rage by the roasting railway.
An easy way to create a tongue-twister is by starting with your name and adding words that start with the same letter. You can even do it as a challenge, taking it in turns to see who can come up with the longest alliterative line.
[Two Joes again taking it in turns]
Joe.
Jumping Joe.
Jovial, jumping Joe.
Jovial, jumping Joe juggles jam.
Jovial, jumping Joe juggles jam and juniper berries.
Juggling Joe…. Ah, you win Joe!
Alliteration can be a double challenge. It can be a challenge to find words that start with the same letter. But it can be another challenge to actually say the poems you have created!
The tunnelling train tears through the tricky terrain.
Alliterative poems can be great fun. But they can also be used to create a sense of foreboding, of danger, as the poem continues on, on a path of no return.
The train trudged with terrifying terror towards the terrible tunnel.
When you’re playing with alliteration, remember that the poem doesn’t have to be full of it. You can choose just a few alliterative phrases to add to the mood or atmosphere of the poem.
I remember my tiny toy train.
I’d totter it along the toy tracks
Laid out in my bedroom
In a perfect figure of eight.
Making the clunking, chunking noises.
Imagining the clouds of cotton steam streaming
From my tiny boy’s toy perfect joy.
When you start playing with words, you can start having fun with different poetic devices. Like onomatopoeia: clunking, chunking. Or assonance, where the middle of the word sounds the same: boy, joy, toy. And that is redrafting, that is editing. And it’s fun because you are like a poetry scientist. Pouring in some assonance. Mixing in some onomatopoeia. And standing back to look at the awesome poems you have created.
Video summary
Poet Joseph Coelho uses poetic devices to play with the patterns of letters and words.
He discusses alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia, showing us how to use these techniques and what impact they have on the poem and the reader/listener.
He has fun with tongue-twisters, challenges himself to an alliterative showdown, introduces us to assonance, and enjoys the magic of onomatopoeic words.
He investigates ideas about the potential rhythm and patterns found within poems and how these are influenced by the devices you choose to use.
Teacher notes
Ideas for the classroom
Before watching:
Key Stage 1 (age 5-7):
Read aloud Look at the train! by Kathy Henderson
Key Stage 2 (age 7-11):
Read aloud New Moon by Kate Wakeling
Read the poem through once and allow time for the children to respond initially to what they heard. Did they like the poem? What did they like about it? How did it make them feel? What was it about? Now read it through again, focussing particularly on reading the rhythm of the poem. Do you think the poet makes you feel like you are actually looking at a train? How has she done this?
After watching:
Look back at the poem, read aloud again and share the words with the children. Can they see examples of the poetic devices that Joe explored in the video? Where has she used onomatopoeia? Underline examples of this in one colour. Look at alliterative sounds and phrases. Underline these examples of alliteration in a second colour. Look at the way short vowel sounds are repeated. Underline these examples of assonance in a third colour.
Encourage the children to play with these devices themselves, they could, as Joe does in the video, play with alliteration strings for their names, they might look at other examples of transport or animals as referenced in the video and play with alliterative words and phrases. They could explore words that describe different sounds in the environment. They might see how many words they can think of that contain the same vowel sound, linked to work in phonics and spelling.
When they have read examples they could then try drafting a poem of their own using some of these devices. Will they write about a person? A place? An animal, mode of transport or toy as explored in the episode? Ensure that they re-read and edit their draft, ensuring that the devices are used to create effect and not overused. When they have worked up their drafts, allow space for the children to perform or record these so that others can hear the devices in action.
This short film will be relevant for teaching English at primary school.
How to perform poetry. video
Joseph Coelho explores all the different ways you can perform a poem.
How to express yourself with poetry. video
Joseph Coelho explores the way we can express our feelings using poetry.
How to have fun writing poetry. video
Joseph Coelho explores onomatopoeia, phonics and all the ways you can have fun writing a poem.
How to write poetry about your life. video
Joe Coelho explains how to write poetry about experience.
How to understand a poem. video
Joseph Coelho looks at how poems make you feel and what they mean to you.
Does poetry need to rhyme? video
Joseph Coelho shows that poetry doesn’t have to rhyme, but when it does, it can be inventive and witty.
Poetry formats. video
Joseph Coelho explores haiku, limericks, sonnets and varying forms of poetry.
Making pictures with words. video
Joseph Coelho shows us how to utilise figurative and descriptive language to the best effect.
How are music and poetry connected? video
Joseph Coelho demonstrates how many of the elements that make up poems are often mirrored in music.
