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Year 2 - English

Exploring and performing 'River Lullaby' by Matt Goodfellow

Performance poetry

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils read, respond to and perform a variety of poems by different poets. They will watch the poets perform their own poems and learn from them about what makes an effective performance. Finally, pupils will practise different skills to perform each poem effectively to an audience.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explore a poem and perform it for an audience.

Key Notes

  • Matt Goodfellow is an award-winning poet and former teacher.
  • The poem 'River Lullaby' tells a story about the journey of a river.
  • The poet uses different poetic devices including onomatopoeia, alliteration and repetition.
  • When performing a poem, we should try to have fun.
  • Using gestures can make our performances fun and interesting for the audience to watch.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • lullaby: a gentle, soothing song sung to help a child fall asleep
  • repetition: the repeated use of sounds, words or phrases
  • onomatopoeia: a type of word that sounds like what it describes
  • gesture: a movement that helps express an idea or meaning

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may not be confident in identifying or discussing the sounds that a river makes.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Matt Goodfellow is an award-winning poet and former teacher. The poem 'River Lullaby' tells a story about the journey of a river.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'lullaby'

a gentle, soothing song sung to help a child fall asleep.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may not be confident in identifying or discussing the sounds that a river makes. Correction: Play pupils a video of river sounds before reading and exploring the poem. If you have access to the book 'Caterpillar Cake' by Matt Goodfellow, it would be beneficial to share the illustrations accompanying the poem with the children.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 2 English guide library.