Purpose, Sound and Feeling

Overview

Students explore how poets and songwriters use language to entertain, express ideas and feelings, and influence an audience. They compare a short poem with a song-style verse, identify language choices, and explain how those choices support the creator’s purpose.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify what a poet or songwriter is trying to accomplish.
• WALT recognise language features used in poems and songs.
• WALT explain how language choices affect an audience.
• WALT use evidence from a text to justify an interpretation.

Success criteria

• I can identify whether a text mainly entertains, expresses feelings or persuades.
• I can find examples of rhyme, rhythm, repetition, imagery and sound words.
• I can explain how one language choice affects the listener or reader.
• I can support my ideas with words from the text.

Curriculum links

• Understand how texts are organised and how authors use language for particular purposes and audiences.
• Identify and discuss literary devices, including rhythm, rhyme, repetition, imagery and sound patterns.
• Present and discuss interpretations of texts, using evidence to support ideas.
• Create and edit short imaginative texts using purposeful vocabulary and language features.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook: What is the creator trying to do? Open with the hook and learning intention slides. Read aloud the two original excerpts below, displayed on the slide:

“Rain taps softly, tip-tap-tin, Washing the sleepy rooftops thin.”

“Come on, clean teams, make a start— Pick up rubbish, play your part!”

Ask the student: “What does each creator want the audience to think, feel or do?” Introduce the three purposes: entertain, express ideas or feelings, and persuade.

2. 5–12 minutes – Explicit teaching: language that creates an effect Use the language features slides to teach:

• rhyme: words with matching end sounds
• rhythm: the beat or pattern of stressed sounds
• repetition: repeating a word or phrase for emphasis
• imagery: words that help the audience picture, hear, feel, smell or taste something
• sound words and alliteration: language that imitates or highlights sounds

Model thinking aloud with “Rain taps softly, tip-tap-tin”. Identify rhyme, sound words and imagery, then explain: “These choices make the rain seem gentle and musical, so the reader may feel calm.”

3. 12–20 minutes – Shared comparison Read the poem and song-style verse on the comparison slides twice: once normally and once with expression. Discuss:

• Which text is mainly entertaining or expressing a feeling?
• Which text is trying to persuade?
• Which words create a sound, picture or feeling?
• How does the beat or repetition help the message?

The student records one spoken idea for each text. Encourage full responses such as, “The author uses repetition to make the message memorable.”

4. 20–30 minutes – Independent analysis Distribute the poem and song analysis worksheet. The student reads two short original texts and completes a purpose-and-language table. Tasks include circling the main purpose, matching language features to examples, identifying one sensory image, and writing two sentences explaining an effect.

Read the texts aloud first and allow the student to listen while following the print. Confer briefly, prompting with: “Which words helped you decide?” and “What might the audience feel or do?”

5. 30–35 minutes – Create and perform Use the creation task slide. The student chooses one purpose:

• entertain the audience with a playful verse
• express a feeling about a place, person or experience
• persuade people to care for the school or environment

The student writes four lines and deliberately includes at least two features, such as repetition, rhyme, imagery or alliteration. Invite a quiet performance or reading with an appropriate rhythm.

6. 35–40 minutes – Review and exit response Return to the plenary slides. Ask: “What are writers and songwriters trying to accomplish?” and “What kinds of language help them achieve this?” The student completes the final worksheet response: “One language choice I noticed was… It affected the audience by…”

Resources

• the complete introduction, teaching, comparison, creation and plenary deck
• the poem and song analysis worksheet
• Whiteboard or shared digital writing space
• Pencil, coloured pencils and highlighter
• Optional quiet headphones or text-to-speech tool
• Timer

Assessment

• Listen for accurate identification of purpose and language features during discussion.
• Check the worksheet for identified evidence and an explanation of audience effect.
• Assess the student’s four-line creation for a clear purpose and at least two intentional language features.

Differentiation

• Provide a dyslexia-friendly worksheet: clear sans-serif font, increased line spacing, short sections, minimal visual clutter and a cream or pale-coloured background. Read all texts aloud and allow speech-to-text or oral answers.
• Support the student with a feature word bank and sentence stems: “The author wants to…”, “The words ‘…’ show…”, and “This makes the audience feel…”.
• Revisit one feature at a time and colour-code examples in the model text.
• Extend an advanced learner by asking them to use a repeated phrase and explain how changing the rhythm or viewpoint would alter the audience response.