Discovering Poetry

Overview

Students are introduced to poetry through Shel Silverstein’s humorous poem Sick. They explore how voice, repetition, rhythm, exaggeration and ending create meaning and amusement, then compose a short imaginative intervention from the viewpoint of another character.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• read a poem aloud with attention to rhythm, pace and expression.
• identify how poetic choices shape a reader’s response.
• infer the speaker’s attitude and explain how the ending changes the poem.
• compose an alternative scenario inspired by the poem.

Success criteria

I can:

• describe my first response to the poem and support it with a detail.
• identify at least two techniques and explain their effect.
• discuss the speaker, audience and possible authorial purpose.
• write an imaginative alternative ending or viewpoint using purposeful language.

Curriculum links

• English — Comprehending: develop appropriate approaches to poetry as an artistic use of language.
• English — Comprehending: recognise affective, imaginative and intellectual responses, and justify interpretations using evidence.
• English — Comprehending: identify language techniques, evaluate their effects, and consider audience and purpose.
• English — Composing: compose an intervention or alternative scenario based on a studied text and keep a reflective response journal.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and prediction. Display the question “What is the best excuse for missing school?” on the opening question slide and invite students to jot one serious and one ridiculous answer on the poetry response worksheet. Students share one answer with a partner and predict whether today’s poem will be serious, humorous or both.

2. 5–15 min · First encounter. Teacher introduces the poem and author, explains that students should listen for voice, sound and changes in mood, then reads Sick aloud without stopping; display the poem only if a legally available class copy is being used via the first-reading and listening-focus slides. Students listen, mark a reaction on their worksheet and write one word describing the speaker.

3. 15–25 min · Reading as performance. Teacher models a short section, demonstrating pace, emphasis, pauses and an increasingly dramatic tone, then leads a class reading and invites volunteers to perform selected lines from their own copies. Students rehearse in pairs, deciding where the speaker might pause or stress words, and explain how their choices affect the audience.

4. 25–38 min · Close reading in groups. Teacher uses the poetry-techniques slides to introduce accessible terms: repetition, rhyme, rhythm, exaggeration, imagery and voice; groups then complete the evidence table on the technique-and-effect table. Students locate examples in the poem, describe the effect on the reader, and discuss why the speaker gives a long list of complaints.

5. 38–48 min · Interpretation discussion. Teacher displays the questions on the discussion-prompt slides and facilitates a “claim, evidence, explain” discussion: Who is the speaker talking to? What does the speaker want? What does the final change reveal? Is the poem mocking excuses, adults, school, or the speaker? Students record one interpretation, one supporting detail and one alternative interpretation, then compare answers in groups of four.

6. 48–57 min · Creative intervention. Teacher models the prompt, “Rewrite the final moment from the parent’s, teacher’s or doctor’s viewpoint,” using the creative-writing instruction slide; remind students not to copy the poem but to borrow its playful build-up, voice or surprise. Students write 8–12 lines or a short paragraph on the worksheet, including one repeated phrase, one exaggeration and a clear change or punchline.

7. 57–60 min · Plenary and exit response. Teacher displays the plenary and exit-ticket slide and asks students to complete the final box on the reflection and exit-ticket section. Students answer: “One poetic choice that shaped my response was ___ because ___” and hand in the worksheet as they leave.

Resources

• the poetry introduction and activity deck
• the poetry response worksheet
• Teacher copy of Sick by Shel Silverstein
• Student copies of the poem
• Projector or interactive whiteboard
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Exercise books or writing paper
• Timer

Assessment

• During reading and group work, listen for students naming a technique and explaining its effect rather than merely identifying it.
• Check discussion notes for a justified interpretation supported by a specific detail from the poem.
• Use the creative intervention and exit response to assess understanding of voice, poetic technique, authorial purpose and personal response.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank on the worksheet with terms such as voice, repetition, rhythm, exaggeration, mood, audience and purpose, plus sentence starters: “The repetition makes the speaker sound…”, “This suggests…” and “The reader might…”.
• Allow students who need support to dictate, type or record their intervention; pair them with a supportive reader and provide a reduced choice of three techniques.
• Read the poem aloud more than once and offer a quiet rehearsal space for students who are uncomfortable performing publicly.
• Challenge confident students to create an alternative ending that changes the reader’s judgement of the speaker, while maintaining a recognisable comic build-up and explaining their choices.