Poems From Our Place

Overview

Students investigate how poets use figurative language and sound to create vivid images of Aotearoa. They then plan and draft a short free-verse stanza about a local Southland setting, making deliberate language choices for an audience.

Learning intentions

• We are learning to identify imagery, similes, metaphors and sound devices in poems.
• We are learning to use sensory detail and figurative language to create strong images.
• We are learning to make notes and select key words before drafting.
• We are learning to shape a stanza for a reader or listener.

Success criteria

• I can explain how a poetic device helps create an image or feeling.
• I can include at least three sensory details about an Aotearoa setting.
• I can use one comparison and one sound device accurately.
• I can read my stanza aloud and improve a word or line for effect.

Curriculum links

• English — Comprehension: text form, structure, style and features in poems.
• English — Reading: using figurative language to evoke feelings and create strong images.
• English — Writing processes: planning with notes, key words and phrases.
• English — Writing processes: drafting a focused poem stanza using descriptive or figurative language.
• Supports the refreshed curriculum focus on purposeful communication, language knowledge, creativity and responding to texts.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and read aloud. Teacher displays a photograph or striking image of Southland coast, native bush or farmland and reads a short, suitable poem aloud, including a poem by a New Zealand poet such as Paula Green or Joy Cowley; students listen once for the picture and feeling the words create, then briefly share what they noticed. Open with the image hook and read-aloud prompt.

2. 5–12 min · Poetry detectives. Teacher models one line such as “The fern unfurled like a green question mark”, thinking aloud: “Fern” and “green” create imagery, while “like” signals a simile. Display and briefly clarify imagery, simile, metaphor, alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia. Students work in groups of five to sort or discuss examples using the figurative language cards, then identify which device creates the strongest image or sound. Return to the poetry tools examples for checking.

3. 12–18 min · Hear the music. Teacher reads lines about a tui, rain or crashing waves twice—first normally, then with emphasis on repeated sounds—and asks, “What can your ear hear?” Model alliteration (“wild wind”), assonance (“low, rolling road”) and onomatopoeia (“crash”, “whoosh”). Students echo-read selected lines, clap or tap repeated sounds, and suggest one sound-rich phrase about their local environment. Use the sound-device examples and discussion question.

4. 18–24 min · Plan from place. Teacher offers choices such as Oreti Beach, a Southland farm, native bush, a school garden, or a Matariki night sky. Students choose one setting and complete the planning section of the local-setting poetry planner, recording key words rather than full sentences: what they see, hear, smell, feel and perhaps taste; one emotion; one comparison; and one sound word. Teacher conferences with students, prompting precise nouns and verbs.

5. 24–35 min · Draft a stanza. Teacher explains that students may use free verse today: lines can vary in length, rhyme is optional, and line breaks should help the reader pause or notice an image. Model turning notes into a focused stanza, for example: “The harbour holds its breath / while the wind combs the flax / and gulls cry silver questions.” Students draft 4–8 lines on the worksheet, including three sensory details, one simile or metaphor, and one sound device. Students read their draft quietly to a partner, who names a strong image and suggests one possible improvement. Display the criteria with the drafting instructions and success criteria.

6. 35–40 min · Share and reflect. Teacher invites three or four volunteers to read aloud and leads a quick response: “Which words helped you see, hear or feel the place?” Students underline their strongest image and circle their sound device, then complete the reflection on the self-check and reflection section: “I created an image by…”, and “My next improvement is…”. Close with the sharing prompt and exit reflection.

Resources

• One slide deck with local image hook, poem extract, device examples, drafting instructions and plenary prompts
• One-page poetry planning, drafting and reflection worksheet
• Figurative language cards
• Short, age-appropriate poem by a New Zealand poet
• Photograph of a Southland setting or Matariki night sky
• Whiteboard and markers
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Timer

Assessment

• Listen during group card work for accurate identification and explanation of figurative and sound devices.
• Check planning notes and drafts for sensory detail, a purposeful comparison and a sound device; conference with students who remain literal or use devices inaccurately.
• Use the final self-check and oral sharing to assess whether students can explain how their language affects an audience.

Differentiation

• Support writers with a sensory word bank on the board, sentence starters such as “The ___ is like ___” and “I hear ___”, oral rehearsal before writing, and permission to dictate ideas to a peer or teacher.
• Provide an uncluttered worksheet, enlarged text and the option to use speech-to-text or a scribe for students with literacy, motor or processing needs.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach “image”, “compare”, “sound” and “feeling” with gestures and examples; allow discussion and planning in a home language where helpful.
• Extend confident writers by combining two sound devices, varying line breaks deliberately, or drafting the same image as a haiku (5–7–5) and comparing its effect with the free-verse version.