Reading Poems Closely

Overview

In this first lesson of the nine-part unit Poetry: Craft, Revise, Perform, students listen to two contrasting New Zealand poems and respond as readers. They identify feelings, ideas, audience, purpose and deliberate language choices, then annotate one poem using evidence.

Learning intentions

• WALT respond thoughtfully to poems as readers.
• WALT identify feelings, ideas, audience and purpose.
• WALT notice how imagery, key words and sound create effects.
• WALT support an interpretation with evidence from the poem.

Success criteria

• I can describe a feeling or idea a poem creates for me.
• I can identify words, images or sounds that contribute to the poem’s effect.
• I can explain who the poem may be for and why it was written.
• I can name one deliberate language choice and explain its effect.

Curriculum links

• Responding to and interpreting texts: making meaning from ideas, language features and structure.
• Close reading: selecting evidence and explaining how language choices affect readers.
• Oral language: listening actively, building on others’ ideas and expressing interpretations clearly.
• Creating meaning through language: recognising how writers shape texts for particular audiences and purposes.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Set the purpose and hook Open with the opening question and poem-response hook. Ask: “Can two readers feel different things about the same poem?” Students silently choose a response and briefly explain it to a partner. Introduce the learning intention and explain that there is no single correct personal response, but interpretations should be supported by words from the poem.

2. 5–13 minutes – Hear two contrasting poems Read aloud two short, contrasting New Zealand poems twice: for example, one with a calm natural setting and one with energetic urban or community imagery. Display the poems through the two poem-reading slides. Students listen without writing the first time; on the second reading, they jot one feeling, one picture in their mind and one word or phrase that stands out.

3. 13–23 minutes – Pair response: “I notice, I wonder, I feel” Display the discussion stems in the paired-response instructions. In pairs, students discuss both poems using the three prompts:

• “I notice…”: a word, image, sound or pattern.
• “I wonder…”: a question about meaning, audience or purpose.
• “I feel…”: a personal response, supported by something heard.

Partners take turns speaking and listening. Invite several pairs to share, recording different interpretations without judging them as right or wrong.

4. 23–32 minutes – Model close reading Revisit one poem using the teacher modelling slides. Think aloud while identifying a key word, an image and a sound feature such as rhyme, repetition, rhythm, alliteration or onomatopoeia. Model the sentence: “The poet uses ___, which makes me ___ because ___.” Clarify that an interpretation becomes stronger when it includes a specific word or phrase as evidence.

5. 32–47 minutes – Annotate one poem Distribute the poem-response and annotation worksheet. Students choose one poem and annotate it individually, then compare one annotation with a partner. They underline key words, circle or label imagery, and mark sound features. They also record the poem’s likely audience and purpose, plus one feeling or idea it communicates.

Support Year 5 learners with the response stems and word bank on the worksheet. Prompt Year 6 learners to justify each interpretation with evidence, using “This suggests…” or “This may be intended to…”. Circulate and confer, asking: “Which word makes you think that?” and “What effect might the sound have on a reader?”

6. 47–55 minutes – Share and refine interpretations Display the evidence-sharing prompts. In groups of four, students share one annotation and explain its effect. Group members may agree, add another possibility or respectfully challenge the interpretation by referring to the poem. Ask selected students to improve a basic response, such as “It sounds exciting”, into an evidence-based response: “The repeated sharp sounds make the scene feel energetic.”

7. 55–60 minutes – Exit ticket and preview Finish with the exit-ticket section. Students complete: “One deliberate language choice in the poem is ___. It affects the reader by ___.” Collect responses as they leave. Preview that the next lesson will explore how poets select and combine language to shape a reader’s response.

Resources

• the complete poetry response slide deck
• the poem-response and annotation worksheet
• Two short, contrasting New Zealand poems, printed or displayed
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Whiteboard and markers
• Exercise books or writing materials
• A visible timer
• Seating arranged for pairs and groups of four

Assessment

• Listen for students identifying feelings, ideas, audience and purpose during paired and group discussion.
• Check annotations for key words, imagery, sound features and evidence-based explanations.
• Use the exit ticket to identify who can name a deliberate language choice and explain its effect; revisit this in the next lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide Year 5 learners with sentence stems, a feelings word bank and a small choice of language features to identify.
• Encourage Year 6 learners to explain alternative interpretations and justify claims with precise words or phrases from the poem.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach imagery, audience, purpose and repetition with simple examples; allow drawing or oral rehearsal before writing.
• Support students with dyslexia, ADHD or other learning needs through audio read-alouds, enlarged text, colour-coded annotation, partner scribing or speech-to-text. Offer a quiet space for independent response.