A song about a puffer fish who has a terrible social life. Can his only friend, Jeremy the octopus, help him to solve his problems? A funny children's song or a study of friendship between very different sea creatures? You decide. For a follow-up piece in a creative writing class, pupils could write Henry&'s diary and Jeremy&';s diary at various points in the story. I wrote, performed & recorded the song myself, so the copyright is mine, but you can use it in lessons é school concerts however you wish!

Poetic rhythm is often neglected as it can be hard to write about. You can scoop up marks for doing it, though. The sheet 'Poetic Rhythm&' explains how rhythm can suit subject & feelings of a poem, é how to write well about this. You can give pupils this sheet on its own, then use it for anthologies é unseen poems. ‘The Tigger Song’ is a clear é memorable eg of how rhythm suits subject é feeling. Onomatopoeia, repetition, refrains é made-up words come up, too. Pupils analyse lyrics then watch the YouTube video, to experience the techniques in action! See Lesson Plan for more ideas.

Who or what is the Fire of the West? Get children to guess before they listen to the song. Get them to guess again after hearing you read aloud the first verse. Then listen to the song! Pupils could write their own ballads or stories with mysterious titles. Other creative tasks: diaries, letters, posters &c. For literature, use it to introduce ballad form: originally, a song that tells a story. Listen out for metaphor, simile, repetition, refrain, é rhymes. Enjoy using the song for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See lyric sheet for details.

This song tells a story in the first person. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own ballad songs/poems, creating feeling with detail, imagery, rhythm & rhyme. In lit. lessons, the song can introduce storytelling poems, monologues, setting, repetition é cyclical structure. Interpretation, too: is ‘Thunder Gold’ a place? A symbol? In creative writing, use it as a springboard for stories: who is/was this person? Diaries, posters etc. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This is a traditional ballad which dates back at least as far as 1611. So it is contemporary with Shakespeare e.g. 'Macbeth&'. Pupils could write a modern version with the talking crows, or poems to lament the mysterious dead knight. GCSE students could compare different interpretations of the imagery. See my Lesson Ideas for more things to do. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons & concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

A song that tells a story: so you can use it to help students understand ballad form. The use of quatrains, dialogue, repetition and rhymes will then make more sense. You can also use the song to inspire creative writing e.g. 'The Soldier&'s Letter&'; and 'The Maid&'s Diary&';. Pupils can write their own ballads & learn about rhythm é rhyme. Enjoy using this song as a resource for lessons and concerts! This is my arrangement é recording of a traditional song. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This song tells the story of a tooth fairy who wants to become a surgeon. It may comfort children worried about a wobbly tooth or going into hospital. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own songs/poems about a character who is fed up wants a change. Other creative tasks: diaries, letters, posters &c. The subtext for anyone worried about career choices is: one thing can lead to another. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

A song which creates a character mostly through setting, detail & imagery. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own songs/poems é learn about rhythm é rhyme. Other creative tasks: 'Meeting a Witch&', diaries, letters, posters éc. it can also introduce ballad form. This helps quatrains, dialogue, imagery, repetition, refrains é rhymes to make more sense. The use of metaphor é simile to create mood can be studied, too. Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This song tells a story through first-person description. As well as performing it, pupils can write stories, poems, songs e.g. ‘Letter from a Ghost’. They learn about creating atmosphere with detail, imagery, rhythm & rhyme. In literature lessons, the song can introduce storytelling poems, monologues, setting, repetition é cyclical structure. Enjoy using this song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

You can give this sheet to pupils to introduce them to grammar. Thinking of grammar as an octopus, with all his tentacles working together, is a way into thinking of a sentence as a group of words working together, each with its own job to do. Pupils can talk in pairs about how they would describe the job that each word does in the sentence on the sheet. In plenary, you could get pupils' own descriptions of each &'word job&';. Then, when they’ve understood the concepts, you can ‘drop in’ the correct terms. See LESSON PLAN for more ideas!

‘I Shop Smartly’ presents the main advertising techniques as a mnemonic that can be learnt. ‘If Seal Puppies Shop Smartly, Do You?’ is more detailed, and you might just want to select from this sheet in your own way. Pupils could pick the techniques they tend to forget & make up their own mnemonic! The last page of this has ideas for written work. One way to teach the idea of target audience is to get pupils to design adverts for different year groups. They are so close to the distinctions between Years 7, 8 and 9 that their observations on concerns and language can be very sharp and funny!

'Comment on the choice of words&' often puzzles pupils. &';You're Shakespeare - Choose A Word!&' gets pupils to choose their own words to fill in the gaps in 10 lines of Shakespeare. Pupils then speak the lines aloud to see what effects their word choices have had on meaning, feeling and sound. &';Which Words Did Shakespeare Choose?' gives them the complete lines with the names of the characters and plays. Of course, you could compile your own examples from a play you&'re teaching. It’s worth teaching &';effect' = noun, &'affect&'; = verb, before they write their analysis.

This song aims to calm, encourage and uplift the listener in difficult times. We can be very hard on ourselves and feel dissatisfied with how we haven't done enough. You can play it in assembly to exam classes, play it in lessons about dealing with stress, teach it to young children to encourage being kind to yourself, especially when you&'re trying very hard at something. Enjoy using the song in lessons and concerts! This is my own song & recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This song tells the story of Friendly Shoeman Jake whose red shoes suddenly learn to talk. They want to do different things so they start fighting... Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons & concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright.

This song tells a story in the first person. As well as performing it, pupils can write their own ballad songs/poems. Use it as a springboard for stories: who was the Star Mountain Girl? What was her story? Diaries, posters etc. Pupils learn to create feeling with detail, imagery, rhythm & rhyme. In lit. lessons, the song can introduce ballads, monologues, setting, repetition é cyclical structure.Enjoy using the song as a resource for lessons é concerts! This is my own song é recording so I own the copyright. See base of lyric sheet for details.

This is longer than most glossaries, because I have included examples of each term. The title is just my opinion, of course! For homework, you could choose five terms and tell pupils to find their own examples of each. These could be from songs as well as poems. It is often examples we like that fix in the mind what a technique is, and even more importantly, what it can do. You could then use this Amazing Glossary in conjunction with my POETRY FLOWER. This would help pupils to keep the bigger picture in mind and not get swamped in detail.

Paul Verlaine’s ‘Le Ciel Est, Par-Dessus Le Toit…’ uses simple language to set a beautiful scene then deliver an emotional punch at the end. The text has been set out in large font with lots of space around each short verse, for pupil annotation and illustration. After studying this poem, pupils can write their own poem that a) describes a setting then b) expresses a mood or state of mind. This formula works in any combination - e.g. lovely park + murderous rage, rainy day + joyful expectation.

This works as an introduction to Shakespeare’s characters and stories for young children. It also gives older pupils the experience of working with Shakespeare&'s raw materials of character, motive and props. This makes them think about how he wrote for the stage: crucial for gaining marks in Shakespeare exams! Please read Lesson Notes to understand how it works. I have provided two of the sheets in a version with cartoons: Characters and Props. Useful if you are doing this in an MFL. The other sheets would probably need a translation on the back. Have fun! - Also, check out my YouTube Channel, “pavertutor”, for my Shakespeare Puppet videos!

Click on the links in this Word Document to websites which advise advertisers about how to use language and images to sell products. Stimulating and thought-provoking for discussion, e.g. if you copy and paste selections from the advice and give it to a class when they have begun their study of advertising and already gained some confidence in using the terms. Reading about advertising from the advertising copywriters' viewpoint is quite revealing! The list of techniques with their effects shows how adverts carefully group consumers, then make them feel like special individuals.

A practical, hands-on way to get pupils to understand that Shakespeare wrote for the stage. You can print this out and give it to pupils as an introduction to speaking Shakespeare themselves - there are examples and things to listen out for, as well as connections made with how song lyrics use imagery to convey emotion. The idea is simple: these aren't books: they&'re plays - so play with them! You may want to give this sheet out one page at a time - it&';s up to you!