Teaching notes and ideas
Name of resource:
Poetry terms
Age group(s)
Subject(s)
8 to11, 12 to 14, 15 to 16.
English
Topic
Language Level
Poetry (words to describe
common poetic techniques)
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
EAL Nexus
Description of resource
 Three sets of cards which can be used as pairs games, and aim to help
students learn 12 key terms to describe common poetic techniques:
o One set of poetry terms (blue)
o One set of definitions (pink)
o One set of examples (green)
 Also included is a game board
The three sets of cards are also provided in black and white in case colour printing
is not available
Preparation needed
For each group of learners you will need:




Two sets of the blue word cards
One set of the pink definition cards
One set of the green example cards
One copy of the game board. This is to use for Games 2 and 3, to give extra
support or to use as an extension/ differentiation task.
You will need to:
 Print out one copy of the word cards, one of the definition cards, one of the
example cards and one of the game board
 A black and white version of the cards is provided. If you don’t want to use a
colour printer these can be printed out on pieces of coloured card instead.
 Laminate the cards and cut them up
 The game board could also be laminated if you are asking learners to arrange
cards on it. Alternatively you could leave it as paper so learners can write on it.
Curriculum objectives
 To learn to spell 12 key poetry terms, alliteration, metaphor, onomatopoeia,
personification, power of three, repetition, rhetorical question, rhyme, rhythm,
simile, powerful nouns, powerful verbs
 To understand the meaning of these terms and be able to give examples
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014
EAL Nexus
Language / literacy objectives
Functions
Structures
 Describing
 Defining
 Asking questions
Simple present tense, ‘Alliteration is when…’
Rhyme means …
 Can you remember where…?
 What does … mean?
Vocabulary
 Poetry terms: alliteration, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, power of
three, repetition, rhetorical question, rhyme, rhythm
simile, powerful nouns, powerful verbs
 Conjunctions: and, when, with
This resource could be used:
 with the whole class as a progression set with learners
 as differentiation within class
 as independent learning to support a homework task
Ideas for using the resource
What to do
 Game 1: Pairs game (also known as Pelmanism) for learners to match word to
word, using the two sets of blue word cards. Both sets of cards should be placed
face down on a desk / table. The learner needs to pronounce the word(s) on the
cards correctly after finding the pair in order to win the pair. The winner is the
student who has the most pairs. An alternative version / extension of this game is
for the learner to have to spell the word(s) correctly in order to win the pair.
Learners could be encouraged to learn to spell the words by segmentation. One
useful strategy is to clap in time with each syllable.
 Game 2: Pairs game as Game 1 but using one set of the blue words cards and
one set of the pink definitions cards. This game could be played with the cards
either face down or face up. The learners need to match word and definition
correctly to win the pair. The game board can be used to help learners organise
their learning when they play the game.
 Game 3: Pairs game as Games 2, but using one set of the blue words card and
one set of the green example cards. Like Game 2, this game could be played
with the cards either face down or face up. The learners need to match word and
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014
EAL Nexus
example correctly to win the pair. The game board can be used for additional
support.
Other ideas for making the best use of this resource
 If possible an opportunity should be given to speak about the subject content in
their first language with another speaker of the same language. Learners who
have first language literacy could also write the translation on the ‘game board’ or
in their book. Use a bilingual dictionary if required. See Use of learners’ first
language ability, Bilingual dictionaries.
 EAL learners could be grouped with supportive peers who can provide good
models of English for them
Possible extension activities
 A version of the game could be tried using all three sets of cards where learners
have to match groups of three, i.e. word, definition and example. This could be
done with 6 or 9 words rather than 12 according to how challenging you wish to
make the activity.
 Learners could also be asked if they could think of some other examples for each
key word.
 Learners could make new example cards picking out examples from (a) specific
poems currently being studied in class, for example from AQA anthology if used.
 Writing could be set as homework for students to ‘write up’ the sentences. Give
sentence model and an example:
 _____________ is/are __________________. For example:
_____________________. E.g. Alliteration is/are when letter sounds at the
beginning of words are repeated). For example: The buzzing bee bounced.
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014