Lyric Poetry Lesson Plan
for 11-18 Year-Olds
Optional Activity
Learning Objectives (Slide 2)
Lesson Intention
• Learn about lyric poems
• To use students’ knowledge to plan, draft and compose their
own poem for the Busta Rhyme competition
• Look at rhyming and non-rhyming poetry
• Incorporate reading, writing, speaking and listening elements of
the curriculum
Preparation
• Bookmark the links (available at our website) to our ‘About Busta
Rhyme’ video, which introduces the activity to students, as well
as:
‘Is it OK to be Different?’ by Mark Grist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_GUQQadwrM
‘Hate’ by Hollie McNish
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5-BNFKkz9M
Both videos deal with important issues. Mark’s poem looks
at image and how beauty is portrayed while Hollie’s poem
covers racism, homophobia, prejudice and stereotypes.
• Each student will need an entry form to complete with their
name and age before attaching to their entry. You can photocopy
entry forms, request more to be posted to you or download them
at our website:
www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/busta-rhyme
• Please note, you can watch the videos as a class, individually at
computers or in groups. It’s a flexible activity that you can tailor
to your class’ needs and requirements.
Introduction (slide 3)
Ask your class if they can explain what a ‘lyric’ is. Explain to them that several forms of poetry are lyrical such as ballads, odes and
sonnets, and that a lyrical poem nowadays usually refers to a poem that expresses personal feelings. Advise students that today they will
be writing a poem for the Busta Rhyme poetry competition.
Activity
Name
Slide
Reference
Activity Details
Ask your students to watch the ‘About Busta Rhyme’ video, which introduces the activity to them.
Ask students if they can name any poetic techniques and give examples, such as simile, metaphor,
rhythm, meter etc.
Now students watch ‘Is it OK to be Different?’ by Mark Grist and they need to write notes on any
techniques they think are used in the poem. The poem uses imagery, rhythm, rhyme and repetition
– can students identify how Mark used these techniques in his poem? Can they identify any other
techniques used?
Main Teaching
Activity
(30 minutes)
4-13
E.g.
Imagery: Mark uses objects such as apples and snowflakes to represent humans.
Rhythm: Mark combines stressed syllables (long sounding) with unstressed syllables (short
sounding).
Rhyme: Mark uses internal rhyme (“Differences in production lines, I guess that’s fine for cogs
and screws and scaffolding poles”) and rhyming couplets (e.g. “Exact same figure, this one is a little
bigger”).
Repetition: Mark repeats words such as ‘apples’, ‘snowflakes’, ‘ones’ etc throughout the poem.
Now ask students, what do they like about the poem and how does it make them feel?
Next, repeat the activity with ‘Hate’ by Hollie McNish.
Hollie’s poem also uses imagery, rhythm, rhyme and repetition – can students identify how Hollie used
these techniques in her poem? Can they identify any other techniques used?
Main Teaching Activity is continued over the page
Website: www.youngwriters.co.uk Email: [email protected]
Activity
Name
Slide
Reference
Activity Details
E.g.
Imagery: Hollie sets a scene for each character in her poem – where they are, what they are doing
etc.
Rhythm: Hollie also combines stressed syllables (long sounding) with unstressed syllables (short
sounding).
Rhyme: Hollie uses internal rhyme (“Tells his son to attack, so Jake goes out seeing black with a
knife in his bag” or “the book of the Taliban gangs”).
Repetition: Hollie repeats words such as ‘hate’, ‘believes’ and ‘knife’ throughout the poem.
Hollie also uses a technique called ‘circular ending’ in her narrative poem – this is where Hollie has
told a story with her poem and the actions of the characters link with the beginning and alter their preexisting everyday life.
Now ask students, what do they like about the poem and how does it make them feel?
Main Teaching
Activity
Continued
How do the poems compare? Which do students prefer? Why?
4-13
(30 minutes)
Discuss with students how rhythm and rhyme are used in each poem. Rhyme doesn’t have to be
used in their work – it’s better to have a non-rhyming poem that is written well than a rhyming piece
where rhymes are forced so words jumble in sentences and the poet’s message is therefore lost in
translation!
Now, recap with students that a lyrical poem expresses personal feelings about something the poet
feels passionate about. That could be anything from a hobby or a person to the suffering and injustice
in this world. What matters to your students? Can they write a poem that voices their opinion using
poetic techniques to make the reader understand their passion and feel the power of their words?
What will inspire their poem? Discuss ideas such as justice, current affairs, environment, identity,
education, image, politics, society, equal rights etc. This is a great opportunity for students to
showcase their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Now the class has a feel for different poetry styles and subjects ask them to write their own lyric
poem. They can use any poetic form from odes and rhymes to free verse. The aim is for each student
to write their own poem that is descriptive, contemporary and expresses their personal feelings on
a subject they care about. We appreciate being a teen is a difficult time, heavy with emotion and
that this tends to inspire ‘dark’ poetry, but where possible we would encourage the poem to turn the
negative into a positive.
Plenary
(10 minutes)
14
This is a 10 minute activity. Once students have written their own poem ask them to work in pairs. They
are to read their poem to their partner. Their partner is to provide feedback; something they liked about
the poem and a suggestion on how to improve.
To extend the activity ask students to redraft, copy up and illustrate their poem.
Differentiation
• For less able students, discuss and agree their poem’s subject and also provide a selection of poetry techniques to be included, such as
imagery, meter, tone and rhyming couplets.
• To challenge students who have a flair for language, poetry writing and technical ability, suggest a poetic form they have to use or ask
them to write a monosyllabic poem. Alternatively, suggest they write their poem from the viewpoint of someone else, still using the lyric
poem idea.
Notes
• This is a one-hour activity. Alternatively, introductory work can be done in class (20-30 minutes) and the poem can be written as
homework.
Don’t forget, you can request further entry forms and posters are sent to you, simply email your
requirements and contact details to [email protected]!