“The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear
Early ES / LA
Animal, Beauty, Language, Love, Poetry
Discuss with students the distinction between poetry and prose. Share examples and
list on the board the ways in which poetry is different from prose. Work toward a class
definition of poetry and note it for further reflection post-seminar.
Distribute “The Owl and the Pussycat.” Have students examine it without reading it.
Read it once aloud and discuss whether or not it fits the class definition of poetry. Have
students number the lines within each of the poem’s three stanzas - for ready reference
during the seminar. (Consider also dividing the class into three groups and having them
count the sentences - not lines - in each stanza. Total the number of sentences.)
Read the poem aloud a second time slowly, while students follow on their copies of the
text - raising their hands whenever you come to a word they don’t recognize (be sure to
include tarried, mince, quince, runcible).
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Share that Edward Lear (1812-1888) was an English artist, musician, and poet, and is
known mostly for his nonsense in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks. As an
author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs,
stories, and alphabets.
List the unfamiliar words on the board and provide the definitions for the students. Have
the students work in pairs to practice using each of the unfamiliar words in conversation
until they are comfortable with all the terms. Note that runcible is a word that Lear made
up just for fun; based on the context, discuss what it might mean.
Consider creating a “Padlet” with your students on the (interactive) whiteboard to
capture specific definitions. Padlet Directions:
1. Go to the Padlet site.
2. Create a free account.
3. Click on Create New Padlet.
4. Modify the wall by clicking on the gear icon.
5. Ask students to share vocabulary that is difficult.
6. Double click anywhere on the Padlet wall to add a new post.
7. Type the vocabulary word as the title.
8. Open another tab and go to a dictionary site (perhaps a children's dictionary
such as Wordsmyth - http://kids.wordsmyth.net/we/). Copy the definition.
9. Return to the Padlet tab and paste the definition on the post where it says
"Write something."
Divide the class into three groups and assign one stanza to each group. After reading
the poem aloud for a third time, have the students in each group draw black-and-white
illustrations for the assigned stanzas (Note: we’ll add color later).
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 What would be a good title for this poem based on what happens to the
owl and the pussycat (three words or less)? (round-robin response)
 What part of the text made you choose that title? (spontaneous
discussion)
 Which lines are repeated in “The Owl and the Pussycat”? (Where do those
lines fit in each stanza?) Why do you think the poet repeated those lines?
 Why do you think the poet chose to use animals as the characters in his
poem? Why do you think he chose the animals he did?
 Why do you think the poet chose to use such odd words (mince and
quince)? Why do you think he used made-up words like runcible?
 Many stories and poems attempt to teach us something. Does “The Owl
and the Pussycat” try to teach us anything? If so, what? If not, why not?
 How does “The Owl and the Pussycat” make you feel? Based on this
poem, what do you think poetry does for us?
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Now, have students go back to their pre-seminar sketches of the three stanzas of “The
Owl and the Pussycat.” Have them finish their drawings using what they said, heard,
and thought during the seminar. Invite them to add color to their drawings.
What does poetry do for us? After reading “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear,
write a paragraph for other students in your school in which you define poetry and
explain what it does for us. Support your response with evidence from the texts.
(Informational or Explanatory/Define)
(LDC Task#: 10 )
As a class, brainstorm a list of ideas (and words) that students can use to write their
paragraphs. Post both the ideas and words on the class word wall or interactive
whiteboard for student use while writing.
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Distribute a template for students to use (that starts with the class definition of poetry if
students need that scaffolding) and the number of sentences you want them to write to
fill out the paragraph.
Have students write their paragraphs and then read them to a partner. Assist students
in transferring ideas and words from the board to their paragraphs as needed.
Have students work in pairs to add details from “The Owl and the Pussycat” to their
paragraphs.
After editing by the teacher, have students copy over their paragraphs for publication,
stressing what a finished paragraph looks like.
Create a display in the classroom or hallway that features the three stanzas of the poem
surrounded by the student drawings. Also display in a complementary book or by
posting separately the final paragraphs written by your students. Invite other classes
from the same grade level to tour the display with your students as guides.
Terry Roberts
National Paideia Center
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“The Owl and the Pussycat”
Edward Lear
I
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
II
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-Tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
III
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
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They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171941 )
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