*OTUBOU
QPFN

(Write how you moved or travelled, e.g. walked

hurriedly, wandered slowly, flew like a bird.)

(Say where you went, e.g. down by the river, into

class.)

(Use the gerund form of a verb of seeing, e.g.

glancing at, noticing, gazing at.)

(Describe what you saw. Include at least one

adjective and noun, e.g. scraps of old newspaper,
some smartly-dressed teenagers.)

(Use a gerund form to say more about what you

saw, e.g. floating on the water, arguing loudly.)

(Use a comparison to say what this looked or

sounded like, e.g. It looked like the sky at night.
Their voices echoed like an explosion.)

(Say what you thought or how this made you feel,

e.g. This made me think of my home town. I felt
happy.)

(Choose your own closing line.)

(Now go back and give your poem a name.)

)FSF
JT
BO
FYBNQMF
PG
B
QPFN
GPMMPXJOH
UIJT
TUSVDUVSF

At the zoo
I wandered around the boating pool at the park
Noticing
the young children
Queuing by the ice cream stall.
They sounded like small birds fighting for food.
Suddenly I thought of my own children far away.
I ran to a bench and searched eagerly for my phone.

Photocopiable Learning Teaching Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2011. This page may be photocopied for use in class.

Advanced Teacher's Notes.indd 24 11/16/10 1:02 PM

 12 Instant poem
Activity
Individual. Students do a guided-writing exercise to write
a poem.

Focus
Vocabulary: descriptive verbs.

Preparation
Photocopy one worksheet for each student.

Procedure
• Ask students how they feel about writing poems. (Don’t
worry if you get a number of negative or uninterested
responses.) Explain that writing poetry can be very
enjoyable and that you can help them to write one.
• Hand out one worksheet to each student. Take some
time to make sure they are clear how it works, i.e. each
instruction guides them to write a part of the poem. You
could do an example first line together. Make use of the
example poem at the bottom of the page to show what a
completed poem might look like.
• While students work, monitor and help with language
questions. Aim to be encouraging about their work. If
possible, also write a poem yourself using the framework.
(Students are likely to find this reassuring.)
• When students have finished, allow them to share poems
with others (if they want to). Some students will probably
be keen to read theirs aloud to the class. (N.B. Some
people may be embarrassed about others reading their
‘creative writing’.)

Advanced Teacher's Notes.indd 25 11/16/10 1:02 PM