KS3 · English

Writing a poem about a place

You decide when the reader finds out what you love most about home. Save it for last and they have to wait. You can plan that before writing a word.

English · Reading a model poem

Read it like a poet

An invented model poem about home, written for this lesson. Tap each underlined phrase to see the choice and what it does for you.

The flat is a beehive of doors and stairs.
Buses growl past, the kettle sings,
and our street is a long grey ribbon
that I could walk with my eyes shut.

But Nan's garden runs on and on, green
to the river, where the evening slows to gold
and the whole sky leans over the fence
to listen. And at the very end of it,
under the walnut tree, my swing:
the place where I feel most like me.

Invented model poem, written for this lesson

Seven underlined choices: some are about structure, some are about language. Try them in any order.

Reading “The flat is a beehive of doors and stairs”

Metaphor

What to notice

The flat is not literally a beehive. The words go beyond their literal meaning to give you a picture.

Effect

You can picture a place packed with doors and stairs. That is figurative language helping you visualise where the speaker lives.

Focused phrase “The flat is a beehive of doors and stairs”. technique Metaphor. The flat is not literally a beehive. The words go beyond their literal meaning to give you a picture.. effect: You can picture a place packed with doors and stairs. That is figurative language helping you visualise where the speaker lives.

Watch out: Don't stop at naming the choice. The useful bit is what it does for the reader.

English · What makes a poem mean something?

Which idea is closest to yours?

You've just read the model poem about home. Now think about how you'd write your own.

What matters most when you make a poem mean something?

The words are the only thing that matters. The rest is just how it looks on the page.Structure can be planned before I write, and it helps tell my story alongside the words.Structure just means how many lines a poem has.A poem about where I live just needs to describe the place. How I feel about it is optional.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

The words are the only thing that matters. The rest is just how it looks on the page.

This is a common misconception

It's tempting, because the words are what you read. But structure can be planned to aid meaning. In the model poem, two stanzas set two places side by side, and the favourite part waits till the very end. Those choices help tell the story as much as the words do.

Structure can be planned before I write, and it helps tell my story alongside the words.

This matches the evidence

Yes. Structure is important and can help tell your story, so it isn't true that the most important thing in a poem is the words. You can plan stanzas, punctuation, the order of your ideas and, if you want one, a rhyme scheme.

Structure just means how many lines a poem has.

This is a common misconception

Close, but that's not the idea. Structure is the way a poem is arranged. It can mean the number of stanzas, whether there is a rhyme scheme, and the order the ideas come in. It's about arrangement, not a line count.

A poem about where I live just needs to describe the place. How I feel about it is optional.

This is a common misconception

A poem about home should clearly express your attitude towards the place you live. Poems can be a great vehicle for your personal story and identity, so your feelings are part of the job.

Words matter, and so does arrangement. Plan the structure before you write, and let it help tell your story.

English · Pace and tone

Version A: plenty of pausesvsVersion B: lines that run on

Read each version aloud (or in your head). Where do you slow down? Where do you speed up?

Focus

The stanza (an invented one about a walk to the shop)

Version A: plenty of pauses

I step outside. The street is quiet. Gran waves. The shop door opens. The bell rings. I run in, I run out, I run all the way home.

Version B: lines that run on

I step outside and the street is quiet and Gran waves from her door as the shop door opens and the bell rings and I run in and out and all the way home

The insight

Same moments, set out differently. Only the punctuation and where the lines end have changed.

Punctuation and line endings

Version A: plenty of pauses

Full stops and commas. The reader pauses at the end of most lines.

Version B: lines that run on

Hardly any punctuation. Each line runs on into the next (enjambment).

Pace and tone

Version A: plenty of pauses

A more predictable pace.

Version B: lines that run on

A faster pace, and potentially a tone of excitement.

English · Order of ideas

Put them in order

The order the reader should meet these ideas in a poem about a home. Your favourite part of that home is the back garden.

1 · Meet it first5 · Meet it last

The smell of toast in the kitchen
The back garden: my favourite part
Walking down the street
The hallway, with coats on every hook
Opening the front door

English · Two kinds of choice

Structure or language?

Is each choice about how the poem is arranged, or about the words that make pictures in the reader's mind?

Still to sort

Structural choice (0)

How the poem is arranged.

Where the line is: Structure is the way a poem is arranged: stanzas, rhyme scheme, order of ideas, and the punctuation you plan.

Language choice (0)

Words that create images in the reader's mind.

Where the line is: Imagery and figurative language are about the words themselves, used to create images in the reader's mind.

7 of 7 still to sort.

English · Your turn

Write your own

Plan and write a short poem (about 6 to 10 lines) about a place that matters to you. Before you write, decide how many stanzas you'll use, what the reader will meet last, and where the poem should speed up. [5 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

The poem clearly expresses an attitude to the place (whatever attitude you chose). (1 mark)
You chose a number of stanzas and can give a reason (for example, one stanza for one place, or two to show two parts). (1 mark)
The ideas are in a deliberate order (for example, your favourite part kept for the end). (1 mark)
Punctuation or run-on lines are used on purpose to control pace (for example, fewer pauses to speed a part up). (1 mark)
At least one image or figurative phrase helps the reader picture the place. (1 mark)

Model answer

Plan: one stanza, because the poem is about one place, Dad's allotment. Favourite part last: the sunflower den. Run-on lines near the end to speed up. Dad's allotment is a patchwork quilt of mud and green. The carrots hide. The shed door creaks hello. Every cane leans in to share a secret with the wind that smells of rain and cut grass and tomatoes but best of all, right at the back, the sunflowers build a yellow den where nobody can find me and I would not swap it for anywhere.

Plan the shape first (stanzas, order, pace), then choose words that make pictures. Your attitude to the place is yours.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

What you need to know

A poem about home should clearly show your attitude to the place you live.
Poems are a great way to tell your own story and show who you are.
Structure is how a poem is arranged: its number of stanzas, any rhyme scheme, and the order of its ideas.
Have a goOdd one out: number of stanzas, rhyme scheme, order of ideas, or the word "shimmering"?
The word "shimmering".
Stanzas, rhyme scheme and order of ideas are all about how the poem is arranged. One word choice isn't about arrangement.
You can plan structure before you write: stanzas, punctuation, order of ideas, and a rhyme scheme if you want one.
Structure helps tell your story, so it isn't true that the words are the only thing that matters.
Put your favourite part of home last. The reader waits to learn what matters most, which builds excitement and curiosity.
Have a goMaya writes about her gran's kitchen. She opens with her favourite bit, the cinnamon buns, then lists the rest. What has she thrown away?
The wait. The best bit comes first, so nothing is left to build excitement at the end.
Saving your favourite part for last makes the reader wait to learn what matters most. Put it first and the wait disappears.
More pauses give a more predictable pace. Enjambment and less punctuation make it faster, potentially with a tone of excitement.
Choose your stanzas to suit your focus: two to show two parts of home and identity, one for one place.
Juxtaposition places two things together for contrast, so a poem can set two places side by side to show how different they are.
Have a goYour poem has a roaring fairground in one half and a silent beach in the other. How many stanzas suit it, and what's it called to set them side by side?
Two stanzas, and it's juxtaposition.
Two stanzas can show two parts of home and identity. Placing the two places together for contrast shows how different they are.
Imagery is visually descriptive language. Figurative language, like metaphor and personification, uses words beyond their literal meaning. Both help the reader picture a place.

The big picture

A poem about a place should clearly express your attitude to it. You can plan its structure (stanzas, order of ideas, punctuation, a rhyme scheme if you choose) before you write, and combine it with imagery and figurative language so the reader can picture the place and feel what it means to you.

Key points

1A poem about home should clearly express your attitude towards the place you live, and poems can express your personal story and identity.

2Structure is the way a poem is arranged. It can mean the number of stanzas, whether it has a rhyme scheme, and the order of its ideas. You can plan these, and the punctuation, before you write.

3Structure aids meaning. It is not true that the most important thing in a poem is the words.

4Describing your favourite part of home at the end builds excitement and curiosity, because the reader has to wait to learn what matters most.

5More pauses give a more predictable pace; enjambment and less punctuation create a faster pace and potentially a tone of excitement.

6Imagery is visually descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind. Figurative language uses words beyond their literal meaning to do the same; metaphor and personification are examples.

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Worked example

Problem

Plan, without writing it yet, a short poem about your local park. You love it, and you want the reader to feel why.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking the words are the only thing that matters. Structure can be planned to aid meaning, so decide your stanzas, your order of ideas and your punctuation before you write.

🧠

Memory hook

Before you write: shape it (how many stanzas?), order it (what comes last?), pace it (where should it speed up?), then paint it (what will the reader picture?).

✓

Check yourself

Cover the page. Name three choices you can plan before writing a poem about a place, and say what each one does for the reader.

Flashcards

(12)

What should a poem about home clearly express?

Your attitude towards the place you live.

Why are poems a good way to write about home?

They can be a great vehicle to express your personal story and identity.

What is structure?

The way something is arranged. In a poem it can mean the number of stanzas, whether there is a rhyme scheme, and the order of the ideas.

Name four structural elements you can plan before you write.

The number of stanzas, the punctuation, the order of your ideas, and a rhyme scheme if you choose to have one.

Is the most important thing in a poem the words?

No. Structure is important too and can help tell your story.

Why describe your favourite part of home at the end?

The reader has to wait until the end to learn what matters most to you, which builds excitement and curiosity.

What do more pauses do to a stanza's pace?

They give it a more predictable pace.

What do enjambment and less punctuation create?

A faster pace, and potentially a tone of excitement.

One place, or two parts of home: how many stanzas?

One stanza for a poem focused on one place; two stanzas to show two parts of home and identity.

What is imagery?

Visually descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind.

What is figurative language?

Words used beyond their literal meaning to create images in the reader's mind. Metaphor and personification are examples.

What is juxtaposition?

Two things placed together for contrasting effect. A writer may juxtapose two places to show how different they are.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Read it like a poet

Which idea is closest to yours?

Put them in order

Structure or language?

Write your own

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