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Primary English · Year 5Chapter 9 · Reading poetry and plays
Year 5 English · Reading poetry and plays · Lesson 9.5

Year 5 English: Learning a poem by heart and performing a scene

Part of the Year 5 English reading poetry and plays chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

9.5

Learning a poem by heart and performing a scene

Year 5
Prepare poems and play scripts to read aloud and perform, and discuss words and phrases (RC1f, RC1g, SL3)
Story. Ruby wants to perform one stanza of The Last Bus Home at the assembly. She reads it slowly, marks the places to pause, and learns it stanza by stanza. Before she performs, she checks each word she is not sure of.

Preparing a performance

Read the poem aloud several times. Notice the rhythm and where the lines end.

Mark pauses with a slash (/) where the reader should stop for a moment.

Learn one stanza at a time, then join them together.

Key ideas

  • Learn a poem by heart in short parts, one stanza at a time.
  • Think about the mood and what each word means, so you can say it with feeling.
  • Choose a clear voice and a steady pace.
  • Practise until you can say it without looking at the page.
Worked example 9.5.1
Where should a reader pause in the line The driver hums a song of rain?

Method. Think about the natural break in the sentence.

  1. Find the break. The phrase a song of rain follows hums.
    after hums
  2. Choose the pause. A short pause after hums keeps the rhythm.
    after hums
  3. Write the answer.
    after hums

Check. After hums. ✓

Worked example 9.5.2
Which word would you say most slowly in The engine sighs to create a calm mood?

Method. Think about which word gives the mood.

  1. Look at the word. Sighs is a soft, long sound.
    soft
  2. Choose. Saying sighs slowly builds the calm mood.
    sighs
  3. Write the answer.
    sighs

Check. Sighs. ✓

Worked example 9.5.3
In a scene, how should Maya say Yes, Dad?

Method. Look at the stage direction.

  1. Find the direction. The direction says sighing, quietly.
    sighing, quietly
  2. Write the answer. Maya says it with a sigh, quietly.
    with a sigh, quietly
  3. Write the answer.
    with a sigh, quietly

Check. With a sigh, quietly. ✓

Exercise 9E  Practice: performing and discussing

1
FHow many stanzas will you learn for a performance of The Last Bus Home if you learn the whole poem?
2
FWhere should you pause in The town slides past, a sleepy train?
3
FWhich word of the first stanza is the rhyme for own?
4
FIn a play, what should an actor do after (MR OKAFOR enters from the back room)?
5
PSWhich word in Storm Kitchen would you say loudly to match the sound?
6
PSWhy might you pause before a line that begins with a sudden sound?
7
PSWhat mood does a steady rhythm create in The Last Bus Home?
8
RChoose one line from a poem you know well and say why a pause after it helps the meaning.
9
RAsk one question you could ask a friend about the scene, to check their understanding.

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