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Regular news and insight from our many poets, writers, educators and facilitators

16 March 2024

Posted by By Sue Edser

Rhyming and Rhythm

Junior Writers


This was the first session since the Community Showcase last week and everyone

chatted about how it had gone. They all agreed they had done extremely well and

enjoyed it.


Today’s session focused on rhyming and rhythm. Ali introduced the concept of

‘scanning’, to feel the rhythm of a poem. The group explored this through ‘The Cat

Sat on the Mat’, to understand the beats and they made up new endings to the lines.


Ali recited examples of cautionary tales, about someone being naughty, what they

did, and what happened to make them change, ending with the resolution of the

story.


Ali asked for examples of naughty things children did and there was a long list! They

chose one to focus on for a group poem. They worked hard on this, creating a

cautionary tale about a boy called Bob, who was a slob, demonstrated through his

untidy bedroom. You can see their masterpiece in the photos.


The Junior Writers were then challenged to write their own cautionary tale, which

they shared with the group.


The session ended with a fun game, the Rhyming River. Everyone stood in a circle

and Ali started with a sentence, which anyone could continue with a rhyme, building

on a story.


Young Writers


The group began by sharing how the Community Showcase had been for them last
week. Ali praised them all for reading so well and emphasised this is an important
skill to have as a writer.


Ali wanted the session today to be light-hearted after all their recent hard work. The
focus was on rhyming and rhythm, with Ali introducing the concept of ‘scanning’,
which is the rhythm or beat of a poem. The group explored this through different
examples to understand the concept.


They chose a song they all knew, Carly Rae Jepson’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ to use as a
base beat and wrote their own version, rhyming and scanning as they went. The
poems were vast ranging and unique!


Ali recited examples of cautionary tales, which tend to be someone being naughty,
what they did, and what happened to make them change, ending with the resolution
of the story.


Ali asked for examples of naughty things children and young people did, which the
group took as inspiration for their collective cautionary tale. They decided it would be
about a girl called Ermintrude who was forever in a teenage mood. Take a look at the
photos to see the completed poem.


The Young Writers then chose to finish with a fun game of consequences. They
included characters called Babs McBabsyface, wearing poker dot bikinis and being
teleported by evil wizards.


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