New
New
Year 2

Reading and responding to 'Please do not feed the animals...' by Robert Hull

I can give a personal response to the poem and read it aloud.

New
New
Year 2

Reading and responding to 'Please do not feed the animals...' by Robert Hull

I can give a personal response to the poem and read it aloud.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Robert Hull is a British writer who is mostly known for his stories, poetry and books written for children.
  2. ‘Please do not feed the animals…’ is a humorous poem that reminds children of what not to feed the animals.
  3. This poem uses unexpected rhyming words at the end of each line to create humour.
  4. When we read aloud, we can use our voice to put emphasis on the rhyming words to convey the humour.

Keywords

  • Humorous - something that makes a person laugh or smile because it is funny or silly

  • Rhyme - the similarity of sounds between the ending syllables of words

Common misconception

Pupils may think that words can only rhyme if they are spelled the same.

Teach pupils that sometimes words have different spellings at the end, but can still be rhyming words as they make the same sound.

This poem could be the inspiration for a fun take-home task where children have to come up with other ideas of things that should not be fed to different animals.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Who illustrated most of Allan Ahlberg's books?
his friend Lucy
himself
Correct answer: his wife Janet
Q2.
Which of these is a book written by Allan Ahlberg?
'Matilda'
'The BFG'
Correct answer: 'Funnybones'
Q3.
Allan Ahlberg's poem 'Please Mrs Butler' is written as a conversation between a child and their ...
mother.
father.
Correct answer: teacher.
uncle.
Q4.
In the poem 'Please Mrs Butler', what is the first name of the child that is being complained about?
Daniel
David
Correct answer: Derek
Q5.
What does the teacher tell the child to do with their rubber?
rub their work out with it
Correct answer: swallow it
throw it in the playground
Q6.
Which of these is a thing that the child accuses Derek of doing?
sitting in the child's seat
eating the child's snack
Correct answer: calling the child unkind "names"

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? Robert Hull is a British writer who is mostly known for his humorous stories, poetry and books written for children.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q2.
What is the name of Robert Hull's poem about not feeding animals?
'Animals do not like...'
'Animals should never eat...'
Correct answer: 'Please do not feed the animals...'
Q3.
The poem 'Please do not feed the animals...' uses which of these poetic techniques?
personification
similes
Correct answer: rhyme
Q4.
True or false? Rhyme in poetry is the similarity of sounds between the ending syllables of words.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q5.
True or false? Words can only rhyme if they have the same ending sounds and they're spelled the same.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q6.
What is the reader warned against feeding to a cheetah in an unexpected and humorous twist at the end of the poem 'Please do not feed the animals...'?
their pet
Correct answer: their teacher
their best friend

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