New
New
Year 2

Reading and responding to 'What Did You Do at School Today?' by James Carter

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

New
New
Year 2

Reading and responding to 'What Did You Do at School Today?' by James Carter

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

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. James Carter is a British poet who is mostly known for his entertaining poetry written for children.
  2. 'What Did You Do at School Today?’ is a humorous poem.
  3. The poem is written as a conversation between a child and their mother about what the child did at school.
  4. The poet uses a particular layout and structure in the poem to show the reader that it is a conversation.
  5. The poet starts a new verse for a new speaker and the mother’s lines are written in italic font.

Keywords

  • Mischievous - showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way

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

  • Conversation - a verbal exchange of ideas, thoughts, or information between two or more people

Common misconception

Pupils may find it hard to emphasise the different people in the conversation when reading aloud.

You may wish to act out the poem using two people so the pupils can see it performed as a conversation. Model changing your voice and using gestures to show the pupils how this has an effect.

Allow pupils to read and explore other poetry by James Carter.
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.
Humorous poetry is written to make the reader smile and ...
cry.
Correct answer: laugh.
frown.
Q2.
Robert Hull is a British writer who is mostly known for his humorous stories, poetry and books written for children.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q3.
Which of these is a humorous poem written by Robert Hull?
'Please give me more food...'
Correct answer: 'Please do not feed the animals...'
'Please stroke the animals gently...'
Q4.
'Please do not feed the animals...' uses rhyming words.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q5.
Which of these words rhymes with 'frog'?
pond
Correct answer: log
tadpole
Q6.
'Please do not feed the animals...' ends with a funny joke in which the reader is warned not to feed what to the cheetah?
their parents
Correct answer: their teacher
their friends

6 Questions

Q1.
James Carter is which of these?
Correct answer: a poet
Correct answer: a musician
a librarian
Correct answer: an author
Q2.
James Carter is known for his __________ poetry.
Correct answer: humorous
scary
adult
Q3.
Which of these national events is James Carter an ambassador for?
Correct answer: National Poetry Day
National Pet Month
Anti-Bullying Week
Q4.
Which word means 'showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way'?
rude
naughty
Correct answer: mischievous
Q5.
In the poem, which of these activities does the child say they did at school?
went swimming
Correct answer: had 22 baked beans for lunch
was awarded a certificate in assembly
Q6.
What does the child say to test if their mother is actually listening?
Correct answer: They removed their teacher's brain.
They stole their teacher's shoes.
They wore their teacher's hat.

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