Reading and responding to 'Miss Flotsam' by Joseph Coelho
I can give a personal response to the poem and read it aloud.
Reading and responding to 'Miss Flotsam' by Joseph Coelho
I can give a personal response to the poem and read it aloud.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Joseph Coelho’s poems are easy to read and engaging, with playful rhythms and subjects that young readers can relate to.
- Joseph Coelho often writes poems about his personal experiences.
- The poem ‘Miss Flotsam’ is inspired by the teachers Coelho had when growing up and those he has met as an adult.
- The poem depicts ‘Miss Flotsam’ as a kind, understanding and caring teacher, who has an inclusive approach to teaching.
- Alliteration can be used to emphasise key themes and draw the reader’s attention to important parts of a poem.
Keywords
Alliteration - the repetition of the same sound found at the start of words that come close together
Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a text
Common misconception
Pupils may find some of the language in the poem difficult to understand.
Pre-teach some of the language in the poem before reading e.g. "adolescent", "gamelan", "dengue" and "dialects".
Equipment
You need a copy of the poem ‘Miss Flotsam’, which is in the 2014 Frances Lincoln Children's Books edition of ‘Werewolf Club Rules’ by Joseph Coelho, for this lesson.
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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