New
New
Year 3
Learning how to write a kenning poem about big and small objects
I can understand what a kenning poem is and how to write one.
New
New
Year 3
Learning how to write a kenning poem about big and small objects
I can understand what a kenning poem is and how to write one.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Kennings are phrases of two words that refer to a noun, often used in poetry.
- Kennings can describe an object without ever saying what it actually is.
- Kennings can provoke the reader's curiosity.
- A kenning poem is like a riddle.
Keywords
Kennings - phrases of two words that replace a noun and are often used in poetry
Riddle - a type of poem that works like a puzzle
Common misconception
Pupils may find it hard to come up with their own ideas for kennings.
Brainstorm ideas about their object first (as shown in LC2), then support them to transfer these ideas into kennings.
Kennings can be written with and without hyphens between the two words, but for this lesson we will model the use of the hyphen.
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
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
How many syllables are in the words 'primary school'?
3
5
6
Q2.
True or false? There is no rhyme scheme in a haiku.
Q3.
Traditionally, what are haikus written about?
machinery
cities
food
Q4.
True or false? The first line in a haiku will contain seven syllables.
Q5.
Which of these could be the first line of a haiku?
Dark clouds above,
Dark and heavy clouds high above,
Q6.
Which line in a haiku could this be? 'Raindrops falling to the ground,'
line 1
line 3
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
True or false? Riddles work like puzzles. They describe something without saying directly what it is.
Q2.
Kenning poems are just like __________ and they hint at the subject of a poem rather than telling the reader.
reports
haikus
Q3.
How many words are used in a kenning?
one
three
Q4.
What piece of punctuation is often used to join the two words together in a kenning?
comma
apostrophe
Q5.
Which of these kennings could be used to refer to the noun 'snake'?
slithery
bamboo-eater
Q6.
Which suffix is often used for the second word in a kenning?
-ed
-ing