Reading and responding to 'When the Wind Blows' by John Foster
I can generate additional ideas about the wind that mirror a poem's structure.
Reading and responding to 'When the Wind Blows' by John Foster
I can generate additional ideas about the wind that mirror a poem's structure.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘When the Wind Blows’ describes the impact of the wind on the environment.
- The poem is split into 6 verses, with two lines each; the final verse has three lines.
- In the poem, repetition is used at the beginning of every other line.
- Poems can create a positive or negative impression of something through the language choices made.
- We can be inspired by a poem and create a mirrored version of it.
Keywords
Verse - a single line or a group of lines within a poem
Atmosphere - the mood created in a section or whole of a text
Repetition - the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases or structural elements that are repeated for emphasis or for a particular effect
Common misconception
Pupils may think that every poem has to include rhyme.
Rhyme does not have to be included in each poem. Should pupils wish to include rhyme, a list of rhyming words can be generated with the whole class, in line with the positive imagery.
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Reading and responding to 'When the Wind Blows' by John Foster, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Reading and responding to 'When the Wind Blows' by John Foster, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 english lessons from the Poetry inspired by weather unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the poem ‘When the Wind Blows’ which is featured on page 138 in the 2007 Oxford University Press edition of ‘The Poetry Chest’ written by John Foster for this lesson.
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions
the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases or structural elements
a question asked that does not expect an answer
describing a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a single line or a group of lines within a poem
the mood created in a section or whole of a text
the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases or structural elements