Who would ever think to go to sea in a sieve? Only Edward Lear's Jumblies! The poem "The Jumblies" is the inspiration for these poetry reading and writing activities that ask learners to think about how strangers are different, consider rhythm and other poetic elements, and compose their own silly poems.

Concepts

poetry writing, poetry, rhythm, similes, diversity, strangers, reading poetry, edward lear

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

english language arts

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• After kids are done with their poems, ask them to illustrate one of the silly scenes
• Hold a poetry reading during which young writers can show of their work

Classroom Considerations

• As the lesson suggests, you may need to adapt the reading and writing activities based on the level of your class; for example, you may want kids to write the poem individually, with a partner, or as a class

Pros

• Provides two poem templates that pupils can use to compose their own nonsense poems
• Comes with a copy of the entire poem for study
• Includes several different activities that you can use to lead up to the more complex tasks

Cons

• None