Ludicrous Limericks and Random Rhymes

This week in our Forest School the children were asked to create limericks or nonsense poetry about Owls, and then share them in a variety of ways.

Before going outside, we read the Owl and the Pussycat and some of Edward Lear’s owl based limericks and discussed the humour often found in this type of verse. We looked at where the rhyming words often sit in a verse and how to structure a limerick, in particular the rhyming couplets and that the last line should refer to the first. Working in teams they created their poems and limericks and once they had the first good draft, they were encouraged to practice their work aloud to make sure they had the correct flow and that it made sense (all be it silly sense).

They then made their owls and props for their poem using clay and any natural materials that they found around them. Once all creatures and props were completed and set them up in a “scene”, they then read out their poems to the class whilst their team used the props to act it out. The field was filled with the sound of children’s laughter all afternoon. The poems were then shared again back in class where the children decided on their favourite lines, which poems were more exciting and the difference that a range of vocabulary makes.

The poems will be written up in our Forest School so that other children can enjoy them and perhaps be inspired to write some poetry of their own.