The River - Valerie Bloom

The River - Valerie Bloom

Presentation of the poem to a KS3 literature class

Development

*emphasise how the rhythm of the poem can reflect the movement of a river*

Each pupil will be given a copy of the poem to follow along while the poem is read out again by volunteering pupils

Highlight metaphors and rhyming words. The pupils are then given their own time to identify and mark these on their copy of the poem and spend time reflecting on it before giving a response (something they liked about the poem or which metaphor they believe is the best and why).

Explore the metaphors in pairs - e.g. how is a river a singer?

Resources needed:

Ask the pupils to create a stanza of their own with rhymes and a metaphor which they can bring to a group setting to create a new poem. This can be added to a class anthology.

• Computer with access to the reading of, "The River" by Valerie Bloom
• https://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/river

• River images

• Sound clip of a river

The River - Valerie Bloom

Introduction

Pupils can engage with this poem through playing with the metaphorical imagery or respond to the shape, rhythm and sound of the words.

Learning Intentions

These will be verbally communicated to the pupils at the beginning of the lesson

Pupils will be able to;

• Identify rhyming words within the stanzas of the poem and recognise how these contribute to the poem's rhythm
• Understand what is meant by the term metaphor and identify metaphors used in the poem
• Create their own metaphors using Bloom's poem, class discussion and visual aids as inspiration

About the Author

"Part of the beauty of poetry is the music in the words, and a vital part of music is often the poetry in the lyrics" - Valerie Bloom

A Valerie Bloom reading is an uplifting experience, one that can coax even a shy British poetry audience into joyful participation. She moves easily around the area where poetry and song overlap, in a voice as warm in speaking as in singing.

Bloom (b. 1956) first came to England in 1979, and is now based in Kent, but continues to travel around the UK and abroad adding to her thousands of performances, workshops and school visits. Her poetry has become widely known through her books, those of her own poetry and anthologies she has edited, plus a novel, and she was commissioned to write a poem on Celebration for National Poetry Day 2002. At last count, her poetry had been printed in over 250 anthologies, as well as appearing frequently on television, stage and radio.

Begin by using the title of the poem to generate discussion about rivers, recalling different experiences and sounds. Mind map this on the board.

Show different images of rivers. Compare and contrast these as a class.

Introduce "The River" as a poem full of rhyming words and metaphors (define metaphor)

Listen to a sound clip of Valerie Bloom reading the poem

Plenary

After sorting the various stanzas in groups of 5-6 the new poems should be read aloud by a spokesperson from each group.

Each new poem will be marked by other groups

- what did/didn't they like and why?

- what metaphor was the best?

- which rhymes where the most effective?