English lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 30 minutes
Poems: rhyme, rhythm and repeated lines
Reading Comprehension
CCSS RL.2.4England: Y2 Reading (poetry)England: KS1 SATs Reading
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Poems: rhyme, rhythm and repeated lines.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Rhyming words
Leads to: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features
Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Rhyming words). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which word rhymes with "tug"? (hug / tan / ten / cub) → hugPrompt: Rhyming words sound the same at the end.
- Three of these words rhyme: mad, let, pad, sad. Which word does NOT rhyme? (mad / let / pad / sad) → letPrompt: Say each word and listen to how it ends.
- Write a word that rhymes with "van". Change only the first letter. → canPrompt: Keep the ending "-an".
Hook · 3 min
- Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
- Share the objective: Poems: rhyme, rhythm and repeated lines. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Down in the garden, under a stone, Lives a little beetle all alone. He has no sister, he has no brother, Just a tiny shiny beetle mother. Which word rhymes with 'stone'?
- Step 1: Poets use rhyme, rhythm and repeated words to make poems fun to read aloud.
- Step 2: So the answer is: alone
- Answer: alone
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Down in the garden, under a stone, Lives a little beetle all alone. He has no sister, he has no brother, Just a tiny shiny beetle mother. Which word rhymes with 'stone'? (beetle / alone / garden / little) → alonePrompt: Rhyming words have the same sound at the end: cat, hat.
- Read the question. What is the beat you can clap along to in a poem? (rhythm / full stop / rhyme / title) → rhythmPrompt: Think about poems and songs you know.
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Five little frogs on a speckled log, One jumped in with a splash and a bog. Four little frogs on a speckled log, One jumped in and swam through the fog. Which line is repeated with only a small change? (a splash and a bog / swam through the fog / Five / Four little frogs on a speckled log / One jumped in with a splash) → Five / Four little frogs on a speckled logPrompt: Rhyming words have the same sound at the end: cat, hat.
- Read the question. What is the beat you can clap along to in a poem? (rhyme / title / rhythm / full stop) → rhythmPrompt: Think about poems and songs you know.
Watch out for
- Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
- Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Rhyming words.
- Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-2.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder