Mr Giraffe’s Rainbow Poetry Club
Find a rhyme. Make a poem. Share it.
Rhyme, rhythm and listening to each other
Become a poet and a thoughtful listener, with playful rhyme cards and a class poetry book.
Children will practise
- Hear and group words with rhyming endings.
- Compose and rehearse a short poem aloud before writing.
- Share a poem and respond kindly to a fellow poet.
Make and keep: An illustrated two-line poem for the class anthology.
KS1: English spoken language, poetry and composition; Music. Adapt the suggested connections to your setting.
How the session works
- 0–5 min · A poet needs a listener
Read page 5. Explain that Giraffe loves poetry but has no one to listen; Professor later stops working to hear him. Ask: ‘What does a good listener do?’
- 5–12 min · Catch the rhyme
Read the verse again and invite children to notice polite/night. Model two words with the same ending sound, then a non-example. Use the cat/hat/mat cards. Say the words before matching them.
- 12–20 min · Build rhyme families
Pairs or small groups sort the twelve picture cards into four families. Ask children to explain one match. Bee/tree/key demonstrates that different spellings can rhyme. A child can point while their partner names the pictures.
- 20–30 min · Make two lines
Compose ‘A little cat / Wore a hat’ together. Change a detail and say both lines again. Give out page 8: choose two rhyming words, decide what happens and rehearse a couplet. A poem can be funny or surprising; it need not tell a whole story.
- 30–40 min · Rehearse and publish
Children try a gentle beat and find a comfortable way to say the poem. Rhythm is exploratory, not a test of perfect metre. Write or dictate onto page 9, illustrate and check that the intended rhyming words can be heard.
- 40–50 min · Open the poetry club
Share in pairs or invite volunteers. Use page 10 for listening responses: ‘I enjoyed…’ or ‘My favourite word was…’. Bind poems into an anthology. Finish by recognising both poets and listeners.
Preparation & materials
You will need
- Teacher pack; one set of pages 6–7 per group; pages 8–9 per pair or child.
- Pencils, crayons and a large sheet or board for a shared poem.
- Optional: a shaker or gentle tabletop beat and an adult-operated audio recorder.
- No screen, independent reading of the story or purchased book is needed.
Before you begin
- Print cards single-sided at 100% on A4 and cut them in advance.
- Name all pictures together. Rhymes are heard: words do not have to end with the same letters.
- Choose one simple rhyme family for the shared example. Keep writing expectations suited to your class.
- Offer pair performance, a partner reader or sharing with the teacher as alternatives to a whole-class recital.
Support, stretch & learning checks
Support and access
- Begin with two picture choices and say each word clearly.
- Offer the spoken frame ‘A little ___ / Wore a ___’ with cat and hat.
- Allow an adult to scribe, a partner to read or a child to point to their rhyme pair.
- Rehearse in a small group; public performance is optional.
Take it further
- Try a different rhyme family or an invented word and explain its sound.
- Add a second couplet or choose a more precise describing word.
- Try two ways of saying the poem and explain which suits it better.
Listen and look for
- Can the child identify a rhyming pair by listening?
- Can they contribute to and rehearse a short poem?
- Can they name something they enjoyed in another child’s poem?
Bring the story to life together.
These workshops can be led by your teacher or developed into an author visit with D. C. R. James. Tell us your year groups, pupil numbers and what you would like to explore.
Session length, group sizes, accessibility requirements and the timetable are agreed with the school before booking. Optional signed-book orders can be discussed.