My insect The world is bursting with amazing bugs! Think about all the insects you know and what makes them so special. Now think of your own bug, begin by describing your own insect like creature. Think about what it will look like? Does it have large wings like a butterfly? Does it have eight legs like a spider? Is it spotted like a ladybird? Does it have a long abdomen like a dragonfly? Is it hairy like a caterpillar? Is it shiny like a beetle? Has it got legs like a daddy long legs? Has it got lots of legs like a centipede? Draw your insect in the box below, make sure you include special features and colour choices. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2013 19067 Page 1 of 6
Now you are going to use your insect to create a series of poems about what it looks like, where it lives and what it likes to do! What is it like? What does your insect look like? How does it move? What does like to eat? What does it like to do? Think about these questions when describing your insect in a kenning. A kenning is an old Norse poetry technique. It gives an interesting description of something without giving its actual name. Below are two examples of kennings. A Pig A clumsy walker A ground shaker A mud bather A gobbling eater A pink blob A Goblin A lively dancer A whirling demon A dancing devil A scary smiler A cackling laugher List words to describe your insect Write a kenning to describe your insect www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2013 19067 Page 2 of 6
Noises! An onomatopoeic word imitates the sound it describes. In the poem below the words underlined words are onomatopoeias. The poem describes the sounds the creature is making. Crash goes the undergrowth. Thump go his feet. Snap goes a twig. Crunch goes his prey. Choose some onomatopoeic words to describe the sounds that your insect makes as it moves through its habitat. Write them below. Choose four of your favourite sound words to create a simple poem. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2013 19067 Page 3 of 6
Adding descriptions You could give more detail and description (using adjectives and adverbs) as in the poem below. It makes your work more interesting. For example: Crash goes the undergrowth as it crumbles and lies forlornly at his feet. Thump go his boots as the ground beneath him shudders. Snap goes a twig as it shatters into one thousand pieces. Crunch goes his prey as it disappears into his cavernous mouth. Now go back to your poem and add more information to make your poem more exciting. Take your basic sound poem and add some further description. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2013 19067 Page 4 of 6
Where does it live? A metaphor tells us that something is something else. For example: the moon is an onion. A simile tells us that something is like something else. For example: the wind was as sharp as a knife or the wind was like a knife cutting through her. The poems below, which describe a creature s habitat, contain some examples of metaphor and simile. Find them and underline the metaphors in red and the similes in blue. The Pond A pond is an alien world Where all is still, When like a cloud passing the sun A shadow falls. Like rats scattering for home Fish dart hither and thither Eyes gleaming Like diamonds in the early morning sunlight. A heron takes flight. The Underground World The Underground world is a midnight world. A lonely world. Deep under the earth, Black as a nightmare. The underground world lies as forgotten As a dream. A Miniature World A garden is a strange planet Where water lilies as big as flying saucers sail across a green ocean, Where trees like tall towers rise up to pierce the sky, Where birds like gigantic winged creatures patrol the heavens Or sit flat footed on earth, Or search among grasses tall as spires to find their prey, Where roses, their faces turned to the sun, are guarded by thorns as cruel as spears, Where small winged creatures tangle in nets as fine as silk. Trapped forever. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2013 19067 Page 5 of 6
Where does it live? Think about the place where your insect lives. List individual features alongside adjectives to being your description such as damp grass or dry rocks. Take each phrase and turn it into a simile or a metaphor. Descriptive phrase Create a metaphor or simile Use your collection of similes and metaphor phrases to create a poem to describe your insect s habitat. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2013 19067 Page 6 of 6