Fowl Language

A learning resource from The British Hen Welfare Trust

Literacy at the hen house

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Thank you for downloading this resource pack. We hope you will find it useful.

We’ve produced these resource to help your pupils explore the issues around egg production while developing new skills across the curriculum and applying them to real life situations.

We love hearing from schools who have used our resources! If you have feedback, comments or suggestions that you’d like to share then please email them to learning@bhwt.co.uk We love seeing your photos and artwork too!

Using this pack...

Creative writing

Sharing a story

Discussion or debate

In this pack you will find a selection of lesson plans each with background notes, a resource list, and suggestions for extending the activities. Look out for the icons found throughout the pack to see what kind of activities or skills each element of the lesson plan supports. For example:

All activity sheets, resource sheets and supporting resources can be found at the back of the pack.

This is one of six resource packs. You can find the others, together with guidance on keeping your own school hens and other useful resources, on our website: www.bhwt.co.uk

Welcome

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Postcards to HandaMondi’s StoryMissing SpeechmarksA Visit to Noisy FarmThe Battery Hen by Pam AyresIn me box I’m satWriting a haikuWriting a shape poemIdiom cardsSpeaking Figuratively

What’s inside?Handa’s HenFor EYFS to KS2

In this lesson pupils share the story of Handa’s missing hen then practice their use of speech marks and descriptive language with follow up activities.

Page 4

Cluck, Cackle, and SquawkFor KS1

In this lesson pupils learn how to identify and use onomatopoeia.

Page 9

Animal WritesFor KS2

In this lesson pupils engage with chicken poems and create some poetry of their own to celebrate their hens.

Page 12

You’re Chicken! For KS2

In this lesson pupils explore figurative language based around chickens and other animals and learn to distinguish between idioms, metaphors and similes.

Page 19

Lesson plans

Supporting resources

Looking for the presentations associated with this resource pack? They were included with this download so you’ll find them in the same folder as this document.

4 5

Handa’s Henfor EYFS or Key Stage 1

In this lesson, pupils share the story of Handa’s missing hen then practice their use of speech marks and descriptive language with follow-up activities.

Teacher notes

Handa’s Hen by Eileen Browne is the story of Handa’s search for her Grandmother’s lost hen, Mondi. Set in a small village in Kenya the story introduces us to lots of different wild birds, animals and insects before Mondi is finally found, and includes plenty of repetition as well as a simple counting theme.

In this lesson plan, we have provided a range of activity ideas and supporting resources for you to choose from.

In this lesson...All pupils will

Be able to discuss events in the book so that they can demonstrate their understanding and make predictions about the story.

Most pupils will

Be able to choose appropriate adjectives to describe animals and their environment so that they can broaden their vocabulary and engage their listeners.

Some pupils will

Be able to understand how to read and punctuate direct speak so that they can read aloud with fluency and expression.

Curriculum links and supported skills

• Building vocabulary• Using spoken language to develop understanding• Using comprehension skills• Listening to and discussing fiction• Using words and phrases to capture the imagination• Punctuating direct speech• Retelling a range of stories

Key vocab Speech/ dialogue, adjectives, speech marks.

Resources needed

• A copy of the book • Copies of the pages to laminate and hang around the chicken coop,

or download some free visuals from Sparklebox. • Copies of the Missing speech marks sheet for every pupil• Copies of the Postcards to Handa sheet for every pupil• Copies of the Mondi’s story sheet for every pupil

• Linking what they read to their own experiences• Writing letters• Writing instructions• Recognising the needs of animals and people, and understanding

their responsibilities towards them. • Identifying and naming a variety of common animals• Using simple fieldwork skills• Understanding the lifecycles of different animals

The story begins with Handa giving Mondi her breakfast so, if you have your own school hens (and if the weather is good!) combine story time outside with feeding the hens. Hang laminated pictures from the story, or large cutouts of the animals Handa finds, around the coop as the story progresses.

Sharing the story

10 - 15 minutes

How to run it

Story time

In many of the illustrations, you can find insects and other creatures not mentioned in the text.

Carry out a bug hunt and wildlife survey around the school and ask pupils to compare the creatures they find to those in the story. You’re not likely to encounter a spoonbill but you might find frogs, butterflies and starlings!

Using the wildlife found, have the pupils re-write or re-tell the story using the school location, and pupils, teachers and hens as characters.

School safari

30 minutes

Outdoor activity

6 7

In the story, Handa describes the stripy mice, little lizards, beautiful birds and so on.

Spend some time handling the hens and their eggs, touching straw, clean bedding and feed, and encouraging the pupils to use all their senses around the coop. How many adjectives can the class come up with the describe the chickens? Are they fluffy, noisy, friendly or warm? What about the coop? Is it tidy, stinky, muddy or neat?

You could also create large, laminated labels with the adjectives they list to hang around the coop, encouraging them to use more creative language whenever they work with the hens.

Playing with adjectives

10 - 15 minutes

Discussion or debate

Class activity

From the story and illustrations, we can learn a little about life in Handa’s village in Kenya.

Using the Postcards to Handa activity sheet have the pupils write a short message to Handa and Akeyo, or draw pictures, to describe where they live.

Postcards to Handa

20 minutes

Independent work

Creative writing

Can the children re-tell the story from Mondi’s point of view? Where did she go? What did she see, taste and hear? Did she make a friend or did something scary happen?

Encourage the pupils to think about what chickens need to be happy and healthy; you can use the Five Important Things lesson plan from our All Cooped Up resource pack to extend this activity.

Use the Mondi’s Story activity sheet to create a storyboard of Mondi’s adventures.

Mondi’s Story

20 - 30 minutes

Independent work

Creative writing

Art and craft

Explain that it’s not just Mondi who has disappeared; the speech marks have vanished too!

Hand out the Missing Speech Marks activity sheet and have the pupils practice punctuating direct speech.

You could also use the speech from the story to create a play script to act out around the coop and school garden.

Ask the pupils how they can stop their hens getting lost like Mondi. Work as a group to check the hen house and run for possible escape routes! If you don’t have school chickens then ask the pupils to imagine that they are responsible for looking after a flock of hens on a farm. Have the pupils write instructions or design posters to help each other, and other members of the school community, remember how to keep the hens safe. Examples of such instructions could include:

• Don’t forget to close the door • Count the hens before you leave• Handle the hens gently• Don’t chase the hens• Watch out for predators

Missing speechmarks

Keeping our hens safe

15 minutes

30 minutes

Independent work

Creative writing

Performance

Discussion or debate

Independent work

Other wonderful story books featuring hens suitable for this age group include Chickens Can’t See In The Dark by Krystina Litten, Hungry Hen by Richard Waring, The Cow That Laid An Egg by Andy Cutbill and Esme’s Egg by Neil Griffiths.

Please check any areas to be used to wildlife hunting for litter, dog mess, and other hazards before the activity.

Taking it further

Keeping everyone safe

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Read Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin (ISBN: 978-1481465403) together. In this entertaining story the animals on the farm learn to type and start making demands. After sharing the story have the pupils choose a pet, a farm animal or a wild animal and write a note from explaining what it wants or needs.

For younger children the simple book Tails Are Not For Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick (ISBN: 978-1408115084) is a good way to wind down the session and consolidate the idea that animals communicate without words and we should always

For the What do we have in common? activity make sure that the space is free from trip hazards and that the children take care not to bump heads when running to choose the answers.

Taking it further

Keeping everyone safe

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Cluck, cackle and squawk!for EYFS or Key Stage 1 one

In this lesson, pupils learn how to identify and use onomatopoeia to enrich their writing.

In this lesson...All pupils will

Be able to give examples of words that suggest sounds so that they can use them to make their speech and creative writing more engaging.

Most pupils will

Be able to describe how onomatopoeia can be used to make writing more exciting so that they can use the technique in an appropriate way.

Some pupils will

Be able to understand that onomatopoeia are different in different languages so that they can give some examples of, for example, animal sounds around the world.

• Using words and phrases to capture the imagination• Building vocabulary• Using figurative language and word play• Understanding types of land use• Understanding where food comes from

Resources needed

The Onomatopoeic Words Song presentation to display on the boardA copy of the A Walk on Noisy Farm resource sheetA stuffed toy chicken or a small ball or bean bagThe Animals Around the World presentation

Key vocab Onomatopoeia, free range

Curriculum links and supported skills

10 11

Explain that onomatopoeia are found in languages all around the world but they are sometimes very different. Use the Animals Around the World presentation to introduce different animal sounds.

Each question slide shows the sound made by an animal in three different languages, and three possible answers for the pupils to choose from. Each answer slide shows the correct animal together with the languages the words are taken from.

For each example, challenge the pupils to try and read aloud the three animal sounds (some of them are pretty tricky!) before displaying the possible answers and having them vote on which animal they think makes those sounds. Reveal the answer and the languages used in the examples.

Animals around the world

10 - 15 minutes

Game or puzzle

Class activity

Presentation

A Mouthful of Onomatopoeia by Bette Blaisdell and Watersong by Tim McCanna are both perfect books to share with the class for further examples of how onomatopoeia can be used.

Create a sound map on a visit to a local farm, park, woodland or even out in the school grounds or lunch room.

Taking it further

Finish by giving everyone a scrap of paper and asking them to think of an onomatopoeic word that they really like; try and encourage them to think of examples not yet used in the lesson if possible. Collect all the slips of paper in a bowl, give them a good mix and have every pupil take one. One after the other the pupils will read out the words on their paper to create a noisy nonsense poem. If they enjoy their poem you can always collect the slips of paper back in, mix them up and hand them out again for a completely new poem!

A quick class poem

10 minutes

Performance

Class activity

Begin the lesson by singing a few rounds of Old MacDonald Had a Farm. After you’ve finished singing ask the children to recall the noises the animals made, and write them on the board. Explain that these are a special type of word as they sound like the action they are describing.

Onomatopoeia is a tricky word and not obvious to understand without examples, so display the words to the Onomatopoeic Song on the board and, after practising pronouncing the words a few times, lead the class in singing it to the tune of Old MacDonald.

Onomatopoeic words (like swish and bang and honk),Are special words that sound like things (like woof and baa and cluck)With a splish-splash hereAnd a thump, whack there,Here a zoom,There a boom,Everywhere a moo moo,Onomatopoeic words are really fun to use!

Explain that you’re all going to take an imaginary walk together. You’ll be visiting Noisy Farm, a free range chicken farm with happy, noisy hens and a very clumsy farmer. For this activity, you’ll be using the A Walk on Noisy Farm resource sheet.

If you feel it won’t distract the pupils you may wish to play some ambient farm sounds in the background as you read to help set the scene; you can find plenty of examples on YouTube.

You’ll read through the imaginary walk twice. On the first read through, ask the pupils to keep their eyes shut and imagine the sights and smells but particularly the sounds of the farm.

On the second read through the pupils should keep their eyes open and be prepared to suggest sounds to add to the narrative. As you read the story, stop each time you reach a * symbol and toss your stuffed toy to a pupil for them to suggest a suitable onomatopoeic word.

To make this activity slightly easier you can display or print copies of the Noisy Farm word mat. This allows the pupils to choose a suitable word rather than think of one of their own.

After the second telling of the story, ask the pupils if they liked the story better with or without the onomatopoeic words. Explain that they can use these special words to make stories more interesting and exciting, or to help set the scene.

Old MacDonald

A walk on Noisy Farm

15 minutes

10 minutes

Sharing a story

Music or singing

Class activity

How to run it

Class activity

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Animal Writesfor Key Stage 2

In this lesson, pupils engage with poetry about hens to explore different forms of poetry and develop their own writing and performance skills.

Teacher notes

There are a surprising number of poems about chickens, many of them beautiful and many of them very funny. Sharing these poems as a class can be a wonderful way to think differently about your school hens, prepare for a farm visit or approach an animal welfare topic.

For this lesson you’ll need to find, in print or online, one or more of the poems suggested below. The Children’s Poetry Archive, The Poetry Archive and poets.org are good resources for finding suitable examples. You can also find many performances and poetry readings on YouTube.

In this lesson...All pupils will

Explore their responses to a variety of poems so that they can share and discuss their opinions with others.

Most pupils will

Be able to identify a range of features and forms of poetry so that they can use these techniques in their own writing.

Some pupils will

Be able to make comparisons between different poetic styles so that they can identify and explain the effect different styles and techniques have on the reader.

Resources needed

• Copies of Battery Hen by Pam Ayres (included in this pack)• One or more of the poems listed below.

• Recognising different forms of poetry• Creating settings and character• Appreciating rhymes and poems• Using figurative language and word play • Preparing poems to read aloud• Using words and phrases to capture the imagination• Choosing and using synonyms

Title Author Find it A good example of…

Last night I dreamed of chickens

Jack Prelutsky In Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens by Mark Carthew or online at www.poets.org

Repetition, humorous poetry.

Funky Chicken Benjamin Zephaniah In Funky Chickens by Benjamin Zephaniah

Nonsense poetry, repetition, colloquial language

Chicken Meish Goldish In Animal Poems from A – Z by Meish Goldish or at various locations online.

Repetition, onomatopoeia nonsense poetry.

Rooster and Hens Jack Prelutsky In The Carnival of the Animals by Jack Prelutsky

Repetition, alliteration, humorous poetry.

Song of the Battery Hen

Edwin Brock In Song of the Battery Hen: Selected Poems or at Poetry Archive where you can also listen to the author reading it

Dramatic monologue, autobiographical writing, well suited for reading aloud. Please be aware that this poem contains one instance of strong language – you may wish to adapt it beforehand.

Home To Roost Kay Ryan In The Niagara River by Kay Ryan or at Poetry Archive where you can also listen to the author reading it

Idiom/ clichés, allusion, enjambment,

Untitled Diana Gittins In Twelve Poems about Chickens, published by Candlelight Press.

Humorous poetry. Please be aware that this poem contains one instance of strong language – you may wish to adapt it beforehand.

Curriculum links and supported skills

14 15

Choose one or more poems from the suggested list above for the children to explore, or use a favourite chicken poem of your own.

Begin by reading each poem aloud to the class or, if available, playing a recording of the author reading their work. Hand out copies (or display the poem on the whiteboard) for the pupils to read through independently before gathering and discussing their initial responses to the poem.

• Are there any new words? Can anyone suggest definitions for them? Ask pupils to try saying new words with different tones and emotions to try and help them guess what they mean. • What does the poem remind you of, or make you think of? What do you think it is about?• Did you enjoy it? What did you like/ not like about the poem? How did you feel as it was being read?

Choose from the following short activity ideas to help your group explore their poem in more depth:

Performing together

Put the pupils in small groups and ask them to work together on a performance of the poem. They should consider:

• How they will divide the poem up between them.• The effect of tone and volume as they perform.• How to add movement to their performance.• Whether they wish to add music or percussion to their performance.

Extend the poem

Challenge the pupils to write an extra, final verse to the chosen poem. Can they recreate the form and tone of the original poem, or further develop the poem’s story or theme?

Poultry in Poetry

Various timings

Sharing poems

Key vocab Battery hen, dialect, monologue, alliteration, haiku, syllable, onomatopoeia, standard English, third person, first person,

How to run it

• Building vocabulary• Using comprehension skills• Using spoken language to develop understanding• Listening to and discussing fiction• Developing empathy for others• Explaining their views and listening to the views of others• Taking part in discussion and presentations• Knowing where and how foods are grown, reared and processed• Understanding the basic needs of animals

Performance or drama

Creative writing

Art and craft

These activities focus on Battery Hen by Pam Ayres. Please be aware that this poem contains one instance of very mild language and one reference to the hens being slaughtered.

As above, read the poem to the class and give them an opportunity to read it through themselves before sharing their responses.

Split the class into groups and ask them the discuss the following three questions and prepare to present their responses to the rest of the class:

1. Why do you think the poet chose to write from the point of view of the hen?2. Choose three words to describe how the hen in the poem is feeling. 3. The poet, Pam Ayres, is known for writing funny poems. Do you find this poem funny? Do any parts of the poem make you laugh?

Exploring dialect poems

Battery Hen is written in the poet’s own rural Berkshire accent.

Read or play recordings of two to three examples of poems written in other dialects You could try the following:

• Trick a Duppy by James Berry (Jamaican), available at the Children’s Poetry Archive• Wullie Waggletail by William Soutar (Scottish), available at the Scottish Poetry Library• The Meaning of Life by Ian McMillan (Yorkshire), available at The Poetry Archive

Battery Hen by Pam Ayres

Various timings

Illustrating the poem

Provide blank paper or printed copies of the poem with enough space for illustrations around the text. Ask the pupils to focus on illustrating the words and phrases that they find most interesting.

Red, Blue, Yellow

Check the group’s understanding of the terms rhyme, repetition and alliteration, giving examples as necessary. Provide printed copies of your chosen poem and ask them to colour any examples of rhyme red, repetition blue and alliteration yellow.

Swap five

Have the pupils choose five verbs, adjectives or adverbs from the poem (or choose suitable examples yourself). First, ask them to describe the effect of those words on the poem. Do they suggest action or energy? Do they set the mood? Next, ask them to swap the five chosen words for suitable alternatives of their own.

Sharing poems

Performance or drama

Creative writing

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• When the Frost is on the Punkin by James Whitcomb Riley (19th century Indiana), available at the Poetry Foundation. •Or for something a little different you could try Bat’s Ultrasound by Les Murray who has written part of his poem in the dialect of a bat! This poem is available at the Children’s Poetry Archive.

Discuss the reasons a poet might choose to write in their own dialect. In the case of Battery Hen, how does the dialect change the way the poem sounds or makes them feel?

Ask the pupils to spend a few minutes thinking of a word from their own dialect that they do not often hear or read elsewhere. If they’re struggling, ask them to try writing down a word or phrase in a way which represents their own accent. They could then use their words and phrases as the basis for a dialect poem writing exercise.

“In me box I’m sat”

Explain that the hen in the poem can only see and hear the world directly around her cage. Using the In me box I’m sat activity sheet, first ask the pupils to make lists of what the hen can see, what she can hear and what she is thinking about. They should use their imagination as well as the details in the poem; for example, she can see the clock so perhaps she can also hear it ticking?

Next, challenge the pupils to write a short poem about the world as they see it from their seat in the classroom. What can they see, hear and feel? Alternatively, the pupils could write their poems from a spot in the playground or the school grounds; set down a hoop or draw a chalk circle to mark out the area they will focus on.

Re-writing the poem

Choose one verse, several verses or use the whole poem and ask the pupils to try re-writing it in different ways. For example:

1. In standard English“I am a battery hen, on my back there are no germs.”

2.In the third person“She is a battery hen. On her back there’s not a germ.”

3. From the point of view of a free range hen“I’m a free range hen. On my back I feel the sun.”

Discuss how these changes affect the feel and impact of the poem.

Compare it with Song of the Battery Hen

Read Edwin Brock’s Song of the Battery Hen aloud (Please be aware that this poem contains one instance of strong language).

Display both poems side by side or provide copies. Working in small

groups or pairs, have the pupils discuss the following questions:

1.Both poems focus on the same topic, the life of a battery hen. What is different about them?2. Both poets chose to write from the point of view of the hen. Why do you think this is?3. Which poem do you prefer? Why?4. Do you think these poems tell us anything about the people who wrote them?

What has changed?

Explain that this poem was written over forty years ago. Using the pupils’ existing knowledge, and the information available in our All Cooped Up: Understanding Hen Welfare pack, explore whether the experience of the hen in the poem is different to that of a modern caged hen.

Whether you have your own school hens, you’re planning a farm visit or your class has been learning more about caged hens, there are many exciting ways to include hens in your poetry writing exercises.

Writing haikus

Use the Writing Haikus activity sheet to help pupils practice counting syllables before planning and composing their own three line haiku.

Writing shape poems

Use the Egg Shape Poem activity sheet to get started.

Writing dramatic monologues

Whether from the point of view of a chicken, a chicken keeper, a farmer (or even an egg!), writing poems in the form of a monologue is a good way to practice the first person voice. Pupils can begin drafting their monologue by describing their imaginary listener and deciding how they want the monologue to make the listener feel.

Using onomatopoeia

Whether clucking, cackling, chirping or croaking, chickens lend themselves very well to onomatopoeia poems! Brainstorming the sounds and actions heard and seen around the chicken coop will help get the pupils started. Use the A Walk On Noisy Farm activity in this pack for inspiration.

Using personification

In Battery Hen Pam Ayres uses personification to give the battery hen a voice. Ask the pupils to choose an animal or an object, and write a poem that conveys that character’s personality and view of the world.

Writing about our hens

Various timings

Performance or drama

Creative writing

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Share your class’s poetry performances at Perform a Poem, an e-safe site for sharing poetry performances set up by Michael Rosen and Booktrust.

Taking it further

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You’re chicken!for Key Stage 2

In this lesson, pupils explore figurative language based around chickens and other animals, and learn to distinguish between idioms, metaphors and similes.

In this lesson...All pupils will

Be able to give examples of figurative language so that they can use this technique in their own speech and writing.

Most pupils will

Be able to recognise different forms of figurative language so that they can choose appropriate techniques for their own writing.

Some pupils will

Be able to create their own animal idioms, metaphors and similes so that they can create engaging descriptions.

• Using figurative language and word play• Building vocabulary• Using comprehension skills• Using words and phrases to capture the imagination• Linking what you read to your own experiences

Key vocab Idiom, metaphor, simile, figurative language

Resources needed

• Enough copies of the Idiom Cards for the pupils to use them in groups

• The Talking Figuratively presentation• A copy of the Talking Figuratively activity sheet for each pupil

Curriculum links and supported skills

20 21

Have everyone stand up and make sure they have space around them to move. Explain that they are going to move like animals. Call out a verb and give the pupils a chance to get moving, then ask if they can think of an animal that might move like that. Try the following verbs or add your own:

Strut, flutter, prowl, slither, hide, wriggle, hover, creep, wander, waddle, lunge, hop, stomp, gallop, pounce, swoop, trot, scamper.

Wild Moves

5 minutes

Active game

How to run it

Explain that people and animals have lived together for such a long time that animals have crept into our language in all sorts of interesting ways. Sometimes we describe each other as different kinds of animals when we want to say something nice - or something nasty. Sometimes we use animals to make our speech or writing more colourful, interesting or understandable. Ask the pupils if they can think of any examples – have they ever been called a busy bee or a cheeky monkey? Have they ever taken a cat nap, or pigged out on their favourite food?

In the past, people spent a lot more time around chickens than most of us do today. As a result, chickens have made their way into our language again and again, more than most other animals.

Put the pupils in small groups and hand out a set of the Idiom Cards to each group (without the definition cards initially), explaining that these are just some of the phrases we use that reference chickens and eggs.

There are a number of quick activities you can try with these cards. Do them all in order, or just pick a couple.

How many of these have you heard before?

Ask the groups to place the cards in two piles, one containing phrases they’ve heard, the other containing phrases that are new to them.

What do you think they mean?

Using scrap paper, or working verbally, give the pupils five minutes to discuss what they think each phrase means. Choose a few examples and ask each group to share their definition.

Matching the meanings

Hand out a set of definition cards to each group. Give them a few minutes to try and match the phrases with the correct definition. Briefly

Talking Chicken

10 - 15 minutes

Teamwork

Puzzle or game

Introduce the idea of figurative language as a way of describing something by comparing it to something else. Explain that we will be looking at three different types of figurative language: idioms, similes and metaphors.

Use the Speaking Figuratively presentation to discuss the differences between these three. Leaving it on the final view, hand out the Speaking Figuratively activity sheet and ask the group to fill in the missing words and write an S or an M next to each phrase depending on whether they think it is a simile or a metaphor.

Speaking figuratively

25 minutes

Presentation

Independent work

check their answers.

Nice, nasty or neither?

Now they know what they mean, have the groups split their cards into three piles depending on whether they think the phrase is something you would say to be nice, nasty or neither.

Other animal idioms

Have each group pick an animal and use their existing knowledge or online research to build up a list of idioms and other examples of figurative language inspired by that animal.

Postcards to HandaWrite a postcard to tell Handa about life where you live.

Mondi’s storyMondi went on her own amazing adventure! Use this sheet to help you plan her story.

What did Mondi see?

Did she get lost?

Did she see anything surprising? Where did Mondi go?

What did Mondi hear?

How did Mondi feel?

What did Mondi eat? Was she in any danger?

Missing speechmarks

It’s not just Mondi who has gone missing; all the speech marks have disappeared from the story too! “

“

Speech marks go around the parts of a sentence spoken by a character. Can you put the missing speech marks back in the right place?

I hope she hasn’t been swallowed by a spoonbill – or eaten by a

lion, said Akeyo.

Six jumpy crickets! said Akeyo. Lets catch them. I want to find Mondi, said

Handa.

But where’s… oh look! Footprints! said Handa. They followed the footprints

and found…

Grandma! called Handa. Can you see Mondi? No, said Grandma. But I can

see your friend.

A visit to Noisy Farm

The rain had stopped and the sun was shining as we arrived at Noisy Farm, a free range chicken farm. Mr McDonald and his dog came hurrying out of the

farm house to meet us, stepping in the big puddles*. He lifted the latch of the

old gate and slowly pushed it open*.

“Come in!”, he shouted. “Welcome to Noisy Farm.”

We stepped through the gate and looked at the huge, brown barns and the green fields. There were big trees growing on the farm and their leaves were

blowing in the wind*. The ground was muddy under our feet*. Mr MacDonald

led the way to one of the big barns, his keys hanging from his belt*. He was

so busy talking to us that he accidentally tripped over a big metal bucket* and

startled his dog*! He lifted the latch on the door and led us inside.

Now there was dry straw beneath our feet*. We could see lots of chickens! Some of them were resting, some of them were eating and some of them were

laying eggs*. But most of them just seemed to be making a lot of noise!***

We noticed that they were going in and out of the barn through little doors so we went back outside and walked into the fields. The wind blew the door shut

behind us*.

Out in the fields there were hundreds of chickens! Some were digging at the

ground with their claws* and some were stretching their wings*. Some were

looking for worms* in the grass. We walked past a leaky tap*, watched a bee

flying between the flowers* and saw some small birds building a nest in a tree*.

Mr MacDonald shook a bucket of corn* and the hens all came running towards us! It was lovely on the farm and we walked until our feet were tired.

Then it was time to go home. We washed our hands*, tried to clean the mud

off our boots* and climbed onto the coach, waving to Mr MacDonald who said

good-bye with a very loud sneeze*!

Noisy Farm Word Mat

Splash Creak Crunch Rustle Cackle

Cluck Woof Flap Squelch Pop

Wriggle Tweet Gurgle Clang Achoo!

Cheep Click Drip Swish Scratch

Pop Scrape Squawk Stamp Buzz

Growl Flutter Slam Hum Clatter

The Battery Henby Pam Ayres

Oh. I am a battery hen, on me back there’s not a germ,I never scratched a farmyard, and I never pecked a worm,I never had the sunshine, to warm me feathers through,Eggs I lay. Every day. For the likes of you.

When you has them scrambled, piled up on your plate,It’s me what you should thank for that, I never lays them late,I always lays them reg’lar, I always lays them right,I never lays them brown, I always lays them white.

But it’s no life, for a battery hen, in me box I’m sat,A funnel stuck out from the side, me pellets comes down that,I gets a squirt of water, every half a day,Watchin’ with me beady eye, me eggs roll away.

I lays them in a funnel, strategically placed,So that I don’t kick ‘em and let them go to waste,They rolls off down the tubing, and up the gangway quick,Sometimes I gets to thinkin’ “That could have been a chick!”

I might have been a farmyard hen, scratchin’ in the sun,There might have been a crowd of chicks, after me to run,There might have been a cockerel fine, to pay us his respects,Instead of sittin’ here till someone comes and wrings our necks.

I see the Time and Motion clock, is sayin’ nearly noon,I ‘spec me squirt of water, will come flyin’ at me soon,And then me spray of pellets, will nearly break me leg,And I’ll bite the wire nettin’ and lay one more bloody egg.

“In me box I’m sat...” page one

The hen narrating the poem can only experience the world directly around her cage. Use the poem, and your own imagination, to describe the world of the battery hen.

I can see... I can hear...

I can feel...

Turn me over...

“In me box I’m sat...” page two

From where you’re sitting take a little time to look carefully around you. Make a note of everything you can see, everything you can touch, everything you can hear, and your own feelings.

Use the space below to write a short poem about how the world looks from your perspective.

Writing your haiku page one

A haiku is a form of very short Japanese poetry.

Every haiku contains just 17 syllables. They are written in three lines of 5

syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables each.

Remember: A syllable is a sound used to make a word. ‘Egg’ has one syllable, ‘chicken’ has two, and ‘poetry’ has three. Try saying a word slowly out-loud if

you’re not sure how many syllables it has.

You’re going to write a haiku about what you’ve been learning. To help you plan your haiku you’re going to collect some words you think you’d like to use. Try and choose words that you find interesting, are fun to say, or feel meaningful to you. Write down each word and work out how many syllables it contains.

Try and collect a mixture of longer and shorter words.

Are you ready to write your haiku? Turn over to get started!

Writing your haiku page two

Here is an example of a simple haiku:

The sun was shining, (5 syllables)The chickens were in the field, (7 syllables)Scratching for some worms. (5 syllables)

What is the title of your haiku?

Line two (7 syllables)

Line one (5 syllables)

Line three (5 syllables)

Use the space below to illustrate your haiku.

Writing a shape poem

Idiom cards

All of your chickens are coming home

to roostMother hen Nest egg

Scratching out a living

Don’t count your chickens before

they hatch

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Feather your nest

Flew the coop

Up with the chickens

Idiom cards

Walking on egg shells

Shake a tail feather

You’re chicken!

Rule the roost

A bad eggHen

pecked

Hen’s teeth Chicken outChicken

feed

Idiom cards: definitions

Bad or silly things you’ve done in the past are

coming back to cause you problems

Someone who is very protective - or too

protective - of others

Money saved

for the future

To earn only just enough money

to live on

Don’t count on a good thing happening until it has actually happened

Don’t risk everything on

one idea

To make money for yourself in a dishonest way

To escape, leave quickly, or

leave home

To get up very early in the morning

Idiom cards: definitions

Speaking carefully to avoid making

someone angry or upset

To get moving or move quicker

You’re being

cowardly

Be the boss An unpleasant person

Someone who is ordered around and told off by

someone else

Something very rare and difficult to find

To decide not to do something because

you are too frightened

A very small amount of money

Speaking figuratively

Choose a suitable word to fill each gap and decide whether each phrase is an example of a metaphor or a simile.

Simile Metaphor

He is as as a cat.

The thunder roared like a

Max is a when he eats.

She is as loyal as a

It’s raining cats and

He is as gentle as a

She is as as a shark.

They are as shy as

She is as brave as a

My little sister is a cheeky

He is as as a chicken.

My teacher is a

My bedroom is like a

The moon is a

Today is like