That's Nonsense!

Preparation: print out or bookmark on the computer The Owl and the Pussycat, On the Ning Nang Nong, and any other examples of nonsense poetry you fancy sharing. Print out a copy of the poem below. I love the Henri poem but some of the lines won't mean much to today's children and, more importantly, some aren't really appropriate.

The Writing

      Ask if the children have heard the term 'nonsense poetry'. Show some examples. Show my simplified Tonight at Noon and explain it’s an version of a poem by Adrian Henri. Which line do they like best? What does the last line mean?

Tonight at Noon

Supermarkets will advertise £3 EXTRA on everything!

Tonight at noon

Penguins will tell each other jokes about humans

Traffic cops will stop snails speeding down the street

The first daffodils of autumn will appear

When leaves fall upwards from the ground to the trees.

Tonight at noon

Pigeons will hunt cats through city backyards

Pigs will fly in formation over Ellesmere

Christmas and Easter will swap places.

People in swimsuits will go moonbathing

Art galleries will be closed to people over 11

Poets will become millionaires while

Politicians have to live on minimum wages.

In alleyways, litter will clear itself neatly away

Rubies will turn to sapphires

Diamonds to dust

and

You will tell me you love me

Tonight at noon.

      Ask them to put the heading Tonight at Noon. Tell them they are going to write their own version of the poem, but that the group is going to brainstorm it together first.

      Discuss these ideas, one by one. They can either do this preparation exercise as a whole group or in pairs/threes.

      Imagine something that’s really gentle acting fierce.

      Imagine something that’s really slow going extremely fast.

      Imagine something that lives in the sea suddenly turning up on land.

      Imagine something precious turning to something rubbish.

      Imagine a famous person doing something crazy.

      Imagine something weird happening to the sky (day or night).

      Imagine the seasons getting mixed up.

      Imagine something crazy happening in schools.

      Imagine someone very, very unlikely winning a major talent contest.

      When all the children have some ideas, then it's time to write them up into a poem. I like to do this process line by line, all together, so we move at the same pace. As usual I tell them that if they get stuck on a line, just to leave it and wait for the next one.