Outrageous Lies About Fruit

My own examples

Y5 work

You will need: a selection of fruit, a carrot and a piece of broccoli.

This session is about observing the qualities of an object, then thinking of antonyms or fantastic deviations from the norm.

I took in a carrot to hold up in front of the group, then read out the poem I'd written about it. The children were making 'Huh?' faces as I read, but I carried on. Next I held up a piece of broccoli and read that poem aloud too. Some of them had guessed what we were going to do, but I explained for the younger students that they were going to choose a piece of fruit and then tell a string of outrageous lies about it.

I laid out the fruit, letting the pupils choose a piece each, then handed them the 'Nine Lies' template. Before they wrote their poems, we did one together so they were completely clear on the structure of the poem. They enjoyed this, excitedly calling out funny adjectives and similes, and giggling at each other's suggestions.

As usual they worked fast - this is a session that can be completed in forty-five minutes - and were keen to read out their bizarre descriptions at the end.