Complete Nonsense by Edward Lear

Hello again people!

I have just been reading a book called 'Complete Nonsense' (have a guess as to what kind of content it's about!) The author is Edward Lear.

It contains many limericks and other poetry.

There are a few appealing things about this book:

The first is that the content is about complete nonsense. This is especially appealing to children who like to laugh and are generally freer than adults to do just that.

The second is that there are many poems. Once you have read one (which dont take long to read), you are onto another one. The poems are short so are easy to read, making them more appealing.

Futhermore, the poems rhyme and contain adjectives that interest and can cause curiosity in their meaning, if indeed, the word isn't a familiar one.

I can picture students not only enjoying reading or hearing these poems, but also attempting to write some themselves. Limericks have a particular structure and rhythm and so are quite distinct. Classes from around Year 3 to Year 7 would be interested in this activity.

A teacher could start by getting groups to brainstorm rhyming words to do with current, relevant topics and in this way connect the learning. After this, adjectives could be introduced and so on leading to the final writing of the limerick.

                      Good fun

                                Alex