This KS2 poetry resource gives you everything you need to teach descriptive poems that use onomatopoeia. At the centre of the pack is a high-quality model text – Rainforest Orchestra – which acts as a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) to demonstrate how sound words, imagery and rhyme can bring a setting to life.
The poem compares the sounds of a rainforest to an orchestra, using vivid description and carefully chosen vocabulary to create a sense of performance. Each verse has four lines and follows an ABCB rhyming pattern, giving pupils a clear structure to work with.
You can use this pack across a sequence of English lessons or as part of a standalone poetry unit. Pupils begin by reading and analysing the model text, identifying features such as rhyme, stanza structure, poetic imagery and onomatopoeia.
They will then use the included planning sheet and scaffold to draft their own poem on a similar theme – or one linked to a current topic in class. The resource includes everything pupils need to organise their ideas and write with confidence.
What’s included:
- WAGOLL poem: Rainforest Orchestra
- Success criteria writing sheet with rhyming examples and a list of onomatopoeic words (e.g. swoosh, buzz, hiss, croak)
- Exploring ideas worksheet to help pupils collect sounds and match them to sources
- Writing scaffold that mirrors the structure of the model text
- Themed writing paper for pupils’ final drafts
- Teacher notes with guidance on flexible classroom use
Skills pupils will develop:
- Understanding and using onomatopoeia in context
- Identifying and using consistent rhyming patterns
- Planning, drafting and editing short poems
- Choosing vocabulary for sound and effect
- Structuring stanzas clearly and consistently
This pack helps pupils write with creativity and control, while deepening their understanding of poetic language and sound.