Teach pupils how to explore language and develop their writing skills using this KS1 senses poetry resource pack. Pupils will start by reading two WAGOLL model texts, My Party and The Zoo.
The poems describe events and places using the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Pupils can annotate the texts to identify key poetic techniques and features, such as words ending in -s or -es, adjectives formed with the suffix -ful, and how each line focuses on a different sense.
After analysing the model texts, pupils use the image cards to inspire their own poems. Each card shows a place or event, helping pupils imagine what they could see, hear, smell, taste and feel.
They will then record their ideas on the senses poem planning sheet, organising thoughts for each line. The writing scaffold provides sentence starters for each line of the poem, with two versions available so pupils can practise finishing lines in different ways.
Pupils can then draft their poem and use the themed writing paper to present their final piece neatly.
What’s included in this resource
- Senses poem model text – My Party: Describes a party using the five senses, includes words ending in -s or -es and -ful adjectives
- Senses poem model text – The Zoo: Describes a visit to the zoo using the senses and the same grammatical features
- Senses poem writing sheet: Provides success criteria and examples of suffixes and plural forms to support writing
- Image cards: Visual prompts for different places or events to inspire pupils’ poems
- Senses poem planning sheet: Helps pupils to organise ideas using the five senses before writing
- Writing scaffold: Sentence starters to support each line of the poem, two versions included
- Themed writing paper: For pupils to present their finished poems
Curriculum links
- Year 1: Pupils develop enjoyment of reading and vocabulary by listening to and discussing poems. They practise writing sentences orally before putting them on paper and learn to add suffixes such as -s, -es and -ful
- Year 2: Pupils build confidence and stamina in writing by creating their own poetry. They extend their spelling skills with longer words using suffixes including -ment, -ness, -ful, -less and -ly
This resource helps you guide pupils from reading and analysing a WAGOLL poem to creating their own imaginative and structured senses poems while practising key spelling and grammar skills.