Thinking & Listening
Read my poem 'Dreams' to the class, perhaps more than once (the poem is reprinted at the bottom of this post). Test the class for memory of what the different objects 'dream' of. Identify some objects in the space you are in, and discuss some of the different things that it might 'dream about', supposing such a thing were possible.
Gathering Ideas
Each child is given a selection of thought-bubble-shaped post-it notes:
They then go round 'labelling' the environment, describing what the different objects 'dream' about. Try to encourage them to use all of their senses in exploring the objects. It is important that they mention the NAME of the object in their writing, so they might end up with a sentence like 'the tree dreams of birds nesting in its branches'. They would then stick this onto the tree!
Creating Poems
Once everyone has used up their post-it notes, each child then goes round the space collecting in other peoples' notes. They then arrange these into an order they are happy with, to form the lines of a poem. This poem can then be transcribed into their books. The activity can be done in pairs or small groups.
Dreams (published in My Grandpa's Beard)
The blue sky dreams of fluffy clouds
The prisoner dreams of an open door
The footballer dreams of cheering crowds
The soldier dreams of an end to war
The snake dreams of flying like a flock
of birds
The bird dreams of burrowing like a mole
The book dreams of being more than words
The broken man dreams of becoming whole
The insomniac dreams of having dreams
The dreamer dreams of being awake
The battlefield dreams of an end to the
screams
The birthday girl dreams of her birthday
cake
The follower dreams of leading the pack
One dreams of becoming two
Going up the hill, Jill dreams of Jack
And me, I dream of you.
