First impressions and engaging with 'The Listeners' by Walter de la Mare | English

Starter quiz

Which of the following front covers are likely to be poetry collections?
- Rhythm and Poetry ✓
- Happy poems ✓
- Wonder
- Crater Lake
What is a suitable definition of poetry?
- informational books that cover a wide range of topics
- writing that uses creative & rhythmic language to express thoughts and feelings ✓
- longer stories divided into chapters
- traditional stories passed down through generations
True or False? A poem must be a certain length.
- True
- False ✓
In poetry, what do we call a group of lines that form a unit in a poem?
- paragraph
- chapter
- stanza ✓
- verse ✓
Match the poetry feature with its definition.
- theme
  
  ⇔
  
  central idea or message conveyed by the poem ✓
- emotion
  
  ⇔
  
  evokes feelings and moods through language and tone ✓
- structure
  
  ⇔
  
  organised arrangement of lines, stanzas and verses ✓
- symbolism
  
  ⇔
  
  use of symbols to represent deeper meanings ✓
- rhyme
  
  ⇔
  
  correspondence of sounds, often at the end of lines ✓
Which of the following are features you might expect to find in a poem?
- a specific form
- symbolism ✓
- rhyme ✓
- alliteration ✓
- a specific length

Exit quiz

Match the keywords to their definition.
- poet
  
  ⇔
  
  a writer who uses verse to convey emotions ✓
- poem
  
  ⇔
  
  writing that uses creative language to express thoughts ✓
- Walter de la Mare
  
  ⇔
  
  an English poet, born in 1873 ✓
- supernatural
  
  ⇔
  
  magic and other mystical, ancient elements ✓
- stanza
  
  ⇔
  
  a group of lines within a poem, usually separated by breaks ✓
Which of the following is true of a poet?
- can control how a reader engages with their work
- guarantees all readers will understand their work in the same way
- writes and sometimes performs poetry ✓
- draws inspiration from the world around them ✓
- uses language to express themselves in a creative or artistic way ✓
True or False? Walter de la Mare wrote lots of poems with themes of the supernatural.
- True ✓
- False
Which of the following are texts written by Walter de la Mare?
- Out of the Deep ✓
- The owl who was afraid of the dark
- The Surreal and Supernatural Stories ✓
- Short Stories for Children ✓
Match the following dates to the event that happened in Walter's life.
- 1873
  
  ⇔
  
  Born in Charlton, Kent ✓
- 1935
  
  ⇔
  
  Awarded Order of Merit ✓
- 1899
  
  ⇔
  
  Married Constance Elfrida Ingpen ✓
- 1956
  
  ⇔
  
  Died in Twickenham, London ✓
Walter de la Mare lived from 1873 to 1956. Select the key historical events that he lived through.
- The First World War ✓
- The Rise of Ancient Greek Civilisation
- The Second World War ✓
- Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the Moon

Worksheet

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Presentation

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The Listeners was written by Walter de la Mare in 1912
Walter de la Mare was born in April 1873 in England
The Listeners describes the actions of a Traveller who knocks on the door of a seemingly deserted home at night
Walter de la Mare's poetry tends to explore themes of imagination, childhood, and the mysterious or supernatural

Common misconception

Pupils may be confused by some of the antiquated language. This might impact reading fluency.

Encourage pupils to use reading strategies to support them in their initial understanding of the poem.

Keywords

Poet - A poet is a writer who uses verse to convey emotions.
Poem - A poem is a piece of writing that uses creative and rhythmic language to express thoughts, feelings or ideas.
Walter de la mare - Walter de la Mare is an English poet. His poetry often explores themes of imagination and fantasy.
Supernatural - Supernatural beings include gods, giants, magic and other mystical, ancient elements.
Stanza - A stanza is a group of lines within a poem, often separated by line breaks. Stanzas contribute to a poem’s organisation and structure.