Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

For starters, just what is letter formation?

Letter formation is the ability to form the letters of the alphabet correctly. Children will learn to create notes in a way that matches widely accepted standards when learning letter formation.

Letter formation is a crucial stepping stone that children will need to overcome before they can start developing their handwriting. They’ll first need to master each letter to learn to write efficiently and quickly. Regular opportunities to build upon and develop this skill will help kids in their efforts to understand good letter formation.

What are critical letter formation skills?

Now that we’ve tackled the question of ‘what is letter formation?’, let’s explore the essential skills that children will need to develop to form the letters of the alphabet by hand appropriately. These basic skills are:

• Fine motor skills
• Pencil grip
• Pencil control

But what do these terms mean? In this next section, we’ll develop a deeper understanding of ‘what is letter formation?’ by exploring these three skills.

1) Fine motor skills

Fine motor skills are small movements that children make with their hands, fingers, and wrists. These are skills that we as adults might take for granted, but they can be a significant hurdle for young children to overcome. Nevertheless, they allow children to complete tasks such as holding crayons, threading beads, and precisely placing objects. For this reason, they’re also the first step to proper letter formation.

Fortunately, there are plenty of practical activities for developing fine motor skills using everyday materials and fun activities. From painting to drawing to opening things and even moving things like coins around, there’s a lot you can do to build your child’s skills at manipulating small objects!

2) Pencil grip

How a child holds a pencil or pen can significantly impact how easily they can make shapes. The dynamic tripod grip is the most stable and efficient hold for writing. This grip involves lightly holding a pencil/pen between the thumb, index finger, and middle finger while the ring and little finger curl gently into the palm.

You can help children to progress with their pencil grip by encouraging them to use a range of instruments to make marks, such as twigs in mud, wax crayons, or brushes when painting. These activities will allow children to use different muscles and encourage them to progress in their grip development.

3) Pencil control

Now that we’ve found the answer to ‘what is letter formation?’ and explored two of the critical skills required for it, there’s just one more that we need to learn about: pencil control.

Pencil control is different from pencil grip, and it relates to how a child moves the pencil over paper, creating turns and shapes. Children need to become able to make letters, join conditions, and stop and turn according to lines on paper. They also need to learn to make smaller and more accurate shapes as they progress with their writing. Another way of looking at it is that pencil control combines pencil grip and fine motor skills!

You can work with your child to improve their pencil control in several ways. Here are just a few excellent pencil control games and activities:

• Dot-to-dot puzzles are great for developing pencil control. These require children to draw lines carefully, guide the pencil to reach fixed points on the page, and change the pencil’s direction.
• Kitchen activities like cooking offer many opportunities for children to form letter shapes using various tools. For example, encourage children to make swirls in cake mixture or write their names in a pile of flour using their fingers. These activities are fun and help children develop grip and hand movements while forming letter shapes.
• Tongs and tweezers games: Opening and closing tweezers is the perfect way to develop a tripod-style grip. As a start, children could use tongs and larger objects, like dry pasta. Then, they can use tweezers to move smaller objects like frozen peas or sweetcorn.
• Playdough letters: Children can improve their knowledge of letter shapes by forming them with playdough. Roll out long, thin playdough sausages and allow children to create notes out of them.

Why is letter formation important?

So far, we’ve discovered the answer to ‘what is letter formation?’ and learned a little about the skills needed to master it. But why is there such a strong emphasis on letter formation in schools?

The benefits of learning handwriting might not be evident in today’s digital age. However, letter formation skills are incredibly beneficial for children and their progress in school. Fine motor activities have been shown to stimulate the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in planning, problem-solving, and self-regulation. Regular practice of handwriting can positively impact these abilities. Additionally, an efficient script allows children to focus on thinking and processing the information they’re writing about.

If children struggle with handwriting, this can become a distraction, as they have to focus more on forming and remembering letters. This means they put so much effort into the writing process that they don’t have the mental space to answer questions or think creatively. This can impact their learning, making it essential to provide extra support with learning letter formation.Top of Form

What is April Fools’ Day?

April Fools’ Day is a popular secular holiday celebrated in many countries around the world. People observe this event by playing pranks and practical jokes on their friends and family members, trying to catch them out with a funny hoax.

For those who aren’t into pranks, telling some puns and amusing stories is also a popular option.

When is April Fools’ Day?

April Fools’ Day takes place on April 1 every single year.

Somehow, it can be easy to forget when it’s coming up. So keep an eye out for strange happenings and weird newspaper headlines, and you won’t be made a fool of this year!

What can you learn about April Fools’ Day here?

Jesters and jokers looking for inspiration and information can find it here at Twinkl. In this Teaching Wiki, you’ll learn tons of fun facts about April Fools’ Day to help with research assignments and turn you into a trivia whiz.

Keep reading to find out the answers to the following questions:

• What is the history of April Fools’ Day?
• Why do we celebrate April Fools’ Day?
• What are some of the most iconic April Fools’ Day hoaxes?
• How do people celebrate the holiday around the world?
• Where can I find teaching resources on April Fools’ Day?

History of April Fools’ Day for Students

When did April Fools’ Day start?

People throughout history have all had one thing in common: everyone loves a good joke.

April Fools’ Day is an old holiday, but the question of when and where it started is still a mystery to us. Nevertheless, a couple of theories stand out, and we’ve listed them below.

Three Possible Origins of April Fools’ Day

Roman Festival of Hilaria

Some people think our April Fools’ Day traditions can be traced back to a Roman festival, Hilaria. But, if you know anything about the history of Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween, you’ll see that it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened!

Hilaria was a cheerful festival that honored the goddess Cybele and the god Attis. Although it was a multi-day affair, some activities included dressing in costumes and playing practical jokes.

There isn’t any hard evidence to suggest that this is true, and it’s just one theory among many.

Vernal Equinox

April 1 is close to the vernal equinox, which is the official beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all solstices and equinoxes, these were important dates to mark the changing seasons.

It is thought that the importance of April Fools’ Day might come from its relationship with springtime, which would start to show its effects on that day.

Julian Calendar vs. Gregorian Calendar

Did you know that April 1 used to be the start of the new year?

The Julian calendar was used in Great Britain (and its colonies, including those in America) until 1752, after which it switched to the Gregorian calendar – a different way of calculating the date.

However, France started to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar much earlier, all the way back in the 16th century. This moved the new year’s date from April 1 to January 1.

Not everyone got the memo. Not everyone wanted the change. It is said that those who didn’t know about the new date or stubbornly followed the old calendar became the butt of many jokes on April 1.

April Fools’ Day Quote

“April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” – Mark Twain

Why do we celebrate April Fools’ Day?

Even if we did know the origins of April Fools’ Day once and for all, it still wouldn’t explain why it’s such a phenomenon today.

One possible reason is that it’s entertaining. Laughter makes the world go round, and practical jokes are a good way of ensuring everyone has a good time – even the prankee! Veteran teachers and wise adults might think they’ve heard every joke and seen every prank in the book, but they can still be surprised.

(Plus, they have experience with classics children might not have encountered yet so they can get their own back.)

One thing is sure: April Fools’ Day is a breath of fresh air and a good reminder not to take things seriously!

Iconic April Fools’ Day Hoaxes

A New Number for Pi

April Fools’ Day comes hot on Pi Day, an event on March 14. Few pranks had caused as much concern among mathematicians as in 1998; an alarming report indicated that the Alabama state legislature was changing the value of pi.

It had too many decimal places, so they changed it to a nice, round, friendly number: 3.

Engineers, architects, and math teachers all over the country sounded the alarm (or maybe just raised an eyebrow) at the prospect of their beloved pi being changed. Some people even phoned up their local legislators!

But in the end, it was all a big April Fools’ Day prank devised by a physicist named Mark Boslough.

Robbing the U.S. Treasury

Let’s go back in time. Way back. Back to the early 1900s!

In 1907, a German newspaper, Berliner Tageblatt, published an article saying that all the gold and silver in the U.S. Federal Treasury had been stolen.

How did the “thieves” manage it?

They dug a tunnel beneath the building over three years to break into the treasury, then escaped with their ill-gotten goods.

Of course, this did not happen. But that didn’t stop people from believing it was proper for a hot minute.

The Great Spaghetti Harvest of 1957

This one’s a doozy. Back in 1957, there was a famous report by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) on the spaghetti harvest in Switzerland that year. After an early spring, the spaghetti trees were so laden with spaghetti that farmers began to grow worried. The decline of the spaghetti weevil was also suggested as a cause for the bumper harvest.

Wait, spaghetti trees?

Yes, you heard that right. One of the most trustworthy news organizations in the United Kingdom managed to trick their viewers into believing that spaghetti did grow on trees. As a result, hundreds of people picked up their phones to ask about it. Legendary!

April Fools’ Day Around the World

France

We’ve already explored the potential origins of April Fools’ Day, which could have started in France. How do the French celebrate it today?

In France, April Fools’ Day is known as April Fish.

People use paper fish to play harmless pranks on their friends and family. First, they stick a paper fish onto the back of as many people as possible. After that, they yell the phrase “Poisson d’Avril!” which translates into “April Fish.”

Scotland

We know that the United Kingdom enjoys concocting some truly epic April Fools’ Day pranks (like the Spaghetti Harvest in 1957), but Scotland also has its historical traditions.

In Scotland, April Fools’ Day used to take place over two days. One of them was known as Gowk’s Day. A “gowk” in Scots has two meanings: it can refer to a cuckoo or a fool.

Making someone the fool on April Fools’ Day was known as “hunting the gowk.” A traditional prank involved asking someone to deliver a sealed letter with a message inside. This message encouraged the recipient to send the messenger on another fool’s errand, then another, until someone took pity on them.

Nowadays? People send their unwitting victims on an errand to fetch things like “tartan paint” or a“long stand.” We’ll let you figure that one out yourselves.

Portugal

In Portugal, people celebrate a unique version of April Fools’ Day on the two days before Lent.

Unfortunately for the unsuspecting fools, the Portuguese version of April Fools’ Day tends to get messy. The prank is a simple one:

1. Acquire a sack of flour.
2. Throw said flour on your friends when they least expect it.

Simple!

Brazil

In the early 19th century, a satirical newspaper published an alarming headline proclaiming the death of the Emperor of Brazil, Don Pedro. This was a memorable April Fools’ Day prank that popularized the tradition in Brazil!

The day is known as Dia das Mentiras (the Day of Lies) or Dia dos Bobos (the Day of Fools).

Ideas for April Fools’ Day

April Fools’ Day in the Classroom

• Compare April Fools’ Day in the United States with another country. What are the similarities and differences? Would you like to take part in those traditions?
• Practice some puns memorized from joke books or cards and recite them to your friends and classmates. This is a great way to hone your talent for comedy!
• Prank the class next door! Then, your students can work together to devise a diabolical plan – with your approval, of course.

April Fools’ Day at Home

• Team up to play pranks on the other members of your household. Two heads are better than one when thinking up hilarious practical jokes.
• Investigate hoaxes from the past and present. April Fools’ Day has been around for a long time, and you can find videos of some older broadcasts online. Ask an adult for good ones to research!
• Write a truce promising no more pranks and practical jokes. You can create a contract for a ceasefire that all parties can agree to, but whether you follow it is another question.

5 Fun Facts about April Fools’ Day

1. You might not expect there to be rules for such a chaotic event, but April Fools’ Day has them! According to the rules, your pranks and jokes have a time limit. So if you make them afternoon, you’re the fool for the rest of the year!
2. The earliest reference associating the beginning of April with foolish behavior is thought to be in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. This was written in 1392 and is one of the most famous works in the English language.
3. In 1992, one hilarious prank by Taco Bell saw the fast-food chain claim that they’d bought the Liberty Bell. Yes, that Liberty Bell. Go big or go home!
4. Another popular name for April Fools’ Day is All Fools’ Day.
5. Several countries around the world also call April Fools’ Day by the name “April Fish,” not just France. These include Italy, Belgium, and Quebec in Canada.

So, what is a scientific diagram?

A scientific diagram is a picture that shows exactly how an experiment has been set up. They aren’t supposed to look like realistic sketches and are drawn in two dimensions. Therefore, they must be clear, precise, and easy to understand.

Scientific diagrams are part of a scientific method for how an experiment was set up and carried out so that other scientists can repeat the experiment. This is an essential part of making sure that an investigation is reproducible. This means that other scientists can experiment to see if they get similar results to check the experiment’s reliability and effects. It’s a bit like citing the written sources of information – it means that what a person claims can be limited.

In science lessons and exams, children are required to draw scientific diagrams which show how a particular experiment is set up and executed. In addition, standard pieces of equipment are represented in specific ways in the scientific chart to help everyone who look s at it understand what equipment is being used and how.

Scientific diagrams must be straightforward to understand so that other people can replicate the experiment – this is a vital part of a good experiment. They use standard representations of objects in 2D. The investigation is looked at from the side.

• Measuring cylinders,
• beakers,
• conical flasks,
• test tubes,
• round-bottomed flasks,
• glass funnels,
• glass rods,
• watch glasses,
• Bunsen burners,
• tripods,
• retort stands,
• boss heads and clamps,
• wire gauze,
• evaporating dishes,
• crucibles,
• pipeclay triangles and safety mats

all have specific symbols which are used to show that they are being used in a science diagram.

There are particular rules about how to present scientific diagrams and how to draw each piece of equipment.

The 10 Rules of Scientific Drawings

1. Use a sharp, hard pencil. This allows you to make bold, precise lines that can be rubbed and altered if you make a mistake.
2. Draw your scientific diagram large enough that every part of it can be seen clearly – don’t try to squash anything into a small space. There should be room around the diagram for clear, written labels.
3. Use a ruler when drawing straight lines. This helps you keep the diagram neat, clear, and precise and means that there won’t be any unnecessary parts of a line.
4. Draw using single, solid lines. This means that each piece of equipment in the diagram should be drawn with a single line. Don’t sketch or use dashed lines. You can find stencils that help you keep your equipment to a single line.
5. Only draw simple black-and-white outlines of each piece of equipment. Don’t use hading, colors, or shadows to make the drawings look more realistic.
6. Everything you draw should be a 2D representation of the equipment. This helps to keep your scientific diagram clear – an attempt at drawing something realistically could be open to interpretations.
7. Don’t draw lines across the tops of open things like funnels, beakers, or test tubes. This shows people that the top can have liquids poured into it.
8. Draw the pieces of equipment in your experiment to scale so that they are in proportion. This helps people looking at your scientific diagram to understand what everything is as the proportions of the objects reflect real life.
9. If pieces of equipment are touching, your diagram must also show this. Don’t draw any pieces of equipment floating, as this doesn’t explain your experiment’s setup correctly. So, if a funnel sits in a beaker, your scientific diagram should show the sides of the cup supporting the funnel.
10. Label each piece of equipment clearly with printed or block capital letters – no cursive. Then, draw a straight line using a ruler to connect the label to the equipment.

What is Script Writing?

There are different kinds of script writing. One type of script is a screenplay, in which a script is written for TV or film and contains character dialogue and screen directions for the director. Another type of script writing is a play script. A play script is a piece of paper written for the stage. A play script contains the action in the narrative split into different scenes, stage directions, and dialogue from the characters. A script is written to tell the director and the actors what to do, unlike a story, which is reported to paint a picture in the reader’s imagination.

Every year kids get to put on at least one play that can evoke emotions from excitement to confusion to outright horror. As such, learning how to understand, act in, design, structure, and write a play comes with the territory of being a kid. Children start by learning play scripts in Drama from Year 2 and begin learning how to use their bodies to interact with each other. Later in their education, students begin dabbling with creative writing. Script writing is one of the ways teachers can help their imaginations explode with color and flair.

It’s not always easy to develop divine ideas and enigmatic dialogue that would make Shakespeare’s ear twitch, so we’ve put together this handy guide full of creative script writing prompts for story, character, and discussion. So raise the curtain, folks; here are some significant script writing prompts and ideas to prime your kiddos into writing and performing a stage play.

Script Writing Prompts and Activities

There are lots of ways you can help children get their creative juices flowing when partaking in script writing and drama activities. They could use story starter sentences, visual photo prompts, character inspirations, or even dialogue aids. The world is their stage – or at least the classroom is for now.

We’ve developed these easy, and fun script-writing prompts to inspire children to write scintillating scripts. But, of course, these ideas can also get physical, and you can split the class into groups to act out these prompts in some epic improvisation lessons.

The magic of misunderstanding

• Two characters are trapped in a broom cupboard; one character believes they are both in on a secret, and the other is entirely oblivious.

• Two characters meet on the street; one sincerely believes they know the other, while the other insists they have never met.

• One character is on the telephone trying to buy something; the other end insists they have the wrong number.

Hiding a secret

• Three characters are sitting at a bus stop. Two characters know something and are trying to keep the third character from finding out.

• Two characters have scheduled a top-secret meeting on a rooftop; one is a superhero and is about to reveal his true identity.

Emergency

• Two strangers are stuck in an elevator. One is calm; the other believes the walls are closing in.

• Two characters have accidentally ordered the wrong pizza at a restaurant; they have one minute to decide what to do.

Group Tasks

• A group of actors is on stage, and everyone has forgotten their lines, along with the plot and even who they are.

• A group of characters is waiting in a queue. The first character knows what they are waiting for, but the others do not and continually wonder out loud what it could be.

Here are more super simple idea prompts:

• Imagine you are the master of the Universe.
• You’re walking your dog in the park, and suddenly he runs away.
• You are a dark wizard planning to rule the world.
• Your aunt is coming to stay, and you’re trying to convince your family you are allergic to her.
• You’re sitting in the classroom minding your own business when suddenly, everyone disappears.
• There’s a knock at the door. You open it to see your childhood hero.
• You’re an international spy trying to solve the mystery of the Emperor’s lost sock.
• You arrive at school and realize you haven’t done any homework.
• There’s a secret realm behind the blackboard, but only you know about it.
• An alien has crash-landed in the playground.

Superstar Teacher Idea

Make your script writing prompts and story starters by making a creative game. Using four columns, write down a list of prompts on little paper or cards, as shown below. You’ll need a sentence starter, such as ‘Write a story about…’ or ‘Write a script about…’ along with a character, a description, and a situation.

Use this fantastic set of examples below, or add your original ideas. Then, of course, you can always keep adding more to the collection and laminate the cards to use again and again.

Write a script about	annoying	wizard	who loses the planet in a bet
Write a story about	hungry	fairy	who starts a wind farm
Write a script about	silly	Prince	who eats a spider
Write a story about	greedy	Princess	who writes a novel
Write a script about	playful	gargoyle	who conquers a King
Write a story about	handsome	horse	who disappears
Write a script about	gruesome	pumpkin	who sinks ships
Write a story about	laughing	pirate	who saves the town
Write a script about	hideous	scientist	who gets lost in space
Write a story about	giant	cat	who lives in a caravan
Write a script about	happy	aunt	who only eats cabbage
Write a story about	grumpy	sausage	who puts a curse on the town
Write a script about	terrible	plumber	saves a family of bears

Script Writing Character Prompts:

Coming up with interesting characters is tricky, so using character prompts is a great tool to get those neurons buzzing with ideas. As play scripts are mostly dialogue, it’s a great start to get children actively thinking and talking about what they could include in a script. This fun activity can be done physically or in writing. It’s a great way to encourage students to interact with each other and learn improvisational skills.

Task children to develop a scene between two characters using a script writing prompt. Using the same idea as before, write down each marker on a little piece of paper and make four piles. Children pick one from each bank and concoct the frame for their character. Here are some ideas to get started:

Victoria is a	curious person	with blue eyes	and a monkey sidekick
Evangeline is a	grumpy person	with red hair	and a love of dragons
Ruby is a	friendly person	with brown hair	and one leg
Dexter is a	serious person	with black eyes	and a cupboard full of money
Chihiro is a	giggly person	with pink hair	and a car full of skateboards

Script Writing Dialogue Prompts:

Dialogue in scripts for plays, TV, films, or any narrative should have a natural flow. It’s a great idea to get kids active in the classroom to practice their dialogue and think about it in terms of a story or a play. The physical element gets the juices flowing, and they can test the natural ways characters speak before writing them down in their script. They could start with any topic and any idea. Kids typically love to play pretend and have grown up playing and creating worlds from an early age. Creative students will love coming up with something fun and inventive to explore in this activity, but shyer children might prefer a prompt.

Dialogue Prompts:

• “Excuse me; you’re sitting on my hand.”
• “Hello, aren’t you the Queen?”
• “Stop that flamingo!”
• “Wait, how did you find me?”
• “I said it first. It’s mine.”
• “Is this your first time here?”
• “What are you reading?”
• “I lost the dog. It wasn’t my fault…”
• “Great, Scott, it’s a sea cucumber.”
• “Is this your hat? It’s slightly wet.”
• “I swear, officer, this is not what it looks like.”
• “Stop shouting!”
• “what was that smashing sound?”
• “You buried what in the garden?!”
• “Grab a bucket and three chickens; there’s no time to explain.”
• “Trust me. I’m a time traveler.”
• “Would you like a jelly baby?”

Summative assessments are any method of evaluation performed at the end of a unit or term, allowing teachers to measure a student’s understanding against standardized criteria.

They usually result in the student receiving a determined grade, either a letter grade or numbered level, that tells the student how well they perform academically. Teachers can also use these results to evaluate their teaching methods’ success and see if they need to be adjusted the next time they teach that unit.

So, summative assessments are one-off testing designed to determine what a child knows at the end of a learning period – a unit, term, or chapter. They happen at specific times and are not ongoing. The year 6 SATs are an example of a summative assessment. Children’s comprehensive knowledge of the curriculum is tested in a series of tests in English reading, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and maths. Other famous examples of summative assessments include A-levels and GCSEs.

Formative Assessments Vs. Summative Assessments:

One of the most significant differences between formative and summative assessments is the time frame. Summative assessments are always at the end and are a one-off test or assignment, whereas formative assessments are on-going and can happen as often as a teacher feels appropriate for their class.

This means that summative assessments tend to be more formal than formative ones. Formative assessments need to be casual for students to participate fully. Still, summative assessments require clear expectations and a timeline as to when they will happen to ensure students have the best chance possible to succeed.

Origins of Summative Assessments

Summative assessments have been used in various forms since the invention of schools. However, they now have an even more critical emphasis as GCSEs and A-Levels can help students progress to the next level of education or career.

They have always been a part of education because they allow teachers to determine whether their students have been making adequate academic progress and are meeting their targets.

Types of Summative Assessment:

Summative assessments don’t have to be super severe exams because they don’t always show off everyone’s skills. Here are examples of different kinds of summative assessments:

• Written Assessments – This may be an original piece of creative writing, narratives, or an analytical essay. Anything that allows students to show off their understanding of a topic in a large written format.
• Performance Assessments – Interactive tasks and activities allow students to showcase their abilities. These are particularly useful for performance-based subjects such as drama and music
• Standardized Assessments – Exams against a rubric
• Oral Assessments – getting students to give speeches and presentations
• A final project or portfolio may include getting students to make something or put a collection together to show off their understanding of a topic.

Benefits of Summative Assessments:

The most apparent use of summative assessments is that they give final grades; this means that both the teacher and the student know exactly what level they are working at. In addition, these can have other uses

Summative assessments like exams and closed-book essays ensure students retain essential information from the unit or chapter.

A limerick poem is a poem where the first, second, and fifth lines have the same rhyme and rhythm. The third and fourth lines within a limerick will rhyme too!

A limerick contains just one stanza, a group of lines within a poem, much like a verse within a song. When discussing the way that poems rhyme, we often refer to it as a rhyming scheme. In the case of the limerick, the rhyming plan is AABBA.

Limerick’s poems are usually fun poems designed with humor, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. They are sometimes read quite quickly, and the final line is designed to make people laugh.

What is the origin of the limerick poems?

The origin of the limerick is not defined. However, it is suggested that the name is derived from the place in Ireland, also called Limerick, and referred to an old-style parlor game that

The first limericks were written in the early 1700s and were often used in folk songs. However, the father of the limerick is Edward Lear, the famous British poet. He popularized the first limerick poem even if he didn’t write it. His limericks are considered to be the best ones. Most of them tell the story of an older man, just like this one:

There was an Old Man in a tree,

Who was bored by a bee?

When they said, “Does it buzz?”

He replied, “Yes, it does!

It’s a regular brute of a bee.”

(There was an Old Man in a tree, by Edward Lear)

What are the features of a limerick poem?

• Lines 1, 2, and 5 verse.
• Lines 3 and 4 verse.
• The rhyming pattern is AABBA
• Lines 1, 2, and 5 are longer and have approximately the same number of syllables (usually 8-10) in each.
• Lines 3 and 4 are shorter, with the same number of syllables (5-6).
• The first line sets up the subject, so it usually ends with the name of a person or place.
• The second line gives more details about the subject.
• Lines 3 and 4 give us some action about the subject.
• The last line is the punchline, usually the consequences of lines 3 and 4.

Examples of limerick poems

Here are some more examples of limerick poems written by Edward Lear:

There was an Old Man who said, ‘Hush!

I perceive a young bird in this bush!’

When they said, ‘Is it small?’

He replied, ‘Not at all!

It is four times as big as the bush!’

(Limerick No. 80, from A Book of Nonsense, by Edward Lear)

There was a Young Lady of Dorking,

Who bought a large bonnet for walking;

But it’s color and size,

So bedazzled her eyes,

That she very soon went back to Dorking

(There was a Young Lady of Dorking, by Edward Lear)

There was a Young Person from Crete,

Whose toilette was far from complete;

She dressed in a sack,

Speckle-speckled with black,

That ombliferous person of Crete.

(There was a Young Person of Crete, by Edward Lear)

If you liked Lear’s limerick poems, we’ve also created some for you:

*

There once was a teacher in school,

Who thought, “I am nobody’s fool.”

She searched for the lovely Twinkl,

For resources to sprinkle,

And now her classroom looks so cool!

**

There was an old Martian named Zed

With blue spots all over his head.

He sent out a lot

Of di-di-dash-dot-dot

But nobody knows what he said!

***

I’m writing this verse for my Dad,

I hope it will make him quite glad,

And if he gets sick,

In this limerick,

It’ll prove that I’m poetry mad!

How to write a good limerick poem?

Writing can be double fun if you plan to create a limerick with your little learners. We are sure they’ll enjoy putting their ideas together and creating an amusing poem to read and show others. Here are six simple steps to have in mind when writing a limerick poem or when you teach your children to do it:

1. Find a narrative – Like any other poem, the limerick poem has to tell a story, has a main character, or have a theme. Think of a limerick poem as a concise story.

1. The subject should come first – The first verse should introduce the main character or the topic you chose for your poem. Always start a limerick poem with the issue. For example, you can pick a name for your character or use your own and find words that rhyme with it. You’ll see what amusing poem you can come up with.

1. Don’t be afraid to be silly – After introducing the character or the theme, you can let your imagination run free. Limericks are meant to be a bit silly and playful so that you can get creative with your humor.

1. End with a twist – If you want to get some good laughs with your limerick, you should end with a plot twist. This is like the punch line of a joke everyone is waiting for, so don’t keep them waiting!

1. Always follow the rhyme scheme – You can pick any topic for your limerick and have as much fun as you want, but remember to always stick to the AABBA rhyme scheme and the limerick’s rhythm. Check a dictionary for ideas if you need to find some words to rhyme.

1. Read your creation out loud – The easiest way to find out if your limerick poem has the proper rhyme scheme is by reading it out loud. If writing was fun, imagine how much fun you will have to hear your masterpiece. Once it passes your test, the limerick poem is ready to be read in front of other people!

Types of Underwater Animals.

Our ocean habitats cover an impressive two-thirds of the earth’s surface and contain up to 226,000 species of underwater animals. The world’s oceans can be divided into five sections – the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. Each one is home to thousands of unique and colorful species of fish, mammals, and other wildlife. Let’s look at just a few of these incredible marine creatures!

Pacific Ocean Animals.

Sea Lions: Using their fore flippers to swim and back flippers to steer, these hefty mammals can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour! The species is found along the coast of Japan and Korea, western North America from southern Canada to mid-Mexico, and the Galápagos Islands.

Killer Whales: As part of the dolphin family, killer whales are classed as mammals, despite being commonly mistaken for fish. Killer whales get their name from their success at hunting – they feed off various fish, seals, and even whales.

Nudibranch: These are colorful, soft-bodied mollusks that shed their shells after releasing larvae. More commonly known as “sea slugs,” they get their nameNudibranchfrom “naked gill,” referring to the breathing apparatus outside their bodies.

Atlantic Ocean Animals.

Sea Horses: Technically fish, these beautiful creatures are known to swim in pairs with their tails linked. Luckily for them, very few other animals eat the sea horse because they are just too boney (except for crabs). They’ve cleverly adapted to look like sea plants to avoid them, though. Fun fact: the male seahorses get pregnant and give birth to the young!

Green Sea Turtle: These beautiful animals can weigh up to 160kg when fully grown. When they’re still growing, they eat jellyfish and sponges. In adult life, they’re herbivores, meaning they maintain a plant-based diet, sustaining themselves on sea grasses and algae.

Salmon: Our planet’s salmon population has massively suffered due to overfishing. Often, fish aren’t caught for food sustainably, meaning that their numbers deplete and sometimes go extinct. However, they can grow up to a meter long and feed off a range of other life, such as plankton and insects in their youth and Capelin in adulthood.

Indian Ocean Animals.

Butterfly fish: Recognizable due to their beautifully colored scales, these tropical fish can also be found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They’re named due to their stunning coloring, which ranges from yellow to silver, red, orange, and black. They sometimes even have eye-like patterns on their bodies.

Oceanic dolphins: There are 36 species of dolphins that can be found in every ocean. The majority of dolphins live in the sea or brackish waters along coastlines. Dolphins are small, toot cetaceans with curved mouths, making it look like they are constantly smiling!

Whale sharks: These mighty creatures are the largest fish in the ocean. The largest one on record was over 20m long and weighed 42 tonnes! Grey-blue in color, these giants display an exciting pattern of pale spots on their bodies. The design is unique to each individual, just as human fingerprints are.

Antarctic and Arctic Ocean Animals.

Seals are brilliantly adapted to their environment, with a thick layer of blubber (fat) to keep them warm. In addition, their long whiskers help them to detect prey when hunting underwater.

Antarctic Krill: They’re small crustaceans that live in large swarms, with a whopping 10,000 to 30,000 individuals per square meter! Most people will know these creatures to be a favorite delicacy amongst whales.

Beluga Whale: Easily recognizable due to their bright white coloring, these large-headed creatures are known as the canaries of the sea, being the most vocal of all the whales.

Looking for some pop music facts? We’ve got you covered better than a cover song (a cover song is when a new recording of a popular song is “covered” by a musician who didn’t sing the original song – that’s another pop music fact for you before we even get started!)

Read on for our top fun facts about pop music.

1. Pop music became popular in the 1950s when rock and roll became a ‘popular’ hit with teenagers.
2. Today there are hundreds of different types of pop music, also known as ‘genres,’ including K-pop (Korean pop), hip-hop, electric dance music (EDM), and rock music.
3. Elvis Presley was a rock and roll musician and one of the first worldwide pop music stars we know today.
4. The Beatles were one of the first “boy bands” in pop music; bands such as Take That, One Direction, JLS, and many more have them to thank!
5. The Beatles are behind so many exciting pop music facts – for example, they were so popular that on their tour of America in the 1960s, they were followed by crowds of screaming teenage girls! These young girls would get so worked up that the media coined a term for it – they called it “Beatlemania.”
6.  Paul McCartney was in The Beatles and still performs today – he is the world’s richest pop star with a fortune of over $1 billion!
7. The most popular music in the 1970s was disco, and one of the top pop groups of this decade was the Swedish pop group ABBA. An extra pop music fact about ABBA – they rose to fame after performing on the Eurovision TV contest with their hit “Waterloo.”
8. The UK’s best-selling single was Elton John’s ‘Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997′. It sold nearly 5 million copies when it was released following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.
9. In the UK, 178 songs have sold over 1 million copies.
10. For recent facts about pop music, who were some of the best-selling pop artists of 2021? They were Adele, Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, and some older bands such as Queen and ABBA (yes, the same ABBA from the 1970s!).

In geometry, a polyhedron is a three-dimensional object with flat polygonal faces, sharp corners, and straight edges. Each side is a flat surface and is without any curved surfaces. The word comes from the Greek ‘poly’ (stem of many)  + ‘hedron’ (face). So, a polyhedron  means ‘many-faced geometric shape.’

Examples Of A Polyhedron

A polyhedron features identical faces. Here are some examples of a polyhedron noticeable in everyday life.

• Pyramid
• Football
• Prism
• House
• Brick

What Is Not A Polyhedron?

A polyhedron does not feature contain gaps between the edges or vertices. Here are some examples of shapes that aren’t polyhedrons.

• Cone
• Sphere
• Cylinders
• Coffee Mug

What Is A Regular Polyhedron?

A regular polyhedron is where all faces of an object or shape are a regular polygon. Here are some examples of common polyhedron shapes.

• Regular tetrahedron
• Cube
• Regular octahedron
• Regular dodecagon
• Regular icosahedron

A plot summary is a short, concise description of the events of a story. It covers all the main things in the text but doesn’t go into any detail. There’s no analysis or explanation, only an overview.

This might seem simplistic, and you might even wonder what its point is. However, there are many reasons someone might want to read a plot summary, and they can be instrumental. Moreover, you’ve probably read one at some point yourself!

What are plot summaries used for?

There are many different reasons why people might look up the plot summary for something. Check out some of the main reasons below:

• To allow someone to understand a text that is confusing them – sometimes, you might find yourself reading something over your head a bit. For example, maybe the language is compli. Checking a plot summary can help to smooth out these misunderstandings and allow you to enjoy the story more.
• To help someone decide whether they want to read a book – checking out the beginning of a plot summary might help you determine whether a particular book is up your alley. But be careful – if you’re the kind who likes to avoid spoilers, make sure you don’t read the whole thing!
• To allow someone to engage in a discussion – now and again, you might find people sharing their opinions about something you don’t know anything about. A plot summary can help provide contexts for these debates, allowing you to follow the discussion.
• To help someone know what to expect – some people prefer to know exactly what to expect when reading a book or watching a film. It can help them to relax and enjoy the story without worrying about keeping up or what’s going to happen next.
• To compare different versions of a story – sometimes a plot is adapted in other contexts, for example, if a book has been adapted into a film. The plot summary can help you see how the story has changed.

So, how can I write an excellent plot summary?

The key to writing an excellent plot summary is to pull out the most critical information and not give extra details. Before you begin writing, try and find the core of the text. In non-fiction, this might be the main idea, while in fiction, it might be the critical event. Then, use the text’s skeleton to structure your plot summary.

Make sure that you’re not writing anything too long. There’s no point reading a book summary if it’s half the book’s length – you might as well just read the real thing! Ideally, please keep it to one paragraph, but there’s no hard and fast rule for this. Summaries of really long texts may be longer.

Don’t include any judgments or biases in your summary. The point of a plot summary is not to provide analysis or opinion but rather to relay facts. It’s up to the reader to make decisions based on them.

What does a good plot summary look like?

Now you know what to expect from a plot summary and how to write one, check out this example to see it all come together in precisely what it should look like. For example, here’s a plot summary example for the traditional fairy tale ‘Cinderella’:

Cinderella is an orphan made to cook and clean by her wicked stepmother and nasty stepsisters. When the chance to go to a ball at the palace comes along, her stepmother ensures she cannot attend. However, with the help of her fairy godmother, Cinderella attends in a beautiful dress and captures the prince’s attention. After she’s forced to leave in a hurry, the prince finds the unique glass slipper that she was wearing on the steps to the palace. Using the slipper as a guide, he searches the kingdom for her. He finally finds her, and she proves her identity by donning the slipper. They get married and live happily ever after.

So, what makes that so good?

This plot summary example features all the main events of the classic story, providing an overview of the narrative in a short word count. If you read that, you’d understand the level of Cinderella, even if you’d never heard it. However, it cuts out all the description that makes the whole story captivating, just providing the bones of the plot.

What skills do children learn through plot summaries?

We’ve explored why plot summaries are essential and valuable, but the art of practicing summarising has many benefits for children too. Learning how to summarise is an integral part of reading comprehension and can be an excellent activity for you to do with your learners after you’ve read a text. It helps them show how much they’ve understood and can allow you to identify any areas of confusion you need to go over in more detail.

Repeating a summary is also proven to have helped children to remember texts better, which can help them build strong memories. The ability to recall information is an important comprehension skill and can set children up for future success in exams and have lots of real-life applications.