Edward Lear’s Dream Little Learners
Pre Show
Pre-Show Activities for Edward Lear’s Dream
Nonsense rhymes and limericks are important for language acquisition and aiding speech development. They also help develop auditory skills such as distinguishing between sounds and developing an ear for the rhythm and music of words. They are great fun and as we know, children learn best when they are enjoying themselves.
If time allows you could:
Read the poems The Quangle Wangle’s Hat and / or The Jumblies.
Read some of Lear’s limericks – there are plenty of possibilities in Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense.
These poems and some of his limericks feature in the show.
Post Show
Post Show Activities
The following activities are intended to be used after the children have watched the performance. We hope they act as a springboard for you and your class to further explore the themes raised in the show. Please feel free to tailor these suggestions for the age and ability of your group.
Click on the blue links below to print off the different activity sheets.
Activity 1) Edward Lear’s Rhyming Pairs
Ask the children to match the rhyming pairs of words featured in the show. Enjoy saying them out loud, putting them into a sentence and coming up with their own.
Print off the sheet above and have fun matching the rhyming pairs.
Activity 2) Write a Nonsense Rhyme : Poem
This can be a whole class activity or, depending on their ages, they can write their own in pairs.
How to write a nonsense poem
There are numerous ways of writing nonsense rhymes. The important thing is to make it a fun exercise for the children.
Try brainstorming different words to put into a poem.
For older children you could ask the class for ten nouns, ten verbs and ten objects.
Split them into pairs or groups and ask them to write a four or five line poem using some or all of the chosen words.
If you need more structure ask the class to suggest a few possible opening lines e.g The man sat on the gate.
Another method might be to write down a few sentences about something very ordinary, like making a drink, or going for a walk.
e.g:
I went to put the bins out
I bought some bread
I woke up in the middle of the night
Think of some random words you find funny, interesting or sound nice. If you fancy a challenge you can also make up your own words.
E.g – Custard, Elephant, Squash
Swap some of the ordinary words from your sentence for your interesting words.
E.g:
I went to put the custard out
- And then I bought some bread
- I woke the elephant in the night
- With a squash upon my head
You’ve written a nonsense poem! Perform it with enthusiasm, actions and exaggerated expressions.
You can also write nonsense poems about a made-up subject. For example:
- A shark who is afraid of the dark.
- A pizza chef who doesn’t know how to make pizza.
- A lion who is afraid an ant
- An acrobat who is afraid of heights
Remember, writing poetry should be fun and experimenting with words. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
Nonsense Galleries
Activity 3) Group Activity – Make up your own Nonsense Character
Split the class into groups of three.
Give each group a blank piece of paper. In the following activity each person draws a different segment of character without revealing it to the rest of the group ie. head, body and legs.
Once the character is finished, have fun revealing the whole drawing to each other.
The children can then create a funny name for their nonsense character.
Activity 4) Individual Activity: Draw your favourite character from the Show
Using the attached Character List recap with your class which characters they can remember from the show. Ask them to draw their favourite. They can use the attached Picture Frame
Once they have finished their works of art, display them in a Nonsense Gallery on the classroom wall.
Test your children’s knowledge of the show with the quizzes below. Please note: For each quiz there are two print offs – a child copy with questions only and a teacher copy with the questions and answers.
Activity 5) Who Am I?
Activity 6) Owl and Pussycat Quiz