Elements Worksheets Warm Up - · PDF fileElements Worksheets Warm Up ... strip the willow, a Highland fling. That fire, ... (Ina means Fire in Yoruba, a Nigerian Language)

Elements WorksheetsWarm UpWarm up Your WordsBy Margot Henderson

Materials : You will each need a piece of card and a pen or pencil.

1. Pick one of the elements: Earth, Fire, Water or Air. 2. Think of words and sayings about that element. Don’t tell anyone else your ideas. Write them down on your piece of card and keep it secret.

Here are some ideas about air:Walking on airFull of hot air Out of thin airWe’re on the airPutting on airs and gracesAn auld Scottish airWhat an airheadAiry Fairy

3. When you’ve got your ideas written down, come back together as a group and take it in turns to talk about your ideas. How many of these have you heard before? Can you think of any others? Do you know what they mean? Explore the words and phrases, explain and describe them.4. Read your phrases out loud going round in a circle. See what they sound like when you put them together. Do some of them sound better if they come before or after each other? If so, change the order in the circle. Your poem should be taking shape.5. Use one of the phrases as the chorus of the poem. Repeat at the beginning of each sec-tion of the poem, like Michael Rosen does in his Air poem:

Air in my hairAir in the airfffffffffffffff

6. Add in some joining words where you need them. 7. Pick one of the phrases or words as a title.8. Edit the poem as much as you need to. Keep changing, adding and taking bits away until it sounds right to you.9. Rehearse it as a group. Then perform it!© Margot Henderson 2003 Commissioned by Barbican Education for Can I Have a Word

Elements WorksheetsActivityElement CharactersBy Jackie Kay

Here are some ideas to help you writing your own poem.

1. Write your own poem about fire answering some of these questions:What does fire look like?What does fire smell like?What does fire sound like?What does fire feel like?What would fire talk like? What might fire say or sing?Try and think of interesting verbs that go with fire: crackle, spit, pop, roar.

2. Create a fiery character. An imaginary person who loves fire, who has a hot temper. Think what this person looks like, talks like, thinks like, and walks like.

3. Imagine the fire itself as a kind of character and write a poem as if fire was a person.Write a poem about them. What are they called? Mrs. Inferno? Mr. Phoenix maybe?

4. Think what this personLooks like Talks likeThinks likeWalks like

Try the same activity using the other elements.

© Jackie Kay 2003 Commissioned by Barbican Education for Can I Have a Word

Air By Margot Henderson

This chest is full of air from a faraway placeWhere there is lots more air and lots more space.Where the air is scented with real pine treesNot the air fresheners in packetsThat you get in public lavatories.

This air hums with the wingsand the calls of wild geese.Sometimes it is so fierceit can knock people overand uproot whole trees.

Sometimes it’s so fullof stillness and silenceit’s not even stirred by a single breeze.When you breathe in and out

you can feel the release.You melt into the seasideinto the hillsideand feel nothing but peace.

Do you believe whenever you breatheYou breathe in air?Air’s not just there, it’s everywhereAir is something we all share.

When you breathe in (breathe in)you take some of the worldinside your skin.

When you breathe out (breathe out)part of you comes out of your mouthto become a part of what’s out there.

Air’s fair. It spreads itself everywhereIt joins everyone to everyoneand everything out there.

In This Chest By Margot Henderson

© Margot Henderson 2003 Commissioned by Barbican Education for Can I Have a Word

That fire, they said, was as red as red as redred as a fox, your lips, a cherryThat fire, they said spread and spread and spreadFaster, than a cheetah or a nasty rumourThat fire, they said, was hot, so hot, so hotHotter than lava or an African summer.

That fire, they said, was angry, very angry.For three roaring days, it danced wildly, wildly, wildly.Wild as flamenco, strip the willow, a Highland fling.That fire, they said, had a big bad mouthSwearing, spluttering: Bring it on! Bring it on!

That fire, they said, wolfed down the lot –The lovely little homes, the trees, the landThat fire, they said, left nothing behind at all One blackened trail, one sad scorched story.

Bush Fire By Jackie Kay


An Old Woman’s Fire By Jackie Kay

I remember watching my grandmother build her fireThe honest kindling, the twisted newspaper,The tiny tower of good black coal.And how once lit, she’d hold a sheet of newspaper Across the fire and say, ‘Watch it suck, dear.’

I remember the way my grandmother loved to poke her fireAlways nudging the coals and turning them over opening the grate, placing another jet jewel on the glowing fire and how she’d fuss over the dying embers.

I remember how she sat there in her armchairHer old face, a little pink and flushed from the heat.And how she’d smile at her coal fire, lovingly,And sigh, ‘There’s nothing like a real fire is there dear?

As if her life could have been something else entirely.

That fire, they said, was as red as red as redred as a fox, your lips, a cherryThat fire, they said spread and spread and spreadFaster, than a cheetah or a nasty rumourThat fire, they said, was hot, so hot, so hotHotter than lava or an African summer.

That fire, they said, was angry, very angry.For three roaring days, it danced wildly, wildly, wildly.Wild as flamenco, strip the willow, a Highland fling.That fire, they said, had a big bad mouthSwearing, spluttering: Bring it on! Bring it on!

That fire, they said, wolfed down the lot –The lovely little homes, the trees, the landThat fire, they said, left nothing behind at all One blackened trail, one sad scorched story.


By Olusola Oyeleye

Flicker Licker the Fiery Flame

© Olusola Oyeleye 2003 Commissioned by Barbican Education for Can I Have a Word

Abiola went to sleep one nightWithout blowing out her candlelight.The candle flickered orange-yellow, blueFrom the hiss of the sparks a salamander grew Called Flicker Licker the fiery flame,Who decided to play a naughty game.While Abiola snored deep in her sleepFlicker Licker took a peepAt the sleeping child who had no ideaThe tongues of the flame gently licked her ear.

Flicker Licker crept around the houseAs stealthfully as a tiny mouse.In the kitchen she burnt the toastAnd to a crisp she sizzled the roast.She thought of lots of things to doLike charring cakes and burning stew.She called the other flames to playTo sear and singe and smoke away,To frizzle, frazzle, crackle, popOnce she had started she couldn’t stop.

Continued ...

Big Flames came and wanted a fight.They roared and soared; blazed in the night.Flicker Licker tried to dampen her flames She desperately wanted to end all the games.Her appeal to Big Flames were roundly ignoredAs they singed the carpet and scorched the doorsThere was screaming everywhere.Big Flames erupted they didn’t care.

Flicker Licker heard a loud ‘boom’;An explosion near Abiola’s room.She fanned her flames quickly like a snakeAnd found Abiola wide-awake.With smoke filled eyes startled with fright,Abiola jumped into the night,Landing in the fireman’s netWho doused out the flames with a watery jet.There is much to learn from this big mistake,But thank goodness Abiola managed to escape.


Continued ...

Ina, Fire (Ina means Fire in Yoruba, a Nigerian Language)

By Olusola Oyeleye

Ina burns, burns, burns. BURN, BURN, BURNIna shakes, shakes, shakes. SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE Ina sizzles. SIZZLE Ina frizzles. FRIZZLE Ina breaks, breaks, breaks. BREAK, BREAK, BREAK

Fire mends, mends, mends. MEND, MEND, MEND Fire heals, heals, heals. HEAL, HEAL, HEAL Fire comforts. COMFORT Fire’s triumphant. TRIUMPHANT Fire seals, seals, seals. SEAL, SEAL, SEAL

Ina blasts, blasts, blasts. BLAST, BLAST, BLAST Ina roars, roars, roars. ROAR, ROAR, ROARIna crackles. CRACKLEIna frazzles. FRAZZLE Ina scores, scores, scores.SCORE, SCORE, SCORE

Fire sparks, sparks, sparks. SPARK, SPARK, SPARK Ina makes, makes, makes. MAKE, MAKE, MAKE Fire cooks. COOK Fire warms. WARM Ina creates, creates, creates. CREATE, CREATE, CREATE


Air By Michael RosenThe yawn in the morning filling your mouthwith no one to start you yawning

air in my hairair in the airfffffffffffffff

The swing in the playground swingingwith no one on the swing to swing it


The balloon with its skin blown up tightwith no one blowing to tighten the skin


The open window where the cool blows inwith no one to blow the cool


The flame on the candles flamingwith no one to fan the flames


The sleepers breathing all night longwith only sleep to make them breathe

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

© Michael Rosen 2003 Commissioned by Barbican Education for Can I Have a Word

Water By Matthew SweeneyYou cannot walk on me.Hold me in your hand,I dribble out, wet you.Freeze me, I escape,helped by big yellow friend.You drink me, lots of me.For that I fall on you, Soak you, make you run.You cannot smell me, except when I’m salty,white-headed, and thenyou splash into me.Sometimes I keep you.And sometimes I invade you, come into your homes.You are right to fear me.You cannot tame me.You cannot do without me.

© Matthew Sweeney 2003 Commissioned by Barbican Education for Can I Have a Word

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Elements Worksheets Warm Up - · PDF fileElements Worksheets Warm Up ... strip the willow, a Highland fling. That fire, ... (Ina means Fire in Yoruba, a Nigerian Language)