Natural functions

These two poems by Gabriel Fitzmaurice from A Giant Never Dies (Poolbeg,

1-84223-009-3) have consistently delighted children in primary schools.

The Hidden Art

Making a fart
Is an art.

The wind that comes
To your behind
Has a mind of its own
And its mind
Is set on blowing
And the pressure
Keeps on growing.

to make for quiet release
You hold it softly,
Then you ease
It slowly out between your cheeks -
If you’re lucky it won't leak,
and no one knows
you've made a fart.

That’s why farting
Is an art.

The Forty Shades of Green

In Granda’s time, he told me,
They’d no toilets anywhere -
They had to do their business
In the open-air
In orchards, fields and gardens
Where they would not be seen
And that’s the reason, and Granda says,
Why Ireland is so green.

Whole class shared reading/writing

Whole class phonics, spelling,

vocabulary & grammar

What type of poems are these?

(Humorous)

Do they rhyme?

Is the rhyme structured?

Discuss number & length of stanzas.

Do you like the poems?

Why/not?

Change tense of ‘making’, ‘comes’,

‘growing’, ‘knows’.

Make singular/plural - ‘toilets’, ‘orchards’,

‘fields’, gardens’.

What does this tell us about the

words - verbs/nouns?

Click on the following links for Phil Doyle's complete Year 4 study unit: pdf; PowerPoint

Ireland in Schools

Making learning fun & challenging