Focusing on poems by Edwin Morgan and other poets and authors where they use made up words or a different language (a good book to look at here is 'King o’ the Midden') discuss the relevance of these different pronunciations and interpretations.

As a class begin to make a dictionary, start this off with just a small word bank, at the beginning of the week have a fresh A3 sheet with three headings on it. The words don’t have to have any relevance to anything, just three random words chosen by anyone in the class. Every day the children can be free to add words that they think are better than the original. They don’t have to explain why they think it’s better as long as you discuss them as a class at some point during the week (even if it’s just for five minutes to settle them before the 3pm bell rings).

If the class are more eager than expected you could change the headings twice a week or so until you have produced a bank of words that are new and exciting. They will want to use them in their writing.

Once you have developed a number of different words as a class you will have a big book dictionary. You could write a poem as a class or in groups, pairs or even individually. It’s up to you how much freedom you give them. You could write a poem as a class about school life or lesson subjects, anything.

You could develop this through drama. If for example you were studying the Scottish Parliament you could set up a mini jury and court room and discuss some matter previously assigned. The children are to add in as many made up words as possible which will encourage them to enthuse and exclaim more in order to accentuate what the words mean. You could record this act onto video for further development or just leave it as a weekly or fortnightly exploration of language where for five minutes the children are only allowed to talk in gobbledygook.

Assessment focus / development options

Focus on children’s facial expressions and annunciation of made up words.

You may wish to read them one or two Roald Dahl books like The BFG whilst developing this as he frequently chooses his own words over the actual version. This develops the children's sense of freedom to play with language and explore sounds.

Game: children to write any word down then think up a made up word instead of this word e.g. computer = iceeteenium. They must share their made up word with the class and perhaps give clues e.g. the first three syllables sound like an abbreviation of something to do with this thing (ICT). With these clues the class must decipher what the real word is.

Example

e.g. Thunder:

• smackerjan
• whackflub
• bronchirul
• screanisham
• kranc
• plap

My Subjects                                             My Subjects

Maths is something I can’t fathom               Maths is something I can’t blairun
History helps to unravel the Mystery            History helps to shpealun the quizicalinum
Language is useful but can be so boring       Language is yumut but ever so blenerfut
Gym should be put into every day               Gym should be cramlet in every frab
But play time I love in every way                  But waven time I plax in every way.

• Email this page
• Print friendly format
• Digg this
• Save to del.icio.us