1. Thursday 4th March 2012
What I did on my holiday!
LO: To write an imaginative story
describing what I did on my holidays.
Use these starter sentences to help you! Try your best!
On the first day,
Then,
After that,
I had a good time on my holiday because...

2. Now enjoy your friend’s story!
Read each other’s work and underline any
spelling errors you can see. Remember
the 3 spelling rules!
• An i before e except after a c.
• If there is more than one, it
ends in an S.
• For things in the past, add
‘ed.’

3. Discussion – 3 minutes.
Is this an appropriate activity for a Year 11 English GCSE
class? Why/ why not?
Did it remind you of a certain time in your life? When?
Why? ten from
ay is writ o has
dying tod ective wh
it make m
Did The poeyou e are stu r’s pway?
wwrite in a certain ersp How? lass.
oo l teache t s in her c
a pr imary sch is for the studen
Do youet work like th
sof English?“spelling rules” if you can spell? Is that
think that are the most important
part Does it matter
what English teachers should be teaching?

4. Your dad did what? Sophie Hannah
LO: To explore how the poet uses structural and
grammatical devices to explore the different
perspectives of an adult and child.
STARTER – Match the
primary school work to the
correct grade.

5. Here are 4 primary school students’ descriptions of their
holiday. Match the extract to the grades – B, C, D and E.
yed
t da y, I sta
On the f On the firs y broth .
er
irs ith m
to beech. t day nana took at h om e w ring
was bo he
We mad
e sandca me . It
My one an d sister ook us to t
wa stle t
Tom kic s best of all. The s. The n, dad yed
ked it an n nd we pla
that, I g d I cried park a two
ot i . Af ll. I scored t! I
happy. I ce creem and wa ter footba rillian
do s as b
god tim n’t like Tom. I h goa ls. It w time on my
e on my ad a ood sun
of the be holiday had a g use the
ach. because eca he
ho liday b and I am t
ining Even
was sh all!!!!
ootb
On the first day I went to b est at f n dad.
tha
park. Then I watched better
pokemon. After that I
went to sleep. I had a good My holiday was horrible. My dad did.
time on my holidays
because it was nice. EXT: Do you think we should give grades to
Primary School students? Explain your answer in
full.

6. Watch the poem and consider the
following questions!
http://www.myspace.com/video/the-poetry-station/your-dad-did-wh
3.What happens to the boy’s work in the poem?
4.What did the boy’s dad “do”?
5.How do you feel at the end of the poem?

7. “and read the line again, just one ’e’ short”
My dad did. My dad died.

8. In pairs, rewrite the poem in lines and
stanzas. Pay attention to the rhymes and
rhythm of the words.
Where they have been, if they have been away, or what
they’ve done at home, if they have not - you make them
write about the holiday. One writes My Dad did. What?
Your Dad did what? That’s not a sentence. Never mind the
bell. We stay behind until the worktisedone. r How
pair. You count their
ano h all the assignments
words (you who can poem with spell); hat are the
count and ? W
ur and thoughethis boy seems bright,
are completerbaroone id you creat
y
Co mpa e as d rences? want to add
that one isny stanz says he’snd diffe doesn’t
his. He finished,
ma ti es a it is. No change. My Dad did.
s milari
anything, hands iit in just as
What? What did his Dad? You find the ’E’ you gave him as
you sort through reams of what this girl did, what that lad
did, and read the line again, just one ’e’ short: This holiday
was horrible. My Dad did.

9. How does your poem structure
Where they have been, if they have been away, compare to Hannah’s? - Higher
or what they've done at home, if they have not -
you make them write about the holiday. 3.Why do you think Hannah uses
One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what? a simple rhyme scheme (ABAB)?
What effect does it create? And
how does it contrast with the
That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell. subject matter?
We stay behind until the work is done.
You count their words (you who can count and spell); 5.Can you spot any half-rhymes in
all the assignments are complete bar one the poem? What does that
suggest about the teacher’s
and though this boy seems bright, that one is his. “authority”?
He says he's finished, doesn't want to add
anything, hands it in just as it is. 7.Identify where the poet has
used enjambement across a
No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?
stanza – what effect does this
have?
You find the 'E' you gave him as you sort
through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did, 9.Why do we only “find the ‘e’” in
and read the line again, just one 'e' short: the final word? What is the effect
This holiday was horrible. My Dad did. of the poet holding back that
information?

10. How does your poem structure
Where they have been, if they have been away, compare to Hannah’s? - Middle
or what they've done at home, if they have not -
you make them write about the holiday. •Underline the words which
One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what? rhyme in each stanza.
•Is this a regular or irregular
That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell. rhyme scheme?
We stay behind until the work is done.
You count their words (you who can count and spell); •Why would the poet use such a
all the assignments are complete bar one rhyme scheme? How does it
reflect the main ideas in the
and though this boy seems bright, that one is his. poem?
He says he's finished, doesn't want to add
•How many times is “My dad did”
anything, hands it in just as it is.
repeated in the poem?
No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?
•At what point, does the reader
You find the 'E' you gave him as you sort realise what happened to the
through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did, father?
and read the line again, just one 'e' short:
This holiday was horrible. My Dad did. •Why does the poet leave the
discovery til then?

11. Where they have been, if they have been away,
or what they've done at home, if they have not -
you make them write about the holiday.
One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what?
Underline any short
That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell. sentences. Identify
We stay behind until the work is done.
You count their words (you who can count and spell);
who is speaking
all the assignments are complete bar one and what tone is
created in them.
and though this boy seems bright, that one is his.
He says he's finished, doesn't want to add How does that
anything, hands it in just as it is.
No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?
contrast with the
rest of the poem?
You find the 'E' you gave him as you sort
through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did,
and read the line again, just one 'e' short:
This holiday was horrible. My Dad did.

12. Some of the short sentences
Where they have been, if they have been away, are to imitate and replicate
or what they've done at home, if they have not - the voice of a child’s immature
you make them write about the holiday. writing. The caesuras here
One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what? create a sense of poignancy
and finality to the statement
on a second reading.
That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell.
We stay behind until the work is done. Some of the short sentences
You count their words (you who can count and spell); imitate the teacher barking
all the assignments are complete bar one orders and judgements; short
questions portraying the lack
and though this boy seems bright, that one is his. of patience of the teacher. The
He says he's finished, doesn't want to add caesuras here break up the
anything, hands it in just as it is. rhythm, jolting the reader out
of the complacency of the
No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?
teacher’s inner voice.
You find the 'E' you gave him as you sort In contrast, the teacher has an
through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did, internal monologue with long,
and read the line again, just one 'e' short: extended complex sentences–
This holiday was horrible. My Dad did. indicating the supposed
superior intelligence and
sophistication of the voice.

13. Where they have been, if they have been away, The short sentences suggest
or what they've done at home, if they have not - the child’s babyish writing and
you make them write about the holiday. also the short sentence
One writes My Dad did. What? Your Dad did what? suggests the finality of death.
That's not a sentence. Never mind the bell. The short sentences are the
We stay behind until the work is done. teachers voice – they sound
You count their words (you who can count and spell); like commands and
instructions suggesting the
all the assignments are complete bar one
power of the teacher. On a
second reading, the questions
and though this boy seems bright, that one is his. sound cruel as we imagine
He says he's finished, doesn't want to add how the child feels hearing
anything, hands it in just as it is. them.
No change. My Dad did. What? What did his Dad?
The long sentences are the
You find the 'E' you gave him as you sort teacher’s thinking voice. They
through reams of what this girl did, what that lad did, are long and flowing, with lots
of long words and complex
and read the line again, just one 'e' short:
punctuation. This shows how
This holiday was horrible. My Dad did. the teacher is educated and
intelligent, in contrast to the
child.

14. 2nd Person Present...
The poem is written in 2nd person present (“you are”). This
is one of the rarest narrative tenses in literature.
What is the effect on the reader of using 2nd person? Why
would a writer use this unusual tense?
Why is it written in present tense? Would the poem be
altered if it was written in the more usual past tense?

15. How do these quotations display the teacher’s
attitude towards the students?
Quotation Technique Effect
You make them write Modal verb
about their holiday
You count their words brackets
(you who can count
and spell);
And though this boy Demonstratives
seems bright, that one (this/ that)
is his.
Through reams of Repetition
what this girl did,
what that lad did;

16. How does Hannah use language and structure
to create a sense of sadness in the poem?
You could consider:
The use of rhyme.
The variation in sentence types.
The use of 2nd person present narration.
The boys’ voice “doesn’t want to add anything”, “my
dad did”, “no change”.
The teacher’s voice “you who can count and spell”.
The way the poem builds to a climax.
The difference between a first and second reading.

17. CLASHES AND
COLLISIONS
What is the clash/ collision of ideas in this
poem?
What feeling emerge from this clash?
Choose one poem we have studied that have a
similar atmosphere and one that has a
different atmosphere.