Ready Steady Read Together
On the Move: Poetry Lesson 1
What do you think you know?
What?
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
When?
Book Talk: Let's explore this illustration.
Explore
What do you know and think?
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding…
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
Today's Question(s)
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
B) Which themes are present in the poem?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
Where Do We Come From?
I come from when houses were ruined,
the skies had stopped exploding,
my father in Germany meeting
the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow
in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum,
my mother holding on to my brother,
having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough,
my parents who grew up when you could buy a live chicken in Hessel Street,
my father sharing his bedroom with his Uncle Sam
but never talking to him because one day
Sam had grabbed the cap my father had bought
down Petticoat Lane, and turned it inside out.
“Who switched the light off, Father?”
“Neither of us. We didn’t have lights.
We had a candle.”
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My mother having to bring flowers to school for Harvest Festival but she had no garden,
so she walked down Globe Road
looking for a flower to pick
but there were none,
and there were Mosley’s Men out too,
looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews,
and the uncles who never came back
from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone,
but I was here, made from all this, all this,
it goes on, it hadn’t stopped,
there was my father swearing in Yiddish:
“Chaliera zolste nehmen.”
“Don’t say that, Harold!” my mum says to him.
And now I can say it too.
And now I can say it too.
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
a living, walking, just-talking toddler
skeleton of a dinosaur
wrecked
camps in Poland
vanished
Yiddish
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
I will model the first.
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
skeleton of a dinosaur
Explore
Find Read Talk
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother,
Reveal Vocabulary
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Your turn
skeleton of a dinosaur
wrecked
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
a living, walking, just-talking toddler
camps in Poland
vanished
Yiddish
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
Where Do We Come From?
I come from when houses were ruined,
the skies had stopped exploding,
my father in Germany meeting
the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow
in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum,
my mother holding on to my brother,
having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough,
my parents who grew up when you could buy a live chicken in Hessel Street,
my father sharing his bedroom with his Uncle Sam
but never talking to him because one day
Sam had grabbed the cap my father had bought
down Petticoat Lane, and turned it inside out.
“Who switched the light off, Father?”
“Neither of us. We didn’t have lights.
We had a candle.”
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Reveal Vocabulary
My mother having to bring flowers to school for Harvest Festival but she had no garden,
so she walked down Globe Road
looking for a flower to pick
but there were none,
and there were Mosley’s Men out too,
looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews,
and the uncles who never came back
from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone,
but I was here, made from all this, all this,
it goes on, it hadn’t stopped,
there was my father swearing in Yiddish:
“Chaliera zolste nehmen.”
“Don’t say that, Harold!” my mum says to him.
And now I can say it too.
And now I can say it too.
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother, having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough...
What did you notice?
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
I come from when houses were ruined,
the skies had stopped exploding,
my father in Germany meeting
the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow
in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum,
my mother holding on to my brother,
having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough...
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother, having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough...
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
I come from when houses were ruined,
the skies had stopped exploding,
my father in Germany meeting
the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
Reveal Explainer
This suggests that the poet was born during or just after World War II. The words ‘houses were ruined’ show that the family experienced the destruction of the war. The words ‘the skies had stopped exploding’ show that the family had recently survived bombings, which would have been frightening and dangerous.
Teach
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
B) Which themes are present in the poem?
Find the answers
Text mark
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough - uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone
loss of family members
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
Text Mark Evidence my father sharing his bedroom with Uncle Sam
inadequate space in their home
Text Mark Evidence - we didn’t have lights…we had a candle - my mother having to bring flowers to school…but she had no garden…so she walked…looking for a flower to pick
poverty or hardship
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews
threat of violence
Text Mark Evidence - I was here, made from all of this - my father swearing in Yiddish
family and heritage
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding - there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews - the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone
war and prejudice
B) Which themes are present in the poem?
Text Mark Evidence - having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough - the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone
loss and grief
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence - I come from when houses were ruined - I was here, made from all this - and now I can say it too
identity
Practise & Apply
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘wrecked’?
Which One's Right?
And now I can say it too.
And now I can say it too.
Which poetic feature is this an example of?
A rhyme
B repetition
C personification
D onomatopoeia
Find Me
Find the word whichmeans ‘disappeared’:
My mother having to bring flowers to school
for Harvest Festival but she had no garden,
so she walked down Globe Road
looking for a flower to pick
but there were none,
and there were Mosley’s Men out too,
looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews,
and the uncles who never came back
from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone...
Discuss then check
vanished
Tick Me
Which sentence is the best summary for the poem?
Tick one:
A It tells the story of childhood adventures in London.
B It describes how family history and heritage shape the poet’s identity.
Check
C The poem details how soldiers fought bravely during World War II.
Click if correct
D The poem describes how London has changed through the years.
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
share poetry.
Reveal
Read a poem to someone else and discuss what it means for both of you.
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: On the Move: Poems about Migration by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y6 L1 On the Move
Literacy Counts
Created on October 17, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Essential Business Proposal
View
Project Roadmap Timeline
View
Step-by-Step Timeline: How to Develop an Idea
View
Artificial Intelligence History Timeline
View
Mind Map: The 4 Pillars of Success
View
Big Data: The Data That Drives the World
View
Momentum: Onboarding Presentation
Explore all templates
Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
On the Move: Poetry Lesson 1
What do you think you know?
What?
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
When?
Book Talk: Let's explore this illustration.
Explore
What do you know and think?
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding…
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
Today's Question(s)
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
B) Which themes are present in the poem?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
Where Do We Come From?
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother, having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough, my parents who grew up when you could buy a live chicken in Hessel Street, my father sharing his bedroom with his Uncle Sam but never talking to him because one day Sam had grabbed the cap my father had bought down Petticoat Lane, and turned it inside out. “Who switched the light off, Father?” “Neither of us. We didn’t have lights. We had a candle.”
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My mother having to bring flowers to school for Harvest Festival but she had no garden, so she walked down Globe Road looking for a flower to pick but there were none, and there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews, and the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone, but I was here, made from all this, all this, it goes on, it hadn’t stopped, there was my father swearing in Yiddish: “Chaliera zolste nehmen.” “Don’t say that, Harold!” my mum says to him. And now I can say it too. And now I can say it too.
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
a living, walking, just-talking toddler
skeleton of a dinosaur
wrecked
camps in Poland
vanished
Yiddish
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
I will model the first.
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
skeleton of a dinosaur
Explore
Find Read Talk
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother,
Reveal Vocabulary
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Your turn
skeleton of a dinosaur
wrecked
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
a living, walking, just-talking toddler
camps in Poland
vanished
Yiddish
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
Where Do We Come From?
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother, having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough, my parents who grew up when you could buy a live chicken in Hessel Street, my father sharing his bedroom with his Uncle Sam but never talking to him because one day Sam had grabbed the cap my father had bought down Petticoat Lane, and turned it inside out. “Who switched the light off, Father?” “Neither of us. We didn’t have lights. We had a candle.”
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Reveal Vocabulary
My mother having to bring flowers to school for Harvest Festival but she had no garden, so she walked down Globe Road looking for a flower to pick but there were none, and there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews, and the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone, but I was here, made from all this, all this, it goes on, it hadn’t stopped, there was my father swearing in Yiddish: “Chaliera zolste nehmen.” “Don’t say that, Harold!” my mum says to him. And now I can say it too. And now I can say it too.
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother, having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough...
What did you notice?
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding,
my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum,
my mother holding on to my brother,
having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough...
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow in the wrecked Berlin Natural History Museum, my mother holding on to my brother, having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough...
Explore
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
I come from when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding, my father in Germany meeting the skeleton of a dinosaur in the snow
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
Reveal Explainer
This suggests that the poet was born during or just after World War II. The words ‘houses were ruined’ show that the family experienced the destruction of the war. The words ‘the skies had stopped exploding’ show that the family had recently survived bombings, which would have been frightening and dangerous.
Teach
From: On the Move by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
B) Which themes are present in the poem?
Find the answers
Text mark
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough - uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone
loss of family members
A) What challenges did the poet’s family face in the past, according to the poem?
Text Mark Evidence my father sharing his bedroom with Uncle Sam
inadequate space in their home
Text Mark Evidence - we didn’t have lights…we had a candle - my mother having to bring flowers to school…but she had no garden…so she walked…looking for a flower to pick
poverty or hardship
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews
threat of violence
Text Mark Evidence - I was here, made from all of this - my father swearing in Yiddish
family and heritage
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - when houses were ruined, the skies had stopped exploding - there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews - the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone
war and prejudice
B) Which themes are present in the poem?
Text Mark Evidence - having just lost a living, walking, just-talking toddler to a never-ending cough - the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone
loss and grief
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence - I come from when houses were ruined - I was here, made from all this - and now I can say it too
identity
Practise & Apply
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘wrecked’?
Which One's Right?
And now I can say it too. And now I can say it too.
Which poetic feature is this an example of?
A rhyme
B repetition
C personification
D onomatopoeia
Find Me
Find the word whichmeans ‘disappeared’:
My mother having to bring flowers to school for Harvest Festival but she had no garden, so she walked down Globe Road looking for a flower to pick but there were none, and there were Mosley’s Men out too, looking for Jews like them to give a beating to for being Jews, and the uncles who never came back from camps in Poland, just vanished, gone...
Discuss then check
vanished
Tick Me
Which sentence is the best summary for the poem?
Tick one:
A It tells the story of childhood adventures in London.
B It describes how family history and heritage shape the poet’s identity.
Check
C The poem details how soldiers fought bravely during World War II.
Click if correct
D The poem describes how London has changed through the years.
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
share poetry.
Reveal
Read a poem to someone else and discuss what it means for both of you.
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: On the Move: Poems about Migration by Michael Wayne Rosen © 2020 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.