Ready Steady Read Together
Hot Like Fire: Poetry Lesson 4
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?
The earth holds its breath in wonder
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Today's Question(s)
How does the poet make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
A cold wind awakes from the waters,
Walks mournfully over the sand,
And the darkness, swift as a flash flood,
Covers the face of the land.
The earth holds its breath in wonder,
The silence complete, unbroken,
And there’s a tiny glimpse of the way it was
Before the world was spoken.
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
eerie
nightingale
haloes
dilated
mournfully
glimpse
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. 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
eerie
Explore
Find Read Talk
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
Reveal Vocabulary
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
eerie
Your turn
haloes
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
nightingale
dilated
mournfully
glimpse
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
A cold wind awakes from the waters,
Walks mournfully over the sand,
And the darkness, swift as a flash flood,
Covers the face of the land.
The earth holds its breath in wonder,
The silence complete, unbroken,
And there’s a tiny glimpse of the way it was
Before the world was spoken.
Reveal Vocabulary
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
What did you notice?
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
A) How does the poem make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
A) How does the poem make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Reveal Explainer
This strange light seems mysterious. Eerie means spooky and a halo is a ring of light which I think would look strange and magical in the forest.
Teach
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
How does the poet make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Text mark
Find the answers
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence owl’s eyes open, starlings tuck their heads under their wings
animals behaving unusually
How does the poet make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Text Mark Evidence the nightingale ceases to sing, the silence complete, unbroken
silence
Text Mark Evidence the darkness, swift as a flash flood
sudden darkness
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
makes the wind and earth seem alive (by using personification)
Text Mark Evidence cold wind awakes…walks mournfully, earth hold its breath…
Practise & Apply
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for 'dilated'?
Link Me
Link each poetic technique with the example:
1 rhyme
A flash flood
3 personification
C The earth holds its breath...
2 alliteration
B ...sand
...land
Check
Click if correct
Sequence Me
Put these events from the poem into the correct order:
A) The earth holds its breath.
B) The owl’s eyes open.
C) An eerie light haloes the trees.
D) Darkness covers the land.
Click if correct
Check
Which One's Right?
Which words best describe the mood of this poem?
B frustrated and angry
A happy and calm
C noisy and excited
D spooky and quiet
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
keep a book journal.
Reveal
Write about what you've read or sketch your favourite scenes.
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: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y3 L4 Hot Like Fire
Literacy Counts
Created on November 28, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Urban Illustrated Presentation
View
3D Corporate Reporting
View
Discover Your AI Assistant
View
Vision Board
View
SWOT Challenge: Classify Key Factors
View
Explainer Video: Keys to Effective Communication
View
Explainer Video: AI for Companies
Explore all templates
Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
Hot Like Fire: Poetry Lesson 4
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?
The earth holds its breath in wonder
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Today's Question(s)
How does the poet make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops, The nightingale ceases to sing, The owl’s eyes open, dilated, Starlings tuck their heads under their wings. A cold wind awakes from the waters, Walks mournfully over the sand, And the darkness, swift as a flash flood, Covers the face of the land. The earth holds its breath in wonder, The silence complete, unbroken, And there’s a tiny glimpse of the way it was Before the world was spoken.
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
eerie
nightingale
haloes
dilated
mournfully
glimpse
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. 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
eerie
Explore
Find Read Talk
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops, The nightingale ceases to sing, The owl’s eyes open, dilated, Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
Reveal Vocabulary
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
eerie
Your turn
haloes
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
nightingale
dilated
mournfully
glimpse
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops, The nightingale ceases to sing, The owl’s eyes open, dilated, Starlings tuck their heads under their wings. A cold wind awakes from the waters, Walks mournfully over the sand, And the darkness, swift as a flash flood, Covers the face of the land. The earth holds its breath in wonder, The silence complete, unbroken, And there’s a tiny glimpse of the way it was Before the world was spoken.
Reveal Vocabulary
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
An eerie light haloes the treetops, The nightingale ceases to sing, The owl’s eyes open, dilated, Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
What did you notice?
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
An eerie light haloes the treetops,
The nightingale ceases to sing,
The owl’s eyes open, dilated,
Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
An eerie light haloes the treetops, The nightingale ceases to sing, The owl’s eyes open, dilated, Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
Explore
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
A) How does the poem make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
Total Eclipse
An eerie light haloes the treetops, The nightingale ceases to sing, The owl’s eyes open, dilated, Starlings tuck their heads under their wings.
A) How does the poem make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Reveal Explainer
This strange light seems mysterious. Eerie means spooky and a halo is a ring of light which I think would look strange and magical in the forest.
Teach
From: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
How does the poet make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Text mark
Find the answers
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence owl’s eyes open, starlings tuck their heads under their wings
animals behaving unusually
How does the poet make the total eclipse seem mysterious?
Text Mark Evidence the nightingale ceases to sing, the silence complete, unbroken
silence
Text Mark Evidence the darkness, swift as a flash flood
sudden darkness
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
makes the wind and earth seem alive (by using personification)
Text Mark Evidence cold wind awakes…walks mournfully, earth hold its breath…
Practise & Apply
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for 'dilated'?
Link Me
Link each poetic technique with the example:
1 rhyme
A flash flood
3 personification
C The earth holds its breath...
2 alliteration
B ...sand ...land
Check
Click if correct
Sequence Me
Put these events from the poem into the correct order:
A) The earth holds its breath.
B) The owl’s eyes open.
C) An eerie light haloes the trees.
D) Darkness covers the land.
Click if correct
Check
Which One's Right?
Which words best describe the mood of this poem?
B frustrated and angry
A happy and calm
C noisy and excited
D spooky and quiet
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
keep a book journal.
Reveal
Write about what you've read or sketch your favourite scenes.
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: Hot Like Fire and Other Poems by Valerie Bloom © 2002 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.