Ready Steady Read Together
A Poem for Every Summer Day: Poetry Lesson 3
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?
Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally?
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Today's Question(s)
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
B) How does the poem show that the new place feels strange and unfamiliar?
C) How do feelings about belonging change throughout the poem?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Follow as I read
Explore
Originally
by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is a poem by the former Poet Laureate on the subject of moving home. Collecting the memories of relocating, as a youngster, from Glasgow, Scotland to Stafford in England, Duffy comes to reflect that ‘All childhood is an emigration’ – we are always on the move as we grow up.
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
We came from our own country in a red room
which fell through the fields, our mother singing
our father’s name to the turn of the wheels.
My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home,
Home, as the miles rushed back to the city,
the street, the house, the vacant rooms
where we didn’t live any more. I stared
at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw.
All childhood is an emigration. Some are slow,
leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenue
where no one you know stays. Others are sudden.
Your accent wrong. Corners, which seem familiar,
leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates, big boys
eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand.
My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth
in my head. I want our own country, I said.
But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change,
and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only
a skelf of shame. I remember my tongue
shedding its skin like a snake, my voice
in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think
I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space
and the right place? Now, Where do you come from?
strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
emigration
vacant
bawling
resigned
accent
skelf
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. 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
emigration
Explore
Find Read Talk
Originally
by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is a poem by the former Poet Laureate on the subject of moving home. Collecting the memories of relocating, as a youngster, from Glasgow, Scotland to Stafford in England, Duffy comes to reflect that ‘All childhood is an emigration’ – we are always on the move as we grow up.
Reveal Vocabulary
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
emigration
Your turn
bawling
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
vacant
resigned
accent
skelf
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
Originally
by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is a poem by the former Poet Laureate on the subject of moving home. Collecting the memories of relocating, as a youngster, from Glasgow, Scotland to Stafford in England, Duffy comes to reflect that ‘All childhood is an emigration’ – we are always on the move as we grow up.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Reveal Vocabulary
We came from our own country in a red room
which fell through the fields, our mother singing
our father’s name to the turn of the wheels.
My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home,
Home, as the miles rushed back to the city,
the street, the house, the vacant rooms
where we didn’t live any more. I stared
at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw.
All childhood is an emigration. Some are slow,
leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenue
where no one you know stays. Others are sudden.
Your accent wrong. Corners, which seem familiar,
leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates, big boys
eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand.
My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth
in my head. I want our own country, I said.
But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change,
and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only
a skelf of shame. I remember my tongue
shedding its skin like a snake, my voice
in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think
I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space
and the right place? Now, Where do you come from?
strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
I remember my tongue
shedding its skin like a snake, my voice
in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think
I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space
and the right place? Now, Where do you come from?
strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
What did you notice?
Volume
Pace
Smoothness
Phrasing
Expression
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
I remember my tongue
shedding its skin like a snake,
my voice
in the classroom sounding just like the rest.
Do I only think
I lost a river, culture, speech,
sense of first space
and the right place?
Now, Where do you come from?
strangers ask.
Originally?
And I hesitate.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
I remember my tongue
shedding its skin like a snake, my voice
in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think
I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space
and the right place? Now, Where do you come from?
strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home,
Home, as the miles rushed back to the city,
the street, the house, the vacant rooms
where we didn’t live any more.
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Reveal Explainer
This line uses repetition to emphasise the brother’s sadness and longing for the home they have left behind. Repeating the word ‘Home’ shows a strong emotional attachment to the place where the family feels they belong.
Teach
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. 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) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
B) How does the poem show that the new place feels strange and unfamiliar?
C) How do feelings about belonging change throughout the poem?
Pairedreading first
Find the answers
Text mark
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence one of them bawling, Home, Home
repetition to show loss or longing
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Text Mark Evidence the miles rushed back to the city
personification to suggest old life or memories are disappearing quickly
Text Mark Evidence I stared at the eyes of a blind toy
imagery and symbolism to show uncertainty about the future
Text Mark Evidence all childhood is an emigration
metaphor to compare growing up with leaving home or country
Go to the next slide for more...
Text Mark Evidence my parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth
simile to show worry as niggling and constant
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence feel only a skelf of shame
metaphor to show that something could be small but still painful
Practise & Apply
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence my tongue shedding its skin like a snake
simile to show changing of identity and accent
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Text Mark Evidence shedding its skin like a snake
alliteration to link with the snake imagery to show a new identity emerging
Text Mark Evidence do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place
rhetorical question to show uncertain identity
Text Mark Evidence where do you come from
direct speech / questioning to highlight the pressure of identity and belonging
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Practise & Apply
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence your accent wrong
awareness of sounding different or out of place
B) How does the poem show that the new place feels strange and unfamiliar?
Text Mark Evidence - up an avenue where no one you know stays - corners, which seem familiar, leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates
feeling lost or disorientated
Text Mark Evidence big boys eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand
strange or unusual behaviour and unfamiliar language
Text Mark Evidence my parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth
feeling stressed or worried about the move
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence I want our own country
longing for the familiarity and comfort of home
Practise & Apply
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence you forget, or don’t recall, or change
the feeling of being different fades gradually
Text Mark Evidence seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only a skelf of shame
seeing family members adopt the local / unusual behaviour only causes slight embarrassment
C) How do feelings about belonging change throughout the poem?
Text Mark Evidence I remember…my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest
awareness of a changing accent in order to fit in
Text Mark Evidence do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place
growing awareness of loss and uncertainty about identity
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence originally…and I hesitate
confusion about belonging
Practise & Apply
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘bawling’?
True or False?
The speaker’s parents feel calm and positive about the move.
True
False
Link Me
Link each word with the correct definition:
A) the way people from the same area typically speak
1) emigration
B) leaving your home country to settle in a new one
2) vacant
C) sadly accepting something unwanted
Check
3) resigned
Click if correct
D) empty and unused
4) accent
Sequence Me
Put the events from the poem in the correct order:
A) Big boys ate worms and shouted strange words.
B) The speaker realised her accent had changed.
C) The mother sang while family travelled to their new home.
D) The speaker was embarrassed when her brother ate a slug.
Click if correct
Check
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: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y6 L3 A Poem for Every Summer Day
Literacy Counts
Created on May 1, 2026
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
Mobile Phone Call
View
Momentum: Onboarding Escape Game
View
Momentum: Manager Guide
Explore all templates
Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
A Poem for Every Summer Day: Poetry Lesson 3
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?
Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally?
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Today's Question(s)
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
B) How does the poem show that the new place feels strange and unfamiliar?
C) How do feelings about belonging change throughout the poem?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Follow as I read
Explore
Originally
by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is a poem by the former Poet Laureate on the subject of moving home. Collecting the memories of relocating, as a youngster, from Glasgow, Scotland to Stafford in England, Duffy comes to reflect that ‘All childhood is an emigration’ – we are always on the move as we grow up.
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
We came from our own country in a red room which fell through the fields, our mother singing our father’s name to the turn of the wheels. My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home, Home, as the miles rushed back to the city, the street, the house, the vacant rooms where we didn’t live any more. I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw. All childhood is an emigration. Some are slow, leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenue where no one you know stays. Others are sudden. Your accent wrong. Corners, which seem familiar, leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates, big boys eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand. My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth in my head. I want our own country, I said. But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change, and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only a skelf of shame. I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake, my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place? Now, Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
emigration
vacant
bawling
resigned
accent
skelf
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. 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
emigration
Explore
Find Read Talk
Originally
by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is a poem by the former Poet Laureate on the subject of moving home. Collecting the memories of relocating, as a youngster, from Glasgow, Scotland to Stafford in England, Duffy comes to reflect that ‘All childhood is an emigration’ – we are always on the move as we grow up.
Reveal Vocabulary
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
emigration
Your turn
bawling
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
vacant
resigned
accent
skelf
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
Originally
by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is a poem by the former Poet Laureate on the subject of moving home. Collecting the memories of relocating, as a youngster, from Glasgow, Scotland to Stafford in England, Duffy comes to reflect that ‘All childhood is an emigration’ – we are always on the move as we grow up.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Reveal Vocabulary
We came from our own country in a red room which fell through the fields, our mother singing our father’s name to the turn of the wheels. My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home, Home, as the miles rushed back to the city, the street, the house, the vacant rooms where we didn’t live any more. I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw. All childhood is an emigration. Some are slow, leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenue where no one you know stays. Others are sudden. Your accent wrong. Corners, which seem familiar, leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates, big boys eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand. My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth in my head. I want our own country, I said. But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change, and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only a skelf of shame. I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake, my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place? Now, Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake, my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place? Now, Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
What did you notice?
Volume
Pace
Smoothness
Phrasing
Expression
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake,
my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest.
Do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech,
sense of first space and the right place?
Now, Where do you come from? strangers ask.
Originally?
And I hesitate.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake, my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place? Now, Where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
Explore
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home, Home, as the miles rushed back to the city, the street, the house, the vacant rooms where we didn’t live any more.
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Reveal Explainer
This line uses repetition to emphasise the brother’s sadness and longing for the home they have left behind. Repeating the word ‘Home’ shows a strong emotional attachment to the place where the family feels they belong.
Teach
From: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021. 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) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
B) How does the poem show that the new place feels strange and unfamiliar?
C) How do feelings about belonging change throughout the poem?
Pairedreading first
Find the answers
Text mark
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence one of them bawling, Home, Home
repetition to show loss or longing
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Text Mark Evidence the miles rushed back to the city
personification to suggest old life or memories are disappearing quickly
Text Mark Evidence I stared at the eyes of a blind toy
imagery and symbolism to show uncertainty about the future
Text Mark Evidence all childhood is an emigration
metaphor to compare growing up with leaving home or country
Go to the next slide for more...
Text Mark Evidence my parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth
simile to show worry as niggling and constant
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence feel only a skelf of shame
metaphor to show that something could be small but still painful
Practise & Apply
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence my tongue shedding its skin like a snake
simile to show changing of identity and accent
A) How does poet use poetic features to explore identity, belonging and change?
Text Mark Evidence shedding its skin like a snake
alliteration to link with the snake imagery to show a new identity emerging
Text Mark Evidence do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place
rhetorical question to show uncertain identity
Text Mark Evidence where do you come from
direct speech / questioning to highlight the pressure of identity and belonging
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Practise & Apply
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence your accent wrong
awareness of sounding different or out of place
B) How does the poem show that the new place feels strange and unfamiliar?
Text Mark Evidence - up an avenue where no one you know stays - corners, which seem familiar, leading to unimagined, pebble-dashed estates
feeling lost or disorientated
Text Mark Evidence big boys eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand
strange or unusual behaviour and unfamiliar language
Text Mark Evidence my parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth
feeling stressed or worried about the move
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence I want our own country
longing for the familiarity and comfort of home
Practise & Apply
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence you forget, or don’t recall, or change
the feeling of being different fades gradually
Text Mark Evidence seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel only a skelf of shame
seeing family members adopt the local / unusual behaviour only causes slight embarrassment
C) How do feelings about belonging change throughout the poem?
Text Mark Evidence I remember…my voice in the classroom sounding just like the rest
awareness of a changing accent in order to fit in
Text Mark Evidence do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place
growing awareness of loss and uncertainty about identity
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence originally…and I hesitate
confusion about belonging
Practise & Apply
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘bawling’?
True or False?
The speaker’s parents feel calm and positive about the move.
True
False
Link Me
Link each word with the correct definition:
A) the way people from the same area typically speak
1) emigration
B) leaving your home country to settle in a new one
2) vacant
C) sadly accepting something unwanted
Check
3) resigned
Click if correct
D) empty and unused
4) accent
Sequence Me
Put the events from the poem in the correct order:
A) Big boys ate worms and shouted strange words.
B) The speaker realised her accent had changed.
C) The mother sang while family travelled to their new home.
D) The speaker was embarrassed when her brother ate a slug.
Click if correct
Check
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: A Poem for Every Summer Day by Allie Esiri © 2021 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.