2.6 Writing and Speaking

Writing

1. A description

Describe a garden, park, or balcony you know well, in about 80–100 words. Use strong adjectives and try to make the reader “see” it. Include at least one small detail most people would overlook.

2. A paragraph

In about 100 words, explain what the poem teaches us about noticing small things. Give one example from your own life where you almost missed (or stepped on!) something small but valuable.

3. Write the next scene

Continue the story in 4–6 lines of prose: what did the speaker say after Mrs Jones replied, “You’re standing on it”? Try to keep the gentle humour of the poem.

4. Try a couplet

Write a two-line rhyme (a couplet) about a small thing you love — a pet, a plant, a pebble. Make the two lines rhyme, like the poem’s pairs (stones / Jones).

Writing tip Humour in writing usually comes from a surprise at the end. Save your funniest or most unexpected detail for the last line, just as Arkell saves “You’re standing on it” for his final line.

Speaking

Recite

Read the poem aloud with a partner, keeping the bouncy AABBCC rhythm. Pause briefly before the last line of the final stanza to make the twist land.

Discuss

  1. Is Mrs Jones’s garden beautiful or strange — or both? Defend your view.
  2. “We notice big things and ignore small ones.” Do you agree? Share examples from school or home.

Speaking tip When reciting funny verse, your timing matters more than your volume. A short pause before the punchline tells your listeners, “here comes the joke.”