Year 5 Me in a box: drawing and sculpture worksheet

“Shaping Words Into Meaning” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 art unit “Me in a box: drawing and sculpture”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 15 to 20 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Shaping Words Into Meaning

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Art & design · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can choose a shape for a concrete poem that matches what the poem describes.

A Look back3 min

1.
Circle the primary colour.
redgreenpurple
2.
Yellow and blue paint mixed together make... Circle the colour.
greenorangepurple
3.
Circle the name of this shape.
trianglesquarecircle

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ola is writing a concrete poem about a lighthouse. She wants the shape of her words to show the subject. What shape should it take?

Watch me

A tall lighthouse on a rocky point under a grey sky

The subject is a lighthouse. It is tall and thin.

So Ola puts her words in a tall, narrow column.

The shape tells the reader what the poem is about.

Now you

1.
Mia writes about a tall tree with a wide, round top. Circle the shape that fits her subject.
A tall column with a round block of words at the topA flat row of words along the bottomA ring of words round a centre

C Your turn6 min

Each poem is about a different thing. Look at the picture and circle the shape that fits the subject.

1.
A candle flame is wide at the bottom and comes to a point at the top. Circle the poem shape that fits.
A tall triangle of wordsA long flat line of wordsA ring of words round a centre
2.
A spinning top turns round and round on one spot. Circle the poem shape that fits.
A tall triangle of wordsA long flat line of wordsA ring of words round a centre
3.
Seen from above on a map, a long road runs in one straight, thin line. Circle the poem shape that fits.
A long narrow line going down the pageA ring of words round a centreA tall triangle of words
4.
A bedroom is a closed room with four walls of equal length. Circle the poem shape that fits.
A square block of wordsA long flat line of wordsA tall triangle of words

Say it out loud: What in the subject told you the shape? Say it to your grown-up.

D Spot the mistake3 min

A blank sheet of paper on a kitchen table with a pencil beside it

Lou says: “You don't need to plan a concrete poem. Just start writing and the shape will sort itself out.”

1.
What should Lou do before she writes? Write one sentence.

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Choose one true thing about yourself. Which shape should your poem take, and why? Write two sentences.

How did it feel?

Which shape did you enjoy making most? Tell your grown-up why.

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Shaping Words Into Meaning · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. red

2. green

3. triangle

B

1. A tall column with a round block of words at the top

C

1. A tall triangle of words

2. A ring of words round a centre

3. A long narrow line going down the page

4. A square block of words If your child chose the line, ask them to compare the lengths of the four walls. Four equal sides make a square, so a square block fits.

D

1. Look for: Says Lou should plan first, for example by choosing a shape that fits her subject, sketching the outline, or listing words about herself. your child may say Lou should just keep writing. Ask: which words would make the reader see or feel something? Plan those words first, then shape them.

E

1. Look for: Names a poem shape and gives a reason that links the shape to a true feeling, place or object the child connects with.

Words to use

Say“What is the thing you are describing? What shape is it, and how could your words make that shape?”

Instead of“Just write the poem and see what happens.”

After the sheet

Put a spoon, a candle and a cup on the table. Ask your child to write a few words about each one in a shape that matches it. Then ask why the shape suits the object.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Opposite Colours Stand Out(with a plan)
Building your art box(with a plan)
Planning My Sculpture of Me(with a plan)
Choosing joins for your box(with a plan)
Evaluate and refine my box(with a plan)

Every Year 5 art worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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