The King of All the Dinosaurs

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By Paul Cookson — Poet

This film is the first in a three-part performance poetry workshop by our Poet-in-residence, Paul Cookson. Part 1 comprises a whole-school performance by Paul, featuring his poem ‘The King of all the Dinosaurs’.

The audience at the school ranged from four right through to 11, so the films can be used with any age group. However, the follow-up workshop ideas are differentiated by age group.

Here, Paul focuses on the poem ‘The King of All the Dinosaurs’, and suggests using this poem to inspire your own performances in school.

Shared teaching and learning

Poet’s notes

This poem is about the most famous of all the dinosaurs, the one all children know about – Tyrannosaurus Rex. In the poem, I have used the aurs rhyme – rhyming it with jaws, claws, floors, etc. However, while the rhyme adds to the poem, it is the rhythm and the actions that bring the poem to life when performed. I always like to involve the audience when performing a poem, using a repeated line, chorus, or even the whole poem. In the activities below, we are going to concentrate on the word rex.
Watch the film before sharing it with the children. Then decide whether you would prefer to let the children watch my performance before or after you share read and perform it yourselves using the printed text on the PCP below.