Animated Poem Decomposition

Solve problems by decomposing them

Age: 7-11 years

Type: Scratch

Curriculum Links to: English

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In this activity pupils create an animation of a poem using Scratch. This can be a poem they are learning by heart, a poem they have written or a poem they are learning about. The focus of this lesson is on pupils learning about decomposition. Decomposition is breaking something down into smaller parts to help solve a problem or undertake a task. In this activity, decomposition is practised by pupils in three ways:

  • the task is broken down into parts (design, write and debug, perform);
  • the poem is broken down into its components (title, poet, poem, verses, lines);
  • the animation is broken down into features to be programmed (backgrounds, characters, movement, text displayed etc).


  • I can decompose a problem by:
    • Designing;
    • writing (including debugging);
    • and presenting a program.
  • I can decompose a poem.
  • I can decompose an animation.


  • Informal, teacher assessment of progress during main task, class discussions and plenary.
  • Formal, summative assessment of Scratch projects if required (note however these are completed in pairs).
  • Areas to focus on: Decomposition – breaking something down into its parts. Can pupils explain decomposition? Can they give examples? Can pupils use decomposition in their work? Can pupils explain how they used decomposition?