Poetry
Spring has
sprung,
The grass has
riz,
I wonder where
the birdies is?
Aims
• To exemplify the role of poetry in
developing reading and writing skills;
• To support teachers in delivering poetry
units;
• To explore ways to develop children’s
responses to poetry.
Fast poem
Choose a subject – e.g. spaghetti
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spaghetti
First line – noun:
thin and soft
Two adjectives:
silently, slowly, easily
Three adverbs:
slipping, sliding, slithering,
Four verbs:
disappearing.
Why teach poetry?
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Supports early reading;
A structured model for writing;
Motivates less able writers;
Develops economic writing;
Develops evaluative skills;
Hones word choices;
Encourages experimentation and
creativity;
• Outlet for moods, feelings and attitudes.
Reading poetry
Reading Poetry
 To learn poems
 To learn about poetic devices such
as rhythm, rhyme and figurative
language
 To interpret poems
 To evaluate poetry
 To respond to poetry
 To perform poems
Nursery Rhymes
• Part of our literary heritage;
• Repetition and patterns make nursery
rhymes an excellent resource for early
reading;
• Schools need to ensure the continuation
of knowledge of nursery rhymes.
The Owl and the Pussycat
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Reading aloud
Word combinations
Sound patterns
Rhymes
Rhythms
Alliteration
Humour
Teaching Sequence for Interpreting and
Responding to Poetry KS2
First impressions and queries
Interpretation of meaning
Mood/effect upon the reader
Authorial technique
Underlying theme
The Sea
First impressions: Discuss
• Anything that stood out particularly;
• Anything you liked;
• Anything you didn’t like;
• Pictures in your head;
• Queries.
Interpretation:
Mood/effect upon the reader
Authorial techniques:
Theme
Writing poetry
Pass the poem
• The teacher provides the opening
phrase and asks the children to
complete each line.
• Invent a few together, model and then
ask the children to try.
Writing Poetry
 To use poems as models for own
writing
 To add or substitute ideas to
existing poems
 To compose own poems in a range
of forms
 To compose own poems using a
range of poetic devices and
techniques
Adding and Substituting
One For the Cluck of an Angry Hen
One for the cluck of an angry hen.
Two for the cheeps of a tiny wren.
Three for the croak of a fat green frog.
Four for the bark of a jumping dog.
Five for the quack of a duck on a lake.
Six for the hiss of a wriggling snake.
Seven for the hoot of the old grey owl.
Eight for the snarl for a wolf on the prowl.
Nine for the squeak of a scuttling rat.
Ten for the purr of a snuggling cat.
The Sound Collector
• Read the poem
• Interpretation of meaning
• Activity
Using the poem as a model
• Change the setting – The Return of the
Sound Collector!
• Children collect sounds from around
school – lunchtime, assembly, PE
lesson, playtime etc.
• Agree on success criteria – four lines in
each stanza, sound verb in each line,
precise image created etc.
Poetry in a range of forms
Conversations
Nursery
rhymes
Shape
poems
Action
verses
Acrostic
poems
Limericks
Couplets
Classic
poems
Chants
Haikus and
Tankas
Epitaphs
Raps
Letters
Cinquains
Elegies
Performance
poems
Lists
Kennings
Nonsense
poems
Narrative
poems
Alphabet
poems
Modern
rhymes
Tongue
twisters
Riddles
Jingles
and
monologues
Activity
Activity - writing a haiku and passing it to
someone else to turn it into a Tanka
An Old Cat is Annoyed by a Dove
‘You pompous, grey bird,
Why do you waddle and peck
Just out of my reach?’
‘You are too old to catch me,’
It cooed sweetly, cruelly.
Poetry as a stimulus for other text-types
Poetry can be used to:
• Provide the story;
• Promote discussion of characters’
feelings and emotions which can be
transferred to narrative;
• To provide imagery and figurative
techniques for prose;
Performance Poetry
‘Louder!’.
• Works in pairs and perform the poem as the
teacher and Andrew.
• Children need encouraging to change pitch,
pace, volume, tone, add sound effects.
• Performance poetry is not just reading out
loud. It involves rehearsal, refinement and
evaluation.
Ink Waster
• This is a one-minute activity.
• Children work with a partner on a small
whiteboard.
• The teacher gives a title and the children list
as many related words that they can think of
in one minute.
• These can then be extended into phrases
and poems.
Activity:
Home time!