Intro to Poetry
Today we will explore each of the following:
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What is Poetry? Where can it be found?
The ‘lingo’ of poetry
Types of poetry
The crime of a rhyme
Poetry KS1
Examples KS1
KS2 poetry
Final thoughts
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What is poetry?
S Poetry is an art intertwined with today’s society.
S Examples: Music, greetings cards, TV adverts, football
chants, stories and of course poems.
S Quite simply, poetry is a pattern of language.
S Poetry is an opportunity for children to express their feelings
and themselves.
S Cross curricular opportunities: Drama, Music, PDMU.
The lingo
S Couplet – two lines of poetry with the same rhythm. A-B
A-A, A-B-C-A etc.
S Stanza/verse – a group of couplets that are linked.
S Meter – this is the rhythm of the poem (da-dum, da-dum,
da-dum, da-dum, da-dum)
S Imagery – generating a mental/visual picture of the setting.
Types of Poetry
S Acrostic – written vertically it spells out a word.
S Allegory – there's a moral message hidden/disguised – Bible
parables.
S Blank verse – There is no rhythm or rhymes.
S Free verse – there is a rhythm based upon syllables.
S Personification – giving an inanimate object human
characteristics.
S Limerick – AA-BB-A
S Alliteration or tongue twister – Slippery, snake, slithers, slowly
The Crime of the Rhyme
S Rhyming quite simply confuses children of all ages when it
comes to writing; especially those in KS1.
S In KS2 I would let the children write their poetic sentences
and they can then add a rhyme after if they wish to do so.
S Children enjoy the rhyming element, so it is a useful way to
introduce children to poetry. Use songs and nursery rhymes
to assist this.
S Tip: finding a rhyme can sometimes be difficult. A way of
avoiding this is by changing the sentence structure.
For example:
S ‘The people ran in their thousands’
S ‘People in their thousands run’
KS1 Poetry
S Focus on descriptions opposed to rhymes.
S Give the ch’n a easy to follow structure
For example:
In the magic box there could be
A fluffy, bright, colorful toy.
A ___________________________
It could even be a
A ___________________________
S Use writing frames: for example one lesson could be simply listing
adjectives, describing objects. The next lesson could be the writing
of the sentences.
S Create shared poems together.
S Guided fantasy activities…
Two examples children aged 6:
A - “One suny day I sor clowds dancin in the breez and
buterflys fluterin in the sky”
B - “One sunny day I sor a boy with a ball. One suny day I sor
tall.”
S As you can see rhymes can turn a sentence around in a way
it wont make sense.
S Descriptions in poems in KS1 can be extremely effective.
KS2 Poetry
S As poetry is individual, try to give the children to freedom of
choosing. E.g. Titanic narrators - explain (1st person)
S Use personification to write poems, write as though you are an
object that can talk (sprinkle a little magic).
S Use the poetic ‘show’ don’t ‘tell’ strategy. For example:
‘Tears ran down my cheeks’ opposed to
‘I was really sad, so I cried.’
you are showing ‘sadness’ not ‘telling’.
Use ‘scaffolding approach’:
lesson 1: Ideas – what you see/feel/hear etc.
Lesson 2: Poetic sentences
Lesson 3: Structure/verses/ordering sentences and rhymes.
KS2 continued…
S Ensure the children are telling a story.
S Give them the beginning, middle and end in the frameworks
to assist this.
S Again, create shared poems together as a class to model the
expectations.
S Ensure each lesson includes input of some kind, whether is
is a video clip of discussions – sometimes ideas don’t flow as
freely as we hope.
S Let the children redraft their work and improve it once you
have given feedback.
S Let the children express themselves as often as possible. You
will find when placed in the position of an inanimate object
they will express themselves very freely.
Final thoughts
S Use pictures or music to stimulate writing. Looking at a
picture can stimulate a thousand thoughts and ideas.
S Look for flashes of originality and let the children know you
are looking for great sentences/couplets not just a great
poem.
S Assess against specific criteria. E.g. Repetition for
effect/adjectives/alliteration/show don’t tell.
S Use the children's senses to assist with descriptions.
S Create shared poems with the class to model the
expectations.
S Let the children redraft their poetry – this is very important
to help them improve.