How this whole-school event develops poetry skills and more
Wendover Online School takes every opportunity to help students explore new ways of learning and grow in confidence, knowing that these skills will be with them for life. In this blog we look at how Poetry Week uses poetry to inspire students across the school.
What is Poetry Week?
Poetry Week is a period of up to two weeks when every teacher at Wendover is invited to use poetry as a way to consolidate their pupils’ understanding of a topic. So, whilst poetry is already taught as part of the English curriculum, Poetry Week provides a chance to explore personal expression and an appreciation of poetry through a wider range of subjects.
Belinda Boden is a Primary Specialist and Teacher of English at Wendover, and led this year’s Poetry Week.
“Our teachers love to use different approaches in their lessons,” says Belinda, “and students enjoy the chance to show their understanding in new ways. Pupils composed poems about colour in Spanish, and Science students wrote poetry about the rock formations they had been studying – it was a great way to bring the different subjects alive.”
How do we encourage pupils to write poetry?
Belinda kicked off poetry week in June with a whole-school assembly during which she invited teachers to read their favourite poems. This helped pupils to understand that it is not only English teachers who can enjoy poetry, and that reading it out can have great impact.
Of course, Poetry Week would not be complete without some recommendations on how to write and appreciate poetry. Belinda shared some helpful ideas, including using music, artwork or a photograph for inspiration, or writing about something that interests you or to which you have an emotional attachment.
These tips continued into poetry lessons, where the children experienced different forms of structured poetry such as limericks, haiku and kennings. As well as reading poems written in various structures (rhyming and non-rhyming), they looked at poems from a variety of famous poets. Pupils in Year 7, for example, read ‘The Witch’ by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge and were asked to write a new stanza in the style of the poet.
Poetry Assembly
The who
le school took part in Poetry Week, with students writing up to six different poems each, and many continuing their writing in their free time. To celebrate and share their success as poets, Belinda arranged a final assembly completely dedicated to poetry, which was an inspiring conclusion to the week.
In front of their peers and teachers, pupils confidently read out their poems, showing pictures of anything that had inspired them and explaining why and how they had chosen to present their work.
“It was a wonderful assembly,” smiles Belinda. “We watched a champion golfer tell us his poem about his favourite hole; heard the reinvention of a Gothic fairytale and even enjoyed shape poem about cats from our youngest pupil, who pre-recorded his contribution as he was on a flight at the time of our assembly.”
What we learned from Poetry Week
Poetry Week was a celebration of poetry as a way of communicating and understanding. It gave students time to reflect and be creative – as one of our pupils said, “It makes me happy when I read poetry, I love how you can express yourself so much.”
Principal Sarah Bacon was equally impressed with the softer skills that students clearly learn through whole-school activities such as this.
“We are really proud of the way the students presented their work and were able to read what were sometimes emotional poems with confidence and expression, particularly in front of their teachers and older children. Thank you to everyone for sharing your poetry – this has been a very special time.”
To find out more about how we inspire creativity and confidence in our students, please contact Jude or Sarah at +44 1604 213 477 or email on enquiries@wendoverschool.com.
