Kate Williams

Daily tips for getting your young class writing poetry, drawn from my own experience as a children’s poet and experienced workshop leader.

Today’s tip: ban erasers.

Free up

Free up creativity by allowing ideas to change and develop during the writing process. It’s a thousand times more productive to cross out words for the benefit of more effective ones, than to keep the inferior first attempt for the sake of tidiness.

Confidence-boosting

By banning erasers you will send that message to your children, and they will respond by experimenting, considering, and making their own decisions about their work as it proceeds. Once they get used to this approach, they’ll stop worrying about messiness and start to enjoy crossing out and inserting words as they see fit – yes, with arrows, loops, squeezed-up extras above the line or down the margin – whatever’s needed, and with that, will come a confidence-boosting sense of empowerment.

Time and place

Of course, there is a time and place for tidy presentation, and that’s afterwards, as they write out their finished drafts. At that stage, they may decide to alter the presentation again, too – to shape it into an image, for instance, or re-align it to fit inside a picture or shaped frame. They may even wish to convert it into a cartoon, or an ancient scroll retrieved from the bottom of the sea!

Poetry-writing needs to be relaxed and enjoyable to be successful.

Next tip coming soon.

Meanwhile, Squeak! Squawk! Roar! – my animal poetry book – comes out on January 9th!  Ideal for that late Christmas present or January birthday. Best for children aged 6 – 11 ish.