Kate Williams

Hello, thanks for looking in!

Here is my Teach Poetry tip 5:

Do a Wordy Warm-Up

Stretch language through fun brainstorming challenges before embarking on poetry proper with your class. This is best with a given theme – also relevant to your poetry-writing plans.

Lead by example

Set an example by using rich, expressive language yourself. Taking Windy Day as an example theme here, you might refer – just casually, in passing – to breezes, gusts, blusters, gales, hurricanes and typhoons – perhaps cool breezes, nagging gusts, grumpy blusters, wild gales that push and pull, howling hurricanes and roaring, thrashing typhoons.

Fun

But I mentioned fun, so let’s have it! Don’t just ask how the wind blows or what it sounds or feels like: ask those questions while being the wind and leading a windy day action drama. Keep the prompts coming (it’s a good idea to have some up ready, up your sleeve), cheering on the children’s contributions even as you move on to new types of word – personified ones perhaps: gentle, gently caressing, soothing and hushing, mournfully whimpering, impatient, angrily roaring; then action verbs: hushing, sweeping, swirling, lunging, snatching, shaking – the children will be enthralled and their language ever more daring and powerful.

In the photo above, we (a Year 3 class) and I are being DRAGONS – all sorts, sneaking, creeping, lurking, pouncing, prancing, gobbling, blasting, flying, dancing – disco-dancing crazily, sneaking slyly, like a stalking tiger in the jungle, pouncing with the power of a jaguar, gobbling like a greedy giant, blasting like an erupting volcano, soaring through the twilight…

Fun can also be had by means of jotting challenges. Ask children to list a few describing words for your theme, then, after just a couple of minutes, call for examples, keeping everyone on their toes. Now change your request to verbs or similes and invite others to read out – or everyone to contribute one word. If they’re ready for more, build on this work, prompting for other linguistic aspects – alliteration, say (which words begin with the same letter?), or rhyming words (whirling, swirling? Shimmering, quivering?). Allow a few minutes for illustrative artwork to double up the fun before you move onto actual poetry-writing.

Now your class is ready for poetry!

Kate

By the way, I’m taking bookings now for Poetry Workshops next term – Spring 2025, with exciting theme choices: ANIMALS – with my new book, out January, Squeak! Squawk! Roar!, DRAGONS, SPACE, WINDY DAY, OR WILD WOODS.

Picture refers to my ANIMALS with book theme. Others available too, as listed.