Class 4J- National Poetry Day

Lesson: English

CLASS 4J: National Poetry Day

On Thursday this week, we celebrated National Poetry Day by reading and sharing poems and our knowledge of them. We used this to help us write a Haiku based around an environmental theme.

The day started with an introduction to poetry and types of poetry the class knew of, or had experienced. The children enjoyed learning and performing the poem, 'The Poetry United Chant' together. We discussed whether poems had to rhyme and what poems were made up of etc.

After reading lots of poems and watching a short video about poetry presented by Michael Rosen, the children were introduced to Haiku poems and their structure. They began to unpick the syllabic rules of these, and practised working out the syllables of different words, including their own names.

Following this, the children generated words associated with seasons and animals that live within typically associated habitats. These were recorded using a Word Cloud and then the drafting process began, using the 5,7, 5 syllabic Haiku structure that had been introduced.

Finally, after drafting, the children shared their poems by moving around the classroom and reading each others. The best ones were then identified collectively and shared on the interactive whiteboard.

A fantastic day of poetry which was enjoyed by pupils and staff alike!