Celebrate World Poetry Day with a raft of ideas and activities from Troika author & Teachit's poet in residence, Trevor Millum
To mark World Poetry Day on Sunday 21 March, Teachit is offering some brilliant ideas from its poet in residence, Troika author Trevor Millum.
Teachit is a website filled with teaching resources for KS3-5. It started off as a tray in the corner of a staffroom (to allow teachers to share their resources with each other) and has grown into a thriving community of teachers contributing resources, discussing ideas and finding inspiration.
Poet in residence Trevor Millum has been supporting English teachers with ideas and inspiration to enliven their poetry sessions for decades. His books, teaching packs, resources and tips remain essential reading for KS3-5 educators.
What rhymes with fronted adverbial?
Trevor says, “Luckily, poetry’s not about fronted adverbials or subordinate clauses. (Nor is most good writing, but that's another story). Poetry, for me, tends to come from feeling + observation + thought. Sometimes, though, it just comes from the pleasure of playing with puns and rhymes and rhythms. It's not about 'wow' words, long words or lots of adjectives. It's about getting the right word. And that can sometimes mean quite a bit of pondering, quite a bit of selecting and cutting - especially after you've poured all your thoughts and feelings and observations down onto paper!”
Get your World Poetry Day on!
Ready? Here are some ideas to get you pouring and pondering.
Activities for World Poetry Day - Year 7 & below
This set of three activities (fridge magnet poems, the magic box, and 7 little dinosaurs) will help students engage with the process of writing poems. Each idea has a set of prompts and a helpful framework to ensure that nobody’s stuck for something to write about.
Activities for World Poetry Day - KS3
Get your KS3 students to engage with their inner poet! Again, choose from three options: adapt an existing poem, write a rap or experiment with found poetry. There's something here to engage every student and cater to all ability levels.
And there’s more…
Trevor has written a wide range of resources for Teachit over the years, including his hugely popular Unseen poetry teaching pack to help KS4 teachers and students with the challenges of the GCSE syllabus.
The Poetry Guide
If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out Trevor Millum and Bernard Young’s The Poetry Guide: A 'How to' Guide for Teachers and Librarians. Aimed at primary practitioners and librarians, it features a host of ideas to get children reading, writing, editing, performing and publishing their own poetry, as well as suggestions for using technology, music and audio-visual aids to enliven your teaching. “Highly recommended" says Teachit, while Teaching English magazine wrote, “Authoritative books on teaching poetry are few and far between: this one should be in every primary school and English department’s library.”
You can discover more about Trevor, his work and his own writing on his website, Mouse and Muse: www.mouseandmuse.co.uk
World Poetry Day
Held every year on 21 March, UNESCO’s World Poetry Day “celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity. Practiced throughout history – in every culture and on every continent – poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.”
“Poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings. Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures. In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.”