Why poetry matters

Poetry is a low-threshold, high-ceiling art form. Short, playful, spoken or sung, it invites every learner in and rewards curiosity. In the classroom it:

• Builds oracy and confidence through performance and peer sharing.
• Supports wellbeing by offering safe outlets for feeling and identity.
• Helps SEN and EAL learners via rhythm, repetition, gesture and visual prompts.
• Connects subjects − music, drama, art, science and even maths can all meet in a poem.

This year’s theme − Play − is a gift: it legitimises experimentation with sound, shape and surprise, and reduces anxiety about getting poetry ‘right’.

Past, present and future of poetry

Use a simple three-part frame to structure your displays and lessons across the week.

Past − classics with a playful twist

• Short extracts from Blake, Rossetti or Lear to explore rhythm, rhyme and nonsense.
• Rewrite a classic: swap the setting, modernise the voice, or turn a stanza into a rap.

Present − voices pupils recognise

• Contemporary performance pieces and children’s favourites for quick read-alouds.
• Open mic in tutor time: pupils perform a favourite poem or a new verse of their own.

Future − our poets in the making

• Create a ‘Future Poets Wall’ where pupils post a selfie sketch, a line they love, and a pledge as a writer or performer.
• Nominate a monthly poet from each class and keep the wall alive all term.

Practical ideas for the day

• Poetry playground stations − rhyme lab, onomatopoeia corner, limerick workshop, blackout poetry table. Rotate every 10 minutes.
• Five-minute challenges − start lessons with playful prompts: three animal words, one invented verb, one surprising rhyme.
• Collaborative chain poems − each group writes a couplet then passes it on. Read the final version aloud.
• Page to stage − pupils storyboard a poem for performance with gesture, pace and pause.
• Illustrated poems − combine short texts with drawings for corridor displays.
• Secret sound poems − write to a sound clip; peers guess the sound after the reading.

Community and family: widening the circle

• Poetry café evening − warm lighting, hot chocolate, and 2-minute slots for pupils, staff and families.
• Pocket poems home − send a mini print of each pupil’s poem to share with parents or carers.
• Corridor ‘listening posts’ − QR codes linking to audio performances recorded by pupils.

Poetry and digital media

• Poetry reels − 30–60 second performances filmed in portrait for display on interactive screens.
• School poetry podcast − record short episodes with intros, readings and reflections.
• Visual poems − animate a haiku or shape poem and share on a projection screen in assembly.

Inclusion and wellbeing

• Offer multiple entry points − dictation to scribe, word banks, picture prompts, sentence stems.
• Use large, high-contrast displays and position work at eye level for readability.
• Create calm performance spaces where pupils can rehearse quietly before sharing.
• Celebrate process as well as product − drafts, crossings-out and revisions belong on the wall too.

From one day to a year of poetry

• Launch a weekly open mic at lunchtime.
• Create a Poet of the Month display with pupil picks and mini reviews.
• Publish a termly poetry anthology − printed or digital − and celebrate new contributors.

Space and environment: a short case study

In a Year 6 open mic, moving from a noisy hall to a classroom with acoustic panels transformed the experience. Pupils could hear breaths, pauses and rhyme, which improved confidence and performance. A bank of glassboards next to the reading area became a living word wall where classes posted line starters, rhyme pairs and new vocabulary. An interactive screen played short clips of poets performing, and a projection screen supported the end-of-day showcase for families. Displays stayed up through October, reinforcing that poetry is part of everyday learning, not a one-off event.

Relevant products from Presentation Spaces

Explore solutions that make poetry visible, inclusive and collaborative:

• Glassboards − perfect for word walls, shared drafting and pupil ‘Future Poets’ pledges.
• Display Boards − publish illustrated poems, performance posters and pocket poems.
• Acoustic Panels − clearer speech for readings and rehearsals, aligning with BB93 good practice.
• Interactive Screens − show reels, host live prompts and record performances.
• Projection Screens − whole-hall showcases and poetry café backdrops.

Sample day plan

Next steps

Pick two high-impact activities, prepare a visible word wall, and plan a short showcase so every pupil can share their voice.

Need help specifying? Contact Presentation Spaces for advice on glassboards, acoustic upgrades and digital display solutions for poetry performance and publishing.