National Poetry Day 2017 is on 28 September and the theme is freedom. It’s about everybody sharing poetry, reading poetry, writing poetry, enjoying poetry, and living poetry! For schools this can be a chance to make more of something already enjoyed throughout the school or it can be a launch pad for new experience and enjoyment. Based on a four day festival of poetry run with Hull primary schools as part of the No Limits Learning Programme, here is a pack of tips and activity ideas to help schools celebrate poetry on National Poetry Day and beyond.

National Poetry Day 2017 is on 28 September. It’s about everybody sharing poetry, reading poetry, writing poetry, and enjoying poetry. This activity has been created specially by the Poetry School. The Poetry School is a national organisation running classes and projects to teach poetry. This resource features the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazurus, which is engraved onto the Statue of Liberty in New York, as a starting point for discussion and a writing exercise.

National Poetry Day 2017 is on 28 September and the theme is freedom. It’s about everybody sharing poetry, reading poetry, writing poetry, and enjoying poetry. This activity was created for National Poetry Day 2017 by Russ Litten, First Story writer-in-residence in Hull. Called Yesterday and Today it includes ideas and inspiration to get young people thinking about and writing poetry.

National Poetry Day 2017 is on 28 September. It’s about everybody sharing poetry, reading poetry, writing poetry, and enjoying poetry. This activity by Sophie McKeand, Young People’s Laureate for Wales, for Literature Wales, the National Company for the development of literature in Wales, uses the Mask of Anarchy by Shelley and a new poem specially written by Sophie to consider freedom, and poetry as a tool for this.

National Poetry Day 2017 is on 28 September and is a chance for everyone to share poetry, read poetry, write poetry, and enjoy poetry. Use this resource created by CLPE (Centre for Language in Primary Education) to inspire children to write their own poem based on Matt Goodfellow's When I Swing.

This e-book was produced by Gaby Morgan from Macmillan Children's Books for National Poetry Day 2015.

A free anthology from Macmillan Children's Books and National Poetry Day, featuring the National Poetry Day Children's Ambassadors. Enjoy!

Discover the fantastic work done by Kate Clanchy and Oxford Spires using contemporary poems featured in The Forward Book of Poetry 2015, and bring the lessons to your own classroom.

Splashing Out With Poetry: a reading and performance activity for Early Years. For National Poetry Day 2013 by Mandy Coe. Based on a poem by James Carter

Handfish and Jellyfish: writing, games and paper cut-outs for KS1. For National Poetry Day 2013 by Mandy Coe. Based on a poem by Roger McGough This activity includes writing poems, performance, colouring in cut-outs and a film-clip – all exploring NPDs theme of ‘water’. Depending on your Year Group, this activity can be broken into a series of short activities, or linked together and expanded to include an exploration of the water cycle and writing a short poem on the journey of one drop of water.

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "Poetry in Frames" draws on the poetry of Taliesin. The resource fosters creative and critical thinking around poetry and is part of a collaborative effort between the National Poetry Day partners, who include Literature Wales, the Poetry Society, Apples and Snakes, and the Scottish Poetry Library. KS3 - KS4 - KS5

Forward Arts Foundation hope you make use of this fantastic FREE classroom resource for National Poetry Day 2016 on the theme of Messages. The Betjeman Poetry Prize presents this activity called 'The Sea Says' for Key Stage 1 - 2 students. This is part of a wider collaborative effort with multiple partners, including the Scottish Poetry Library, the Poetry Society, The Emma Press, and the Poetry School.

For illustrations of our Water theme, print out these posters – of mermaids and handfish – by film-maker Leo Crane, the creator of an unmissably gorgeous 30 second animation of watery poetry (http://vimeo.com/73483775). Inspired by Mermaid's Lament by Rachel Rooney.

Use this magnificent new lesson plan to spark off classroom discussion and inspire students to write their own poetry. It is written by poet Cheryl Moskowitz and features a huge variety of poems, all loosely related to the theme of stars. This lesson plan features a poem by Christina Rossetti.

Use this magnificent new lesson plan to spark off classroom discussion and inspire students to write their own poetry. It is written by poet Cheryl Moskowitz and features a huge variety of poems, all loosely related to the theme of stars. This lesson plan has works by Dorothy Parker and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "Postcard Poems" draws on a poem by Diana Brodie. The resource fosters enjoyment of poetry and is part of a collaborative effort between the National Poetry Day partners, who include the Poetry Society, Apples and Snakes, and the Scottish Poetry Library. For KS1 and KS2

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "A Note Can Be A Poem " draws on a celebrated short William Carlos William poem ('This is Just to Say'). The resource fosters creative and critical thinking around poetry and is part of a collaborative effort between the National Poetry Day partners, who include the Poetry Society, Apples and Snakes, and the Scottish Poetry Library. For KS3, KS4 and KS5

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "Love Letters between Inanimate Objects " draws on a poem by Sarah Kay that can also be found on YouTube. This resource fosters creative and critical thinking around poetry and is part of a collaborative effort between the National Poetry Day partners, who include First Story, Apples and Snakes, and the Scottish Poetry Library. For KS3, KS4 and KS5

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "A Message to the Future " draws on the poetry of Roger McGough. The resource fosters creative and critical thinking around poetry and is part of a collaborative effort between the National Poetry Day partners, who include the Poetry Society, Apples and Snakes, and the Emma Press For KS1 and KS2.

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "A Message in Space" draws on the poetry of Rachel Piercey. The resource fosters creative and critical thinking around poetry and is part of a collaborative effort between the National Poetry Day partners, who include the Poetry Society, Apples and Snakes, and the Scottish Poetry Library. For KS1 and KS2.