Why poetry is always perfect for primary

From On the Ning Nang Nong to Benjamin Zephaniah’s Talking Turkeys, there is just about a poem for every day in primary
14th December 2018, 11:23am

Share

Why poetry is always perfect for primary

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/why-poetry-always-perfect-primary
Coronavirus Lockdown Diary: Jo Brighouse Says Home-schooling Her Own Children & Teaching Her Class Remotely Has Left Her With A Low Attention Span

There was silence in the classroom, save the occasional snort of laughter as they changed for PE. Harrison had decided we needed a poem instead of the countdown timer and it had become a fixed routine. Since it was December, we were watching Benjamin Zephaniah perform Talking Turkeys (which drew nearly as much laughter as Michael Rosen’s Chocolate Cake but provided less time for wriggling out of tights and lacing up trainers).

Poetry in schools is really back in fashion. You see it in those uber-strict secondaries where children stand in line and beat their breasts while reciting If or Invictus (why is it never On the Ning Nang Nong?). War poetry proliferated this autumn for obvious reasons and nearly every primary school I know now has an annual poetry recital event to accompany the learn-by-heart curriculum requirement.

I love teaching poetry. I rarely go a day without reading a poem with my class. If you were to put me in charge of the primary curriculum, I’d plonk poetry firmly at the epicentre.

In my experience, primary-aged children love it. They love the sound and it makes them laugh. The reluctant writers like it because it doesn’t require many words and nobody gets on their case about full stops (writing and reading poetry is the only literary activity that puts a reassuring two fingers up to the SPAG requirements).

It’s also the gift that keeps on giving. Many poems taught at primary school are revelatory slow-burners, dropping new ideas as children mature. I’ve read Robert Frost with scores of high-performing 10-year-olds and never had one see anything more than a man who can’t decide which road to take.

Poetry is a gift that keeps on giving

But it doesn’t have to be deep and noble. Some of the best poems are silly, irreverent and anarchic. Primary children need to hear Revolting Rhymes, meet “the best rapping Gran this world’s ever seen” and enter the world of Jabberwocky (the original phonics screening). They need to live and die with The Highwayman, write their own Commentator poem in the style of Gareth Owen, surf in Kit Wright’s Magic Box and relive their First Day at School with Roger McGough.

When it comes to teaching poetry writing, I only have two tips: don’t write limericks with Year 2 unless you’re prepared to come up with 27 of them yourself, and don’t suggest trawling the alphabet for a rhyme unless you want children shouting expletives. It also goes without saying that acrostics should only ever be used as a last resort.

Otherwise, the only advice is read it and read it often. Apart from anything else, it’s a powerful way to bond with your class. When I started secondary school, I don’t think it was a coincidence that the headteacher chose to get to know us through a weekly poetry lesson. She wasn’t the only headteacher I had but none of the others introduced me to John Drinkwater’s Moonlit Apples so they all pale into insignificance. 

And if the poem’s good enough, there’s a chance it’ll never leave you. I’ve had pupils I taught years ago tell me that they still can’t see a full moon as anything other than ”a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas”.

So if you’re a teacher or Ofsted Inspector contemplating the curriculum on offer, remember there are worse things to lock into memory than all four verses of On the Ning Nang Nong.

Jo Brighouse is a pseudonym for a teacher in the Midlands. She tweets @jo_brighouse

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared