Poetry Train is a teachers pack of activities, poems and advice for teaching poetry in primary schools. David Harmer and Roger Stevens share proven approaches for use in the classroom, based on brilliant poems by top poets such as Carol Ann Duffy and Jackie Kay.

One for English and Drama teachers and anyone who has ever been asked the question 'but why do we have to do Shakespeare?'.... In honour of Shakespeare&'s birthday (23 April), here one of the 8 winners of the Poetry Society&';s SLAMbassadors UK spoken word competition in 2011, Megan Beech, shares her take on why Shakespeare is relevant today. Read more at: http://slam.poetrysociety.org.uk.

At a glance: poetry of place, using verbs, using adjectives, personification, list poems // The Poetry Society brings you Poetryclass, a range of high quality resources for teachers working with poetry in the classroom. Recently redesigned and many including full poems and photocopiable handouts, these resources offer ways into poetry for all key stages and across the curriculum. More resources are available through our website at www.poetrysociety.org.uk

A monster poem-making activity to help teach the power of simile // At a glance: creating characters, syllables, humorous verse, creating new words, simile & metaphor // The Poetry Society brings you Poetryclass, a range of high quality resources for teachers working with poetry in the classroom. Recently redesigned and many including full poems and photocopiable handouts, these resources offer ways into poetry for all key stages and across the curriculum. More resources are available through our website at www.poetrysociety.org.uk

A Poetry class teaching resource from the Poetry Society giving an adapatable lesson plan, including full poem texts and photocopiable handouts, using Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen and The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tennyson // This lesson plan covers techniques such as rhythm and rhyme in poetry and iambic pentameter as well as themes around the poetry of war and conflict // It was created by experienced poet in education Roshan Doug // At a glance: rhythm, iambic pentameter, war poetry, structure, syllables // More resources are online at www.poetrysociety.org.uk/education.

Teaching resource from the Poetry Society. Lesson includes photocopiable handouts, allows students the chance to write a poem as a telegram. Lesson plan covers techniques like redrafting poetry and creating short poems and is ideal for use with reluctant writers as well as use for teaching themes such as war poems and travel // It was created by experienced poet in education Mario Petrucci // At a glance: short poems, redrafting, riddles, the senses, reluctant writers // More resources are online at www.poetrysociety.org.uk/education.

At a glance: Edward Lear, celebrating difference, identity, humorous verse, group poems. // The Poetry Society brings you Poetryclass, a range of high quality resources for teachers working with poetry in the classroom. Recently redesigned and many including full poems and photocopiable handouts, these resources offer ways into poetry for all key stages and across the curriculum. // More resources are available through our website at www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/education/poetryclasshome

A teaching resource from the Poetry Society giving practical science and creative teaching suggestions using Grace Nichols' poem &'Cosmic Disco&'; // This lesson plan was created to celebrate National Poetry Day 2012 // At a glance: science, Grace Nichols, dance, space, personification // More resources online at www.poetrysociety.org.uk/education

A Poetryclass teaching resource from the Poetry Society which looks at transforming similes into metaphor, and metaphor into extended metaphor. Includes photocopiable handout.

A Poetryclass teaching resource from the Poetry Society giving exercises to enable students to understand grammatical concepts and terminology using poetry. This lesson plan is one of four responding to the draft primary curriculum. At a glance:grammar, using adverbs, punctuation, history and group poems. More resources are available through our website at www.poetrysociety.org.uk

Explore Mr. Magoo's Magical Zoo with your class and use metaphor, simile and alliteration as you create animal poems to populate it. Part of our Poetry Train resource pack.

This resource focuses on how Yeats uses sound and rhythm in ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’, culminating in pupils planning and performing their own soundscape performance of the poem. Great for use in English lessons when exploring poetry, or looking at the impact of WWI.

Using James Carter's Poem &'Missing: DAISY&';, Roger Stevens looks at creating animal poetry with a class. Ideal for a Key Stage 1 introduction to poetry. Part of our Poetry Train resource pack.

This flexible lesson is inspired by the annual festive Trafalgar Square tree // Each year, the Poetry Society works with primary schools to create a new poem to wrap around the tree. This is an extract from the resource pack // The plan covers techniques such as reading aloud and writing poems, and themes such as sharing, celebration and personification // It can be used for teaching winter festivals, National Tree Week, Tree Dressing Day and Christmas // At a glance: Christmas, celebration, recitation, whole class activity // More resources are online at www.poetrysociety.org.uk/education

A Poetryclass teaching resource from the Poetry Society giving an adapatable lesson plan using a nonsense poem by Edward Lear // This lesson plan covers themes such as word comprehension, nonsense poems, rhythm and rhyme in poetry as well as themes for geography and PSHE such as travel and displacement // It was created to mark 200 years of Edward Lear in 2012 by experienced poet in education Roger Stevens // At a glance: new words, Edward Lear, journeys, geography, rhythm // More resources online at www.poetrysociety.org.uk/education

An activity in two halves: Roger Stevens looks at how to avoid 'Clunky Last Line Syndrome&' when writing rhyming verse, and then uses Jan Dean&';s poem 'Jenny&' to look at more complex forms of rhyme with alliteration, assonance and consonance. Part of our Poetry Train resource pack.

This resource explores Second World War poetry in the context of war poetry as a whole. It includes an analysis of Timothy Corsellis' poem &'Dawn After the Raid&'; and writing exercises to get students writing their own poems based on Timothy's structure. The resource supports Young Poets Network&'s annual Timothy Corsellis Prize.

Using Marian Allen's First World War poem &'The Wind on the Downs&';, and Linda Hughes' new animation, we explore the poetry of those people left at home during the First World War.

A resource designed to support you and your students to use the National Theatre’s production of War Horse as a way into poetry of the First World War. The resource includes poems by Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke and A. E. Housman. Developed in partnership with National Theatre Learning.

At a glance: Carol Ann Duffy, monologues, creating characters, Drama, performance // The Poetry Society brings you Poetryclass, a range of high quality resources for teachers working with poetry in the classroom. Recently redesigned and many including full poems and photocopiable handouts, these resources offer ways into poetry for all key stages and across the curriculum. More resources are available through our website at www.poetrysociety.org.uk

This is a full illustrated text of the Edward Lear poem 'The Jumblies&' // This can be used to complement Poetryclass lesson plans from the Poetry Society including &';Travelling with Edward Lear' and &'The Jumblies&';, also available from TES and at: www.poetrysociety.org.uk/education // This poem can be used to cover themes such as humourous poems, nonsense poems, rhythm and rhyme, and celebrating differences // This poem text was created to mark 200 years of Edward Lear in 2012.