KS3 Memory Poetry - reading and writing

A two-lesson pack for introducing Key Stage Three students to reading, analysing and writing their own poetry, all based around the theme of memory. Perfect for Year 7 and 8 students, particularly those who may not be used to detailed annotation or analysis of poetry yet. Also an ideal resource for getting to know a new class.

The lesson PowerPoint encourages discussion of memory as an idea before guiding students through some teacher-led and independent basic analysis of the Potato Peeling stanzas of Seamus Heaney’s ‘Clearances’ , which can be found on the Poetry Foundation website. In the second lesson, students are guided to create their own poem about a memory.

Resource pack includes:

• A PowerPoint of nine slides, two of which contain the above internet link to the studied poem in the slide notes.
• A three-stanza writing frame to support students in planning their own poem.
• A ‘level up’ activity sheet to support students in proofreading and editing their finished poem.

The writing frame and ‘level up’ sheet are included as both PDF and Word documents. Teachers will need to provide students with their own copy of the poem for annotation.