Remembrance Day Poetry

This thoughtfully planned one-week poetry unit is built around the powerful poem Lest We Forget by Angela Marie James, supporting pupils to explore meaning, language and structure through close reading and discussion.

Across five carefully sequenced lessons, children deconstruct and comprehend the poem using VIPERS-style reading skills, before applying what they have learned to create their own original poem inspired by the model text. The unit balances sensitive subject matter with age-appropriate analysis and creative expression.

This unit includes:

A clear, fully editable PowerPoint covering five lessons

All accompanying lesson resources, ready to use

Guided poetry comprehension and deconstruction activities

Explicit links to VIPERS reading skills

Structured support to help pupils plan and write their own poem

This unit works particularly well when paired with a linked art outcome, such as remembrance artwork or symbolic illustration, making it ideal as a complete cross-curricular sequence.

Suitable for Upper KS2 and easily adaptable, this resource is ideal for Remembrance Day, themed poetry weeks or as part of a wider reading and writing bundle.