Featuring great poems around this year’s theme, Refuge, our free resources are full of ways to get students reading, discussing, performing, and writing – no matter their confidence level. They’re ready to go as worksheets, or you can use them as prompts and thought starters for your class activities. They’re designed by cross-curriculum experts to be used in all sorts of subject lessons, with materials available all the way from KS1 to KS5. By engaging your classes with poetry, you’ll give them their own refuge to express themselves and think about the world around them differently.

Featuring great poems around this year’s theme, Refuge, our free resources are full of ways to get students reading, discussing, performing, and writing – no matter their confidence level. They’re ready to go as worksheets, or you can use them as prompts and thought starters for your class activities. They’re designed by cross-curriculum experts to be used in all sorts of subject lessons, with materials available all the way from KS1 to KS5. By engaging your classes with poetry, you’ll give them their own refuge to express themselves and think about the world around them differently.

Take refuge with a resource about how picking up a pen can help us all let go.

Taking refuge in memories and building inner strength can help, during troubling times.

A resource about building a place of refuge using kindness.

Explore the refugee experience with this resource about how it feels to find a new home.

Exploring the idea that hope is possible and positive in even the bleakest of situations.

Exploring injustice and contrasts of experience in times of war.

A resource focused on finding refuge in a place that is special to you.

National Poetry Day 2017 is on 28 September. This activity was created by Georgi Gill for The Scottish Poetry Library. Inspired by Georgi's poem My Cat Mitzi it will help children explore the poem and how it makes them feel, and contains practical tips on writing poetry.

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.

One of a series of National Poetry Day teacher resources on the theme of Messages. "Sssnnnwhufffll? " draws on the poetry of Scottish poet Edwin Morgan. 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.

Born of Water: a reading and writing activity for KS3. For National Poetry Day 2013 by Mandy Coe. Based on the poems Tornado by Rachel Rooney and Fog by Carl Sandburg.

A comprehensive poetry analysis lesson plan for KS2 English students that uses Joseph Coelho’s poem ‘Gingerbread Man’. The poem deals with issues around being teased or picked on at school, and includes useful links and resources on how to broach this subject sensitively in the classroom. Includes a copy of Joseph’s poem as well as links to more of his work and free teaching resources from CLPE.

A resource exploring the ways preconceptions can shape how we see the world.

Discuss the power of perspective in this thought-provoking resource.

Find refuge in the shared experiences that bring people together across oceans.

Take refuge in nature. Looking at what can be found outdoors to inspire ideas.

Take refuge in mental wellbeing. A poem focused on breathing and your own imagination.

A resource exploring how we can find refuge in the things we collect.