Teach Primary Issue 18.4

using their voices in different ways, and understanding how intonation and prosody can help translate this to an audience. Allow opportunities for children to decide for themselves how best to www.teachwire.net | 43 organise the performance: whether they think that it would be best to perform individually or in pairs, or if they want to work as a group. Give time for them to look at the poem multiple times, talking specifically about the mood created and the emotions they feel as they read, and how they might convey this when they perform the poem. As the children work up performances, allow them to record themselves and to perform to others. This will give them the chance to see and reflect on their poems, re-working parts along the way and trying out different ideas to improve things. When they are happy with their performance, they can make a final recording, and submit it for judging. For the schools who win a chance to take part in the CLiPPA ceremony, the effects are profound and extensive. Angela Murphy, a teacher at St Margaret Mary’s Primary in Manchester, who performed at the 2023 CLiPPA award show alongside poet Matt Goodfellow, explains: “After the performance, the children told me that this was a day they would never forget, and it is one that I won’t forget in a long time either. Being chosen to take part in such an amazing event was wonderful but I know that the effects of this day will be much more far-reaching. As a result of our participation in the shadowing scheme, the children have entered into a long-term relationship with poetry. They are no longer afraid of reading, discussing, writing and performing poetry and they talk about it with such passion.” TP Charlotte Hacking is the Learning and Programme director at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE). Find out more about the CLiPPA Shadowing scheme and access the videos and teaching sequences to support schools to engage with poetry at clpe.org.uk T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG LAST YEAR’S CLIPPA SHORTLIST Blow a Kiss, Catch a Kiss by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Nicola Killen (Andersen Press) A rich mix of poems that play with words and sounds, engage the youngest readers with rhythms and rhymes and show that poetry can tell a story or share our feelings. Marshmallow Clouds by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, illustrated by Richard Jones (Walker) This collection engages children with the world around them. Evocative language describes experiences, conveys feelings and draws young readers into specific moments. Let’s Chase Stars Together by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Oriol Vidal (Bloomsbury Education) A perfect collection for UKS2, containing humorous poems, evocative imagery and moments that allow children to relate to and empathise with others. Choose Love by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Petr Horáček (Graffeg) A deeply resonant collection which provides insight into the real-life experiences of refugees forced to leave their homes to face an unknown future. These are the Words by Nikita Gill (Macmillan Children’s Books) Ideal for older readers moving into secondary, this collection features poems of rage, consolation, solidarity, hope and love. Visit clpe.org.uk/ poetry/CLiPPA to see performances of these poems as well as the latest information on this year’s award.