Teach-Primary-Issue-19.2

4 Haiku Haiku are all about syllables, which can be explained as beats or sounds. I always start by helping children count the syllables in their names. Introduce the ‘haiku’ term and explain its basic format – i.e. three lines with varied syllable counts of 7, 5, 7. Complicated? Start slowly with a whole-class haiku on a given theme. They’ll love counting the syllables and correcting each other, while the need to get words to fit will stretch their linguistic and imaginative powers. Next, offer a partly-written haiku to complete in pairs and share a few outcomes. They’re now ready to craft and count independently. If results don’t quite fit the format, no worries: in this session, it’s just a game! 5 Riddles Your junior poets will get a kick out of mystifying each other with their crafty riddle clues, and listeners will equally enjoy trying to identify the thing described. There’s no required format for a riddle poem, so they’re easy-peasy! Personally, I find the cinquain form handy as a loose frame to bounce off from. A cinquain has five lines, each describing a given object in a different way – through nouns, verbs, a simile, a metaphor, and an alternative word to round off (see Plazoom for a cinquain resource: tinyurl. com/tp-CinquainPlzm ). Your riddles might include other details (e.g. what the mystery thing likes doing or where it can be found). And here’s the best bit – revealing the answer, which might be upside down, backwards, in tiny writing, or any other obscure way the children can devise. As for themes, you can’t go wrong with an all-round animal one, or a creature category like jungle , farm or winged creatures . 6 Action words Action words beg to be enacted, fidgety legs beg to get up and moving, and action-word poems address both needs at once – also, it’s oodles of fun. You’ll need some floor space and a whiteboard to jot down the children’s on-the-move language contributions. Taking dragons as an example theme, lead your group in a given movement, say creeping . Enact it expressively as possible together, slyly tiptoeing, claws out, teeth gnashing. Now invite other action-words to say and do – leaping , flying and fire-breathing , and nuanced variations: pouncing , gliding , blazing – keeping up the momentum. Never mind that everyone’s getting breathless – that’s part of the fun. Call for adverbs – ferociously , mysteriously , crazily , and similes – pouncing like a… what? Add in sounds, colours, scene-setting concepts, until their responses drown out your prompts. An opening line from you, such as ‘ The … dragon went … like a … through … ’ and they’ll be off. With all these games, the best advice is to try forgetting that ‘poetry’ word yourself and go with the flow. You’ll find plenty to celebrate, whichever activity you pick, and your class will be geared up to venture further in. Have fun! TP Kate Williams is a children’s poet and workshop leader for schools. Kate’s latest book, Squeak! Squawk! Roar! Amazing Animal Poems (£8.99, Otter-Barry Books) is out now. DOWNLOAD RESOURCES AT Get your FREE KS2 poetry pack from Pie Corbett at tinyurl.com/ tp-PiePoetry www.teachwire.net | 83 T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG