Teach-Reading-and-Writing-Issue-21

36 | www.teachwire.net What are the stabilisers in poetry teaching? Stabilisers in a poetry lesson are whatever conditions you place on the writing. After balancing theory and practice, the next thing is to maintain equilibrium between constraint and freedom. If we restrict children’s creative writing too much, we are essentially ‘stabilising’ them into stasis. They’re not falling, but they’re not moving, either. Does this sound familiar? “I want you to do your own work, but remember, it needs to rhyme. Make sure you use your best handwriting, and check your spellings and grammar... I want you to use all those ‘wow words’ we shared, and it needs to stay on topic…” If we apply too much constraint to what children write – this is true regardless of genre – then we should not be surprised when they show a lack of care or interest. We are essentially tricking them into writing exactly what we want them to write, whilst also trying to deceive them into thinking that this is what they wanted to do. I’ll never forget the words of a Year 6 child I taught a few years ago. We were celebrating his writing, which was lively and interesting, and had a bit more of a ‘spark’ to it than other children in the class. I said to him, “Wow, Eesa. That is really brilliant. Do you like writing?”. I was asking this hoping to co-opt him to be my ally in the We Love Writing parade. He replied, “I really like writing, but I hate having to do it the way you all make us do it.” Ask an honest question, you get an honest reply. Speaking to him more about it, this was a child who wrote for fun, for meaning, for self-care, in his own time. For him, the excessive constraints and limitations of ‘schooled writing’, were an intense frustration. But here is something interesting: most children, in my modest experience, prefer too much control to too much freedom. If children feel as though they are floating in the uncertainty of our expectations, not sure in even a small sense of what they are being invited to do, they experience a real sense of fear. Put yourself in their shoes: imagine you come along to one of my workshops, and I share a poem with you: let’s say Ted Hughes’ poem Hawk Roosting . I read it aloud for you, we chat about it for five minutes, and then I say, “OK, now it’s your turn. Write a poem inspired by it. I’ll be asking four of you at random to get up and share your poems to the class in 20 minutes before breaktime. Let’s go, poets! Crack on!” It’s too much freedom. Children and adults alike want to know the parameters. They are stabilisers that help those of us who need to rely on them, but do not inconvenience those of us who are confident and skilled enough to race ahead. Freedom liberates, but so can constraint. How to get your poetry teaching ‘just right’ l Balance freedom and constraint If you limit one aspect of pupils’ writing, liberate another. So, if you’re focusing on their ability to use rhyming couplets (limiting the form), let them write about a topic that interests them (liberating the content). If you want to task children with writing meaningful poetry about emotions (limiting the content), allow them to write poetry in whichever forms most appeal (liberating the form). l Talk is comprehension, talk is writing The poetry classroom should be a place of free-flowing discussion. Poetry is about interpretation – what you take from a poem may be different from what I take from it. Let’s talk about that. Poetry is social – expecting something great to grow in silence is like expecting a houseplant to grow without sunlight. Talk nourishes thought. l The figure of eight Often, our poetry teaching follows a linear path. We read, then we write, then we perform. Interrupt that: instead of a straight line, think of there being a figure of eight weaving around reading, writing and talking. Performing it aloud might help a child to edit their writing, for example. l Be a poet with them Don’t just whack a model text on the whiteboard. Write alongside the children, as a writer. Join them in the joys, pleasures, frustrations and challenges that poetry writing can engender. Jonny Walker is a children’s writer and specialist teacher of poetry, mythology and creative writing, working in primary schools worldwide. He created the teaching notes for 12 new Big Cat Poetry books with Collins.