Coming into poetry : a creative approach for primary schools

Abstract

The main aim behind this work is to encourage pupils at the beginning of their school life, in the Primary, hence, Year 2 - 6, to enter into the realm of poetry with a good basis and a clear picture of what poetry is all about, that is, life. This we have tried to achieve through the various techniques found in the one hundred and fifty lessons that this work contains. It must be stressed that this is not a teaching manual. Nor can it be read from cover to cover. We believe that the ideas found in this work might help the pupils to come out of the Primary better-equipped to read, recite, criticise and discuss poetry more creatively. They will be in a position where they can put more into and hence get more out of poetry. We might point out that in preparing the lessons, we had always and average-ability class in mind. It is then up to the teacher who, on viewing this work with his particular class in mind, will then be in a better position to adapt any of the ideas to suit his purposes.