Teachit top 5 > National Poetry Day 2006
We've searched high and low for activities to help you celebrate National Poetry Day on Thursday 5th October. All are related to the theme of identity (some more closely than others!), and provide fun ways for pupils to create their own poems. We've also provided some creative ways to link National Poetry Day's theme to KS4 and 5 lessons while continuing with the nitty-gritty of exam preparation.
5 TOP TEACHIT RESOURCES FOR NATIONAL POETRY DAY
1. Names
Why names are important, what they mean and where they come from. Good for a starter activity, the 'name acrostics' could be printed and displayed around the
school.
KS3> Media & non fiction > Me, Myself and I
2. Isn't my name magical?
Get your classes to create their own identity poems using this 'crunched' version of James Berry's poem as a stimulus. The original poem is available in the identity poem 'bookshelf' on the National Poetry Day website.
New
whizzy things > Cruncher > Free 'crunched' texts for everyone
3. What am I?
Another one for the computer room. Pupils can experiment with words from Sylvia Plath's poem 'Metaphor' and create their own unique poems using Teachit's online fridge magnets.
New
whizzy things > Magnet > Free samples for all > Metaphors
4. Quotation exercise: 'Digging and Catrin'
Link National Poetry Day's theme to your GCSE teaching with this practical, thought-provoking resource and snappy Flash activity, matching statement with evidence.
KS4 > Poetry > Seamus Heaney and Gillian Clarke
5. Hanging on the telephone
Great for A Level Language students. Refer to the penultimate page of this resource for work based on the identity themed poem 'Telephone Conversation' by Wole Soyinka and ideas for teaching the Language variation unit.
Language library > Language and social contexts > Language and technology
Happy National Poetry Day.
Enjoy.
Lucy Hewitt
Resource editor
http://www.teachit.co.uk
Go to the Poetry Society's website for further ideas and activities. The Bookshelf has a collection of poems linked to the theme of identity and Lesson Plans are available for KS1-4.