Poetry Corner

In the words of Pi Corbett (Creator of the Talk for Writing approach to learning):

‘Words matter because they create our world and our selves. Without words, thought is a meagre crumb. And it is in poetry that words fall under the mind’s microscope. It is poetry that most potently values language, where each word must count. Teachers are the guardians of beautifully used language. Through reading, performing, writing and speaking with clarity and power, through introducing children to literature, we are passing on the truth and power of words.’

This year in class we began to learn a poem a week to share at our Fri-Yay assembly. The rhyme or poem was learned orally in class each day, chanted or spoken together, using actions to help us remember the words. The idea behind this is that by the end of the year we will have built up a class anthology of poems and rhymes for the children to read, enjoy and treasure.

Poetry focuses upon words and sound. Building up a bank of well-loved rhymes, songs and poems is an important part of early literacy development… as well as a source of great joy. It influences a positive start in reading and writing and also adds to the basic storehouse of stories and images that lie at the heart of our world culture.