National Poetry Day - Embedding Poetry Across the Curriculum

 This Thursday is National Poetry Day, and this year's theme is Wonder.

I am proud to be an Official Ambassador for National Poetry Day and the Forward Prizes by Forward Arts Foundation, and here's what I've come to believe: poetry shouldn't live only in English lessons. It works best when it runs through the curriculum. Wonder isn't confined to one subject, and poems aren't either.

So, here are some ideas for how poetry might be embedded right across the curriculum:

Science: A poem asks children to look closely, and so does a scientist. Try a "list poem" of everything that happens when ice melts or a volcano erupts, or write from the point of view of a seed underground. Precise observation makes precise language, and the reverse is also true.

Maths: Pattern, rhythm and structure are both mathematical and poetic ideas. Count syllables, build shape poems, write riddles where the answer is a number. Children who "don't like maths" will often happily work out whether a line has too many beats.

Geography: Write a poem as a river travelling from source to sea, or as a city waking up. Poetry helps children understand a place from the inside, not just from a map or an atlas.

History: Give a voice to someone the textbook leaves out. A short monologue poem from a Victorian chimney sweep, a WW1 soldier or a Roman peasant builds empathy and understanding at once.

Art & Music: Poems and images belong together. Illustrate a poem, or write one in response to a painting. Perform poems with percussion and let children feel the rhythm physically.

PSHE: Poetry gives children words for feelings they can't easily name. A funny poem can open up a serious conversation. Laughter is a very good way in.

PE: Chant it, stamp it, move to it. Performance poetry is physical, and it's a gift for children who find it hard to sit still.

The common thread? Poetry teaches children to notice, to question, to play with language and to be amazed. In other words, it opens the path to 'Wonder'!

So this National Poetry Day, I'd challenge every teacher (not just the English or Literacy lead!) to bring a poem into a lesson where nobody expects it. Then see what happens.

How is your school celebrating? I'd love to hear.