Teaching Poetry with Kate Wakeling

This one day course, led by internationally published and CLiPPA winning poet Kate Wakeling and CLPE's Charlotte Hacking, will explore how poetry can be used in cross-curricular ways to engage children in reading and performing poetry, develop effective writing and raise engagement and attainment in reading and writing in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum.

The day will focus on building a spine for poetry across the Early Years and Primary, in line with the recommendations of the new Reading Framework. We will investigate high quality collections that can be used at different ages and stages, and will look at the essential approaches and experiences that engage children with poetry, developing essential skills for speaking and listening, reading fluency and comprehension, phonics, spelling and grammar and composition of children's independent writing.

Throughout the day, Kate will share her own experiences of reading and writing poetry, engaging participants with performances of a range of poetry from her own collections Moon Juice and Cloud Soup and supporting participants to write their own poetry using interactive approaches and practical activities which can be implemented immediately back in the classroom. These will support children of all ages, from EYFS to Year 6.

What you will learn:

By working in partnership with our expert teachers and a practicing poet you will:

• Gain greater confidence in planning a range of practical activities to develop children’s creative writing in the classroom
• Develop strategies to incorporate poetry into the wider curriculum
• Learn how to develop and extend children’s understanding and use of vocabulary through poetry.
• Develop a wide knowledge of poets and poetry
• Look at ways to engage children with a variety of poetic styles and forms through a range of creative approaches
• Investigate how poetry supports the development of reading fluency
• Use poetry to support pupils to respond to texts at a greater depth and develop deeper levels of inference when reading
• Learn how to use poetry to develop and extend vocabulary and comprehension of language across the curriculum
• Look at ways to help children foster their own authentic voices through writing poetry
• Explore ideas and activities designed to support children to write effectively to make impact on the reader

What participants will receive:

All participants will gain expert insights from the CLPE’s Power of Poetry research project from a free copy of CLPE's Poetry: What We Know Works booklet, as well as receiving a copy of Kate's collections of poems to help with the immediate implementation of the day’s training in their own classrooms. Resources will be sent to participants following the course, including teaching plans for the two books and a suggested spine of poetry texts to support schools in providing a range and breadth or poetry as children move through the Early Years and Primary phases.

Participants will receive joining instructions for the course one week before the training date. If you have any queries, please email courses@clpe.org.uk.

Why choose CLPE for your literacy training?

CLPE is a respected, trusted and innovative centre of excellence, its reputation established over its fifty-year history of training teachers in best practice that is rooted in ground-breaking research. Our responsiveness to trends and patterns in education means we are able to guide you in interpreting policy with integrity.

Our face-to-face courses are all held at our Literacy Library a unique 25,000 volume resource, which enables us to place high-quality children’s literature at the heart of our ethos and practice. Each course is delivered by one of CLPE’s expert advisory teachers, who can draw on decades of experience and expertise in leadership and literacy, supporting you to effect sustainable change that is built on a solid foundation of evidence.