Ignite an interest in poetry. Four carefully selected Youtube videos of great poetry performances from Agard, McNish, Heron, and Zephaniah will appeal to even the most stony-hearted pupils. Add your own favourites! Pupils then form their own concept of the poetic by comparing these poems to other forms of performance. By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to identify what makes poetry poetic, and identify what is poetic about their personal favourite songs. These lessons should be accessible and challenging for all pupils in KS3 and KS4. The lessons are designed so you don't have to do any extra preparation. There is a pre-starter, starter, main activity, and plenary, a worksheet, and each step has a challenge for the inquisitive. You can also easily adapt it to make it your own. If you like these lessons, please visit our shop.

These two lessons structure and guide a group performance of this classic poem. Even the most reluctant students of poetry should be moved! Surely this is the best way of really experiencing what the poet felt. High-achieving students will find the interview with the poet lends a greater depth of understanding, and are provided with extra challenges. Feedback to improve the performance is scaffolded, so your whole class should achieve their best. Included are a very detailed presentation and a worksheet - everything you need to deliver the lesson. It is easily editable if you wish to make it your own. If you like the look of this lesson, please visit our shop.

Visit our shop for lesson 2 and many others by clicking on the username. Group performance: a great way to encourage deeper reading of a poem. Students discover the circumstance that inspired the poem - imprisonment on Robben Island (with Nelson Mandela), and use an interview with the poet to give their performance direction. This is a whole, complete lesson, and includes everything you might need, including a worksheet. Lesson 2 gives students modelled feedback to allow them to do their best. Visit our shop for more lessons like this one.