Discussion and reading activities on the theme of water for KS3-4. For National Poetry Day 2013 by Mandy Coe. Including poems by Joan Murray and Brian Patten.

Exploring injustice and contrasts of experience in times of war.

A guide to using hindsight to evaluate how choices affect different situations and creating metaphors from these findings. For Key Stages 3-5 and featuring ‘Drifting Away, Together’ by Jacob Hill, from the Longcroft School and Sixth Form College First Story Group.

Handfish and Jellyfish: writing, games and paper cut-outs for KS1. For National Poetry Day 2013 by Mandy Coe. Based on a poem by Roger McGough This activity includes writing poems, performance, colouring in cut-outs and a film-clip – all exploring NPDs theme of ‘water’. Depending on your Year Group, this activity can be broken into a series of short activities, or linked together and expanded to include an exploration of the water cycle and writing a short poem on the journey of one drop of water.

Born of Water: a reading and writing activity for KS3. For National Poetry Day 2013 by Mandy Coe. Based on the poems Tornado by Rachel Rooney and Fog by Carl Sandburg.

Take refuge with a resource about how picking up a pen can help us all let go.

A resource exploring the ways preconceptions can shape how we see the world.

Taking refuge in memories and building inner strength can help, during troubling times.

A resource about building a place of refuge using kindness.

Explore the refugee experience with this resource about how it feels to find a new home.

Exploring the idea that hope is possible and positive in even the bleakest of situations.

Featuring great poems around this year’s theme, Refuge, our free resources are full of ways to get students reading, discussing, performing, and writing – no matter their confidence level. They’re ready to go as worksheets, or you can use them as prompts and thought starters for your class activities. They’re designed by cross-curriculum experts to be used in all sorts of subject lessons, with materials available all the way from KS1 to KS5. By engaging your classes with poetry, you’ll give them their own refuge to express themselves and think about the world around them differently.

Discuss the power of perspective in this thought-provoking resource.

Find refuge in the shared experiences that bring people together across oceans.

A resource focused on finding refuge in a place that is special to you.

Featuring great poems around this year’s theme, Refuge, our free resources are full of ways to get students reading, discussing, performing, and writing – no matter their confidence level. They’re ready to go as worksheets, or you can use them as prompts and thought starters for your class activities. They’re designed by cross-curriculum experts to be used in all sorts of subject lessons, with materials available all the way from KS1 to KS5. By engaging your classes with poetry, you’ll give them their own refuge to express themselves and think about the world around them differently.

Take refuge in nature. Looking at what can be found outdoors to inspire ideas.

Take refuge in mental wellbeing. A poem focused on breathing and your own imagination.

A resource exploring how we can find refuge in the things we collect.

Use this magnificent new lesson plan to spark off classroom discussion and inspire students to write their own poetry. It is written by poet Cheryl Moskowitz and features a huge variety of poems, all loosely related to the theme of stars. This lesson plan features a poem by Christina Rossetti.