Classroom Activities

» Brunate - POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM - - THE INTERNET POET

Debbie's article on the teaching of poetry (19 June) is excellent.
I add to this as a retired teacher and also a popular children's poet, who has just completed my 230th children's poem (see Josie Whitehead - Google). We poets are being encouraged to go into classrooms, read our poems to children, talk about the things which spark our imaginations, and encourage children to write. More importantly, I love to hear what children have written
Many of my poems are narrative poems - story poems - lots and lots of them. They cover stories on almost every subject, and last week I told the story of the fish that swallowed Granny's teeth. Children find the stories fun and inspirational. I often ask children to come up with stories to follow up mine, and am always amazed at their ideas. Some of my poems have been based on things which children have told me. So, it is just as important for writers of children's poetry to speak to their audiences also. The children are always thrilled to meet the writer of their favourite poems, and the poet is thrilled to speak to the ones who appreciate what they have done. Well, this one certainly is.
I go into local schools, libraries, read at our Literature Festival etc etc. The local children know how lucky they are to have me nearby.
We live in a wonderful age. How I wish that my favourite poets had been able to visit us. I would have liked to have asked William Wordsworth how he thought my poem "Ode to the Bluebells" compared to his "Daffodils". ha ha. It is my most popular poem.
I am going to make it possible for children much farther afield to benefit from what I am doing locally as from September. I have Skype on my computer. I can speak to my friends across the world, and, with my webcam and theirs, we can see each other too - rather like the television, only interactive. I want to hear from teachers who have this facility in their classrooms, and who would like me to visit their classes during their poetry lessons. I can read to the children, talk to them and, above all, I can hear what they have written and encourage them. I think I may be a pioneer poet as regards this. My aim is to fire the children's imaginations, get them actively involved with poetry, make them love poetry from an early age, so that it is something which will carry them through life, as it has done for me. If you go to my website: www.whiteheadm.co.uk - you can Email me if you would like to be a pioneer poetry teacher also. I would like to be able to report back to Suite 101 about the fun that we had in your class when I visited the children from across the world by internet.

-- posted by Brunate

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