Keeping Poetry Alive In Year 2

There are a number of reasons why poetry is important for young students. It helps motivate young readers to want to read, it builds on their vocabulary, fluency and writing skills. These skills are crucial in the development of strong readers.

 

This past week, the students in Year 2 learnt about a poem written by Julia Donaldson, “The Food Train” poem, which brought a lot of fun and creativity in the class when the students were asked to write their own Food Train poems.

 

The poem uses words about food to make the rhythm of an old-fashioned train. The students therefore needed to create their own poem using different food names from their kitchen to recreate their own Food train poem which needed to sound like an old-fashioned train.

 

We used these poems for Show and Tell and included the students at home on a Zoom meeting. They read their poems out to the class. This brought a lot of laughter, excitement and some nerves as the students had not been able to stand in front of the class for Show and Tell in a while.

 

Teachers have always found that poetry allows for students to express their feelings, which is of great importance during this time of an emotionally changing situation. Keeping poetry alive in the classroom has proven once again just how creative and insightful students can be, and going forward, we will continue to develop and find creative means to spice up English, with the use of poetry.

 

Erin Hierse

Year 2 Teacher