Learnt Texts

A key feature of Talk for Writing is that children internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘talking the text’, as well as close reading. The approach moves from dependence towards independence, with the teacher using shared and guided teaching to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.
 

Poetry

Learning poetry is a key cornerstone of this process. Through learning poetic language we have found we can develop children's language, expose them to high quality vocabulary and develop their love of language.

Five reasons to learn poetry

1. Poetry helps us know each other and build community.
2. When read aloud, poetry is rhythm and music and sounds and beats. Young children, babies and pre-schoolers may not understand all the words or meaning, but they'll feel the rhythms, get curious about what the sounds mean and perhaps want to create their own.
3. Poetry opens venues for speaking and listening, much neglected domains of a robust English Language Arts curriculum.
4. Poetry has space for children with English as an additional language because poems defy rules pupils can find ways of expressing their voices while being limited in their vocabulary. 
5. Poetry fosters Social and Emotional Learning. A well-crafted phrase or two in a poem can help us see an experience in an entirely new way.

Below are poems and poetic texts that our children have loved learning and performing.