It’s Teacher Tuesday and this week I am offering a simple idea for a classroom display that also helps you grow a love of poetry. I call it  a poetree.

The idea is very simple: on a whiteboard, or a large sheet of poster paper (the bigger the better) draw an outline of a tree. Here’s an example, drawn for me by a generous audience member at a conference a few years ago:

Once you have the outline, provide sticky notes (you can see I used heart shape ones)  or cut out leaves and ask your students to write their favourite lines of poetry to fill the tree up. Or you can have them write small poems, such as haiku or hay(na)ku  instead.

If they don’t have favourite lines of poetry, it’s time they did! Add a basket or shelf of poetry books nearby and allow students to choose  lines from there.

You can also make your poetree three dimensional using a large pot plant, or branch, or, if there is a tree near your classroom, hanging poems on that – either for a pop up display or, if you laminate them, for longer.

Want more poetry ideas? My book Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose (PETAA, 2021) contains lots of teaching ideas, support to find resources and poems by a range of poets including myself. There is even a shape poem called, coincidentally Poetree.

 

I’ d love to hear if you try this idea, or if you have your own poetry teaching ideas to share. Otherwise, I’ll see you here next Teacher Tuesday.