To assist young poets to polish their raw words and transform them into poetic pearls  requires some scaffolded support. I have created the following  Revising  and  Editing  checklists. Feel free to use them as a starting point with your student writers. Remember writing poetry is about using powerful words in tight spaces. That way you are more likely to create some sparks! My Revising Checklist For Poetry SKILL Student Teacher I have tried using repetition of words, sounds or phrases. I have experimented with lines and white space. I have read it aloud to see if the line breaks work for emphasis. I have tried to use surprising language. I have replaced ordinary words with stronger words. I have tried different leads or endings. I have tried different titles. I have used st...

I imagined this conversation between two boys and a chance observation... It's a variation on poems for two voices from the book,   Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices   by Paul Fleischman.  Initials On A Pencil Case What’s that on your pencil case? Right there in the corner in tiny letters Does it say I heart JB? Does it really? Why? Why does it say I heart JB? I cant believe you would write that… It’s not what you think It’s not what you think It’s something else Really it is Oh sure it is I heart JB – why did you write that For everyone to see? It’s about someone else Someone else? Who? Julietta Brocklesbee Who is Julietta Brocklesbee? A girl Thanks for the clue, but seriously, who is she? She’s a singer in a band What band? The Fishsticks Julietta Brosklesbee is a singer in a band Called The Fishsticks. Never heard of them… They’re a new band A very good band My favourite ...

In my eternal quest for poetry mentor texts that will support the sometimes tentative writing efforts of emerging student poets (and their teachers), I came across this poem by John Rice. It was part of a collection ‘Poems to Perform: A Classic Collection Chosen by the Children's Laureate,’Julia Donaldson. The poem has a simple repetitive structure that provides a safe scaffold for the less experience poet. Students immediately note the please do -please do not pattern and the way the poet finishes with a line that breaks the pattern, yet neatly ties the poet’s thoughts together. It’s as if he has an afterthought. They also noted the element of humour the poet had injected into the poem. For young poets, the presence of humour heightens engagement. Instructions For Giants Please do not step on swings parks, youth clubs, cinemas and discos Please flatten all schools Please do not eat children, pop stars, TV soap operas, kind grannies who give us  50cents Please feel free to gobble u...

An autobiographical poem. -An example of narrative poetry. I had lots of fun with line breaks, white space and repetition in this poem based on a life shaping event. Ah, life's lessons are great fodder for the poet. The Last Deirdre She was my shining light My immediate hope My heart leaping inspiration Yet, something didn't look quite right with this girl. I think it was her chocolate brown desert boots The ones she wore with blue school tunic which retreated from her kneecaps. The gum she chewed and twisted round her finger Passion beat fashion ...easily I dismissed this miscalculation In the interest of flirtation - For my heart's sake I liked her smile I liked her walk, So confident. So easy. The way her friends followed her Back and forth Back and forth . Across the asphalt. She was  Aphrodite  in D.B's .- She was Mother Duck. Her name was Deirdre Not  Diana ,  Delores ... Desiree ...

I am reposting this most interesting article from Cambridge University, kindly sent to me by fellow educator and friend, Lisa Burman . Having long been sidelined as a Cinderella subject in schools, children's poetry is poised to reclaim the hearts and minds of a new generation of younger readers, a new study suggests. Poetry has always been the hardest part of the English curriculum to deliver in schools. Opportunities to write poetry have increasingly been squeezed out in response to pressures to "teach to tests" David Whitley Researchers argue that factors including internet and television campaigns, scientific and psychological studies, and the present and previous poet laureates' sympathies for the cause are all aiding a revival in the subject after years in the doldrums. The claims are made by the editors of a new book, Poetry and Childhood, which, following a joint University of Cambridge and British Library conference on the same theme...