Celebrate poetry on National Poetry Day 2024, 3rd October
Posted on Monday, September 2, 2024
Category: News
National Poetry Day is the biggest mass celebration of poetry in the UK with people sharing in the pleasure of poetry in homes, schools and libraries.
Some 1.5 million people are expected to take part on National Poetry Day 2024 on 3rd October, and there are many ways to get involved. This year's theme is Counting.
From writing songs and raps to inviting poets into your class, schools will be celebrating poetry in many different ways this year. Here are some further ideas:
There are a range of resources on the National Poetry Day website, including poetry lessons to share and an attempt at a Guinness World Record for the biggest poetry lesson (for ages 7-12 years) on 3rd October, in which multiple classrooms will join a shared Zoom lesson with poet Laura Mucha at 10am.
Join Cloud Chamber: an online network joining poets and teacher
Share ideas, resources, and best practice in teaching poetry with The Poetry Society. Cloud Chamber offers quarterly Zoom sessions where an experienced facilitator shares ideas for poetry activities, before opening up to the floor for discussion. The next Cloud Chamber session will be on Thursday 26 September, 4.30-5.30pm on Zoom, focussing on this year's National Poetry Day theme, 'Counting', and exploring a new resource created for National Poetry Day lessons. Email [email protected] to be added to the mailing list and receive the link to September's session
Look out for the launch of the national schools poetry-speaking competition, Poetry by Heart 2025, during October. The competition is free for schools to enter and encourages students from ages 7+ to 16+ to learn and perform poetry.
Check the range of poetry events happening around the country in the run-up to National Poetry Day - and add your own if you would like to share it.
ReadingZone Live poetry event with Simon Mole
Join our live virtual poetry workshop with National Poetry Day Ambassador, poet Simon Mole on Friday 4th October, 2pm - 2.45pm (KS2, ages 8-11 years). This event runs on Zoom and includes a 30-mins poetry workshop, and a live Q&A with Simon. Email [email protected] to book a free place.
Share a Verse Novel with your students
Read a case study by school librarian Alice Leggatt who shared Matt Goodfellow's The Final Year in its entirety with a whole-year secondary group, and what impact it had on the students and their writing.
