Poetry By Heart extended to KS1 and EYFS

Poetry By Heart, the popular poetry speaking competition, has launched new materials for four to seven-year-olds to support  the very youngest school pupils in discovering the joy of poetry and speaking it aloud.

A new timeline of poems for children in KS1 and Reception has been launched, including works by Christina Rossetti, Robert Louis Stevenson and, of course, Anonymous, as well as poems by contemporary poets John Agard, Siana Bangura, Joseph Coelho, Kate Wakeling and A. F. Harrold.

As with Poetry By Heart timeline collections for older children, each poem in the younger anthology will include notes for teachers to use to help them and their young pupils explore the poem and work up lively ways to perform it out loud, with 'Give it a Go' tips and prompts to encourage performances.

Benefits of poetry by heart

Poetry can provide a springboard to explore language, develop literacy and boost confidence in the very young, said Dr Julie Blake, co-director of Poetry By Heart. "Some of children's earliest and happiest encounters with language and literature are through rhyme and poems."

Learning and sharing a poem aloud can have a range of other benefits for children, she added. "Older pupils who have taken part in Poetry By Heart - finding a poem they love, learning it by heart, and performing it aloud, either solo or as a group - tell us that it increases their confidence, gives a sense of achievement, and a deeper understanding of poetry and language. Our new offer for younger children will extend those benefits to those aged four and up and bring joyful poetry learning into their classrooms."

Poetry By Heart resources

Explore a preview of the new Poetry By Heart 4+ Timeline:

Schools will need to register to access the full (and free!) resources.

Resources include:
Poetry Learn-a-Longs (digital resources to support pupils in learning a poem)
Digital competition handbook (there is no obligation to enter the competition but this is a resource for running poetry speaking competitions on any scale you wish)
Printed resources including the Poetry By Heart pizza box of posters, booklets and poetry calendar
Access to curated lists of poems (by age and theme)

A number of teachers have already explored the Poetry By Heart resources for younger children. Five Islands Academy on the Scilly Isles regularly participates in Poetry By Heart. Reception teacher Alison Nimmo said, "It's so valuable having a bank of these to draw on; poems that have been carefully chosen to be accessible, varied and fun or otherwise interesting to perform aloud." 

She added, "We will definitely be using the new 4+ Timeline. We have found the Poetry By Heart Learn-Alongs including slides with pictures very helpful - they provide a simple structure that helps anyone take children through the process of learning a poem." From a whole-school point of view, she added, the resource has made it easier to "get momentum going" with every class learning poems, as the preparation has been done for them.

Developing early skills through poetry

Tessa Thomas, deputy headteacher at St John's Church Of England Primary School, Lacey Green, Bucks, points to a range of benefits for Reception children in learning and performing poetry, including enhanced vocabulary, improved phonological awareness, increased confidence, creativity and better social interaction, as well as a longer-term impact on literacy skills and better social and emotional development.

Jess Lancaster, English teacher at Shebbear College, Beaworthy, Devon, found that Poetry by Heart has been a "huge hit" with Nursery, Reception and KS1 pupils. "They have thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of learning a poem. We notice a boost to their confidence and communication skills from taking part - they are learning new language, experimenting, and enjoying reciting poems by heart."

Poet Joseph Coelho, former Waterstones Children's Laureate, whose poem Pigeons is highlighted in the Poetry By Heart 4+ Timeline, added, "It's through early contact with poetry during carer/child reading sessions that we come across the onomatopoeia of the mooing cow and the baaing sheep, it's through poetry that we learn rhyming ditties from friends in the playground as we "ip dip who's it", and it's through poetry that we get to navigate difficult subjects and emotions. It is an honour to write poetry for the very young."

Tower Poetry

Development of the new materials has been made possible by a grant from Tower Poetry. Dr Anna Nickerson of Christ Church Oxford, who runs Tower Poetry, said, "Helping children read, memorise, and recite poems from a young age gives access to a lifelong pleasure, and develops verbal, cognitive, and creative skills. The Poetry by Heart timelines are invaluable resources, and we're delighted to support an initiative that will make these resources available from Key Stage 1 onwards."