10-page PDF with poems, author comments and activities, plus editable assembly script
KS1, KS2
Years 1-6
Deliver a National Poetry Day assembly with the help of verse by Joseph Coelho, Michael Rosen, Rachel Rooney, Karl Nova and Victoria Adukwei-Bulley…
This assembly plan by Jonny Walker is based around the theme of ‘truth’ and will last around 30 to 40 minutes. All children will require a small piece of paper and a pencil.
The assembly references and introduces five poems that have been selected by National Poetry Day – these are all very different, but each introduces an idea of what truth can mean in the context of poetry. Watch these poems below.
National Poetry Day assembly resources
This resource contains:
- 10-page PDF featuring text of five poems, comments from each poet, and suggested classroom activities
- Editable Word doc teacher assembly script
Jonny Walker works across schools as OtherWise Education on poetry, writing and humanities projects with students and staff. Find him at otherwiseeducation.com and follow him on Twitter at @jonnywalker_edu.
Watch poets read their poems
Michael says: Sometimes in poems you don’t have to say everything. The reader or the person listening can get to the truth by the way you said it. This poem does it through repetition and with the mystery of the man who was left
behind.
Joseph says: I wanted to read this poem to you because it’s about truth, in a way. It was inspired by a legend about two flocks of starlings warring over the city of Cork. As we know of legends, they are not always true, and I find that fascinating.
Karl says: It’s interesting – not every poem has to be about a real situation. It can be imaginary, but it should always try to be true to the human condition and experience.
Rachel says: I was thinking about ‘truth’ and it reminded me that when I was young, we used to play a game. We would all sit in a circle and there was a bottle in the middle. We used to spin it and whoever the bottle ended up pointing to, had to choose between a truth or a dare.
Victoria says: Poetry is a good art form for dealing with or exploring the truth because it is very good at looking at the grey areas or bringing the background into focus and shedding a light on things which aren’t always straightforward.
Browse more ideas for teaching KS2 poems and more school assembly resources.
