The National Curriculum for English objecives for key stage 1 include the following statutory objectives. Pupils should be taught to develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
- listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently (Year 1)
- learning to appreciate rhymes and poems, and to recite some by heart (Year 1)
- listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry (Year 2)
- continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear (Year 2)
It is perhaps easier to find collections of fun contemporary poems for Key Stage 1 than it is to find classic poems which are of a suitable length and level of complexity to be discussed and possibly performed. In order to develop an appreciation of poetry, it is important that the classic poems we share with our pupils should be engaging and relevant.
Our classic poetry bundle contains a selection of poetry written by the poet Christina Rossetti which are all linked to animals, which are of course an area of high interest to children of all ages. The poems are easy to understand, fairly short in length, rich in vocabulary and offer lots of potential for discussion.
The bundle contains 5 lessons with comprehension worksheets which are differentiated in three ways so as to be suitable for students in year 1 and 2 of varying abilities. The PPTs are visually attractive and include explanation and points for discussion. The PPTs also contain a variety of writing activities enabling teachers to extend on and develop the lessons into units of work if they wish. Plus, each PPT contains guidance for performing the poems.
To find more information on our Classic Poems Bundle click here. All of the poems in this bundle are also available as individual lessons and can be found in our website's KS1 Poetry section.
