In the week before the half term break, our school was buzzing with the power of words as every class took part in our very own Poetry By Heart celebration! Each class chose a poem to learn, rehearse, and perform to the rest of the school — and what a fantastic showcase of rhythm, rhyme, and confidence it was.
Learning a poem by heart is a wonderful way for children to explore the beauty of language. It helps develop memory skills, enrich vocabulary, and encourages an appreciation for the patterns and sounds of words. Performing poetry also gives children the chance to use their voices expressively, build confidence in front of an audience, and enjoy the shared joy of storytelling through performance.
In addition to the laughter and excitement, there were a few happy nerves on the day! As part of pupil voice, I asked children across the school what they enjoyed most about Poetry By Heart. Here’s what they had to say. Keeley in Beech Class said, “I like the rhythm and that we got to perform it together. I liked the end of our poem because it was funny and I loved saying ‘eletelephony’!” Robin from Beech Class told me, “Our poem was a tongue twister! I liked the tangling trunk actions we did when we performed it.”
Jack from Lime Class shared, “I felt nervous performing, but the actions helped me to learn my poem. It was fun listening to the other poems being performed.” And Louis in Maple Class said, “I thought the youngest children did a really good job performing ‘Miss Polly’. I loved listening to their poem! I thought our class poem was catchy. When you learn things off by heart, you always have them with you.”
I couldn’t agree more — the performances were a joy to watch, and the enthusiasm from every class was infectious! It is wonderful to hear how much the children valued both performing and listening to others. They spoke about rhythm, teamwork, performance skills, and the fun of exploring language — exactly what Poetry By Heart is all about!