Follow up - writing and teaching

- Of all the techniques used, I enjoyed writing the Ode the most. I found writing with the focus of fixed rules helpful and also found the more historical elements enjoyable to indulge in.
- As I write for pleasure I found writing on demand exciting - it panders to my false hope that I could take it further.
- I would say Writing from Perspective was the best for developing my skills - particularly writing from the two contrasting viewpoints - thinking about the earth from space is probably quite a common fantasy, but I'd never put myself in a mole's shoes before - yet that version made a better poem. So this to me shows the importance of empathy and being wary of self-indulgence in poetry.
- Drafting is a good way to develop vocabulary, to improve the rhythm of a poem, and also to develop the sound-combinations within a poem. So it would be a good opportunity for a teacher to reinforce these aspects - as the pupils would be developing their own work and style. I think that writing is perhaps the best way to appreciate literature too, as you learn more and more about what the author's intentions might have been. With this in mind, I would seek to teach the writing of poetry suitably in tandem with the reading of it, so that pupils could learn to make comparisons and develop both their writing skill and their understanding of literature. The next stage could be combining some of the techniques learned into single poems, teaching pupils to integrate features, such as metaphor and perspective into their writing. Poetry is also, in my opinion a good opportunity to develop speaking skills, and so pupils could read their favourite poems aloud, whilst the other pupils identify the merits of that poem.

- Even though it was not the most effective for me in this case - I think that the concept of metaphor is so important, I would use that as the catalyst to get the class writing poetry.
- I would begin by writing some phrases on the board that are common in every day life - but are metaphors - for example 'my neck of the woods', 'he showered her with gifts', etc. After establishing the meaning of the phrases, I would explain that what is said in the phrases did not actually happen - the man did not literally shower his partner with gifts - but the amount of gifts that he gave her might be compared to a shower. I would then aid this by showing footage of a shower next to a cartoon of a woman with presents showering down on her. I would then read sections of poems/show them on the board containing a clear metaphor, and ask the class to identify them.
- I would then ask everyone in the class to think of something simple that they like, and ask them to compare it to something, creating a metaphor, and I would give my own simple examples to help.
- Finally, as we did, the pupils would extend this metaphor into a poem.