The ‘Pathways to Poetry’ programme is a beautiful addition to any English curriculum. It enhances work on vocabulary, spoken language, reading and writing.

All aspects of poetry from the NC in reading, spoken language and writing composition are covered across the full set.

EYFS A Bundle of Rhymes
Traditional nursery rhymes are focused on each day to enhance aspects of Phase 1: body percussion, rhythm and rhyme and voice sounds. There is an emphasis on reciting rhyme and exploring the narrative through play as well as sequencing, drawing and matching activities.
Outcome: Pupils recite rhymes and use them to build a narrative for their peers.

Nursery Rhymes by Mother Goose:
Jack be Nimble
Hey Diddle Diddle
Hickory Dickory Dock
Little Miss Muffet

Year 1 Sea Songs
Music and song on a sea theme are used to investigate feelings and growing up. The focus is on developing contrasting vocabulary and rhyme, following simple repetitive patterns and using their imagination to add to well-known songs.
Outcome: Pupils add a verse to a song and make a list poem about the sea in a zig-zag book.

When I Was One – The Pirate Song (Trad.)
A Sailor Went to Sea (Trad.)
Pirate Pete by James Carter in ‘Hey, Little Bug! Poems for Little Creatures’

Year 2 Zebra Question
Develops thinking about our own unique qualities and characteristics with a focus on vocabulary and repetitive patterns. Pupils investigate opposites, analyse three different poems and use the skills learnt to produce their outcome.
Outcome: A portrait-style riddle and a list poem about themselves.

Zebra Question by Shel Silverstein
Ten Things Found in a Shipwrecked Sailor’s Pocket by Ian McMillan
A Menagerie of Animals by A. F. Harrold

Year 3 The Shell
Texture, art and music are explored in this unit of work, comparing poems about the sea. Work on word classes and special memories culminate in the final outcome. Pupils extend their ideas using specific and adventurous vocabulary.
Outcome: Pupils write their own illustrated, descriptive senses poem about the sea.

I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree ed. Fiona Waters
The Shell by John Foster
Squishy Words by Alistair Reid
Sea Shell by Amy Lowell

Year 4 Family Album
With a focus on the development of language, in particular, verbs and the use of hyperbole. Art and drama are used to encourage pupils to explore ideas about their own family sayings. They use humour to write their own version of a modelled poem.
Outcome: Pupils write a free-verse narrative poem to add to an illustrated class

‘Family Album’. Me and My Brother by Michael Rosen
Tricks in Quick, Let’s Get Out of Here by Michael Rosen

Year 5 The Song of Hiawatha
This unit has a focus on reciting sections of the classic, narrative poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Written in 1855, this epic poem describes the life of Native American character Hiawatha and has a strong focus on nature.
Outcome: Pupils write a section of a narrative poem about water.

Extracts from The Song of Hiawatha from online sources

Year 6 Blitz!
Pupils explore the sights, sounds, smells and emotions of World War II. They focus on experimenting with personification to create strong imagery and make effective language
choices, drawing on a range of descriptive techniques.
Outcome: A narrative poem exploring the experience of the Blitz from the viewpoint of a child.

Blitz by Mary Désirée Anderson

Others from Poems from the Second World War ed. Gaby Morgan: Autumn Blitz by Frances Cornford, Bombed Church by Elizabeth Berridge, The Black-out by Mary Desiree Anderson & Black-out by Valentine Ackland. My Friend the Enemy by Dan Smith (Ch 1 from Lovereading4kids)