Poetry Safari 2021 |
Poetry Competition

Rules

Writing Tips

Tip #1

Have you tried animal mash-ups to inspire your pupils to write an original animal-inspired poem?

An animal mash-up is where you take two (or more) animals and pick physical and character traits from each to create a new creature! From a cat’s fur and shark’s fin to duck feet and a snake’s lightning strike, this is a really fun way to get pupils’ imaginations fired up.

Once they have planned their animal mash-up, they are ready to name it and write a poem about it! Animal mash-ups lend themselves to both acrostics and riddles!

Tip #2

Ask pupils to imagine any animal or creature is their imaginary friend. What does their friend look like? What do they do? You can let pupils choose what they do with their animal companion, or you could suggest a setting such as a theme park, at school, or in the supermarket.

This is a great way to encourage younger pupils to write a narrative poem and use description in their writing too!

Tip #3

Share images of 'winter' wildlife with your pupils. From reindeer, Arctic foxes and hares, to penguins, polar bears and snow leopards, inspire your pupils' poetry with these wonderful creatures and their amazing snow-filled habitats! 

This is a fab way to showcase both acrostics and sense poems!

Tip #4

It's a bug's life! Ask pupils to write a poem about an insect that interests them. They'll need to do some research to learn about their chosen minibeast, before writing their poem. You could also suggest that your pupils write a riddle or an acrostic - come and download our free online lesson plans and presentations for both these poetic forms!

Tip #5

Ask pupils to write a poem to an animal they love for Valentine's Day! 

From the traditional 'roses are red' rhyme to a rap, narrative or sense poem explaining why they love this certain animal or pet so much, there is plenty of scope for original poetry writing!