Poetry brought to life: learning from the poets themselves

One of my strongest memories of school is sitting in Southampton Guildhall on a wet January afternoon listening to John Agard, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage and Benjamin Zephaniah read and discuss their poetry to a full house of surprisingly reverential 15 year olds. I suppose that is the power of hearing poetry spoken aloud, and it's why I am so proud of the poetry performance videos we have integrated throughout our primary and secondary lesson resources.

Pupils can now experience the magic of hearing world-renowned poets read and reflect on their work. You can use these resources to support delivery of your lessons, guiding rich discussion and helping pupils explore how poets use language to make sense of the world.

This focus on oracy helps young people build confidence in their own voices, develop expressive communication skills, and appreciate how performance enriches our experience of literature. The new teaching resources give you an accessible way to teach poetry that connects with pupils’ lived experiences – helping them engage not only as readers, but as thinkers, questioners and creators. They are designed to support you at each phase:

• Primary – the focus is purely on the performance and enjoyment of poetry
• Secondary – the focus builds on primary by building a deeper understanding of how to read, write and perform poetry.

In the National Year of Reading, our poet-led English units support thoughtful lesson planning that helps pupils find their voice and connect poetry to the world around them.

Why learn poetry from poets?

Seeing and hearing poets talk about their own work changes how pupils experience poetry. Performance brings rhythm, meaning, emotion – and a lot of fun – to the surface. Thoughtful reflection demystifies the choices writers make. And hearing different voices helps pupils see that poetry isn’t one thing, written one way, for one kind of person.

Across the curriculum, pupils can now learn from poets including Simon Armitage, Joseph Coelho, Matt Goodfellow, Laura Mucha, Valerie Bloom, John Lyons and James Carter. Together, they show poetry as something spoken, heard and shaped – not just analysed on the page.

Primary: building confidence through performance

At primary, the focus is on voice, rhythm and performance. Pupils are encouraged to speak poems aloud, experiment with language, and see themselves as poets from the very start.

In a year 3 unit Poet focus: 'Werewolf Club Rules' by Joseph Coelho, for example, Joseph Coelho (Children’s Poet Laureate 2022–2024) introduces pupils to his poem written to support young writers, using his memorable M.O.R.E.R.A.P.S. approach. Through video, he talks directly to pupils about how poets generate ideas, choose words and shape meaning – making the writing process visible and achievable.

In another unit, Laura Mucha leads pupils through the world of performance poetry, sharing what inspires her work and guiding pupils through practical activities that help them understand how voice, pace and movement affect meaning. Seeing a poet perform – and explain why they perform in a particular way – helps pupils build confidence in their own voices.

Across these lessons, poetry becomes something pupils do, not something they get right or wrong.

Secondary: understanding, appreciation and writing with purpose

At secondary, the emphasis shifts towards understanding, appreciation and purposeful writing. Pupils explore how poets respond to the world around them, and how language choices shape meaning, tone and perspective.

In the year 9 unit Writing your world, Simon Armitage performs and unpacks some of his most famous poems - such as I am very bothered, Give, and Harmonium, as well as Resistance, inspired by the outbreak of the Ukraine War, and the lockdown poems We’ll Sing and Only Human. Across ten lessons, pupils see how poetry can help them interpret fast-moving headlines and complex events.

We also have three lessons looking at his poems on the GCSE specifications – Remains, Mother any distance and The Manhunt. In each of these lessons, Simon discusses how and why he wrote the poems, and what they mean to him.

The teaching resources show pupils that their own responses to the world are valid – and that poetry can be a powerful way to explore them. Alongside analysis, pupils are supported to write, shaping their own ideas with care and intention.

These lessons sit as part of our wider secondary offer where we invite pupils to hear from leading literary figures, including former National Theatre Artistic Director Rufus Norris and playwrights Winsome Pinnock and Helen Edmundson. For example, in year 9, pupils deepen their understanding of the characters, themes and context of ‘Small Island’ using the insights of director Rufus Norris and playwright Helen Edmundson.

Designed to support your English teaching

You can use Oak resources to plan your lessons, with adaptable slides, worksheets and starter and exit quizzes, as well as media clips of the poets you can watch with your pupils and encourage discussion around. They give you a strong foundation – whether you’re teaching poetry regularly or want extra support with confidence and subject knowledge – while helping to inspire pupils to engage with poetry and find their own voice.

An independent impact evaluation recently found that Oak resources are used in nearly 3 in 4 schools in England, with 85% of teachers reporting a positive impact on their workload. These poetry lessons are designed with that same principle in mind: high-quality, adaptable resources that work in real classrooms.

You know your pupils best. Think of these lesson resources as a way to bring expert voices into your classroom, while keeping you firmly in control of how learning happens.

Helping pupils find their place – and their voice

Whether pupils are performing a poem aloud for the first time in primary, or using poetry to respond thoughtfully to the world in secondary, these lessons encourage reflection, expression and confidence.

As John Roberts, Interim Chief Executive of Oak, puts it:

“This expansion of our English curriculum brings the best creative voices into every classroom, giving young people the chance to explore, create and perform their own ideas through poetry.”

All of these resources are free to access on Oak’s website, and form part of our wider English curriculum, developed to support teachers now and as the national curriculum evolves.

Have questions for me about using our English curriculum or want to find out more? Get in touch.