Poetry for everyone, but especially for children
By Josie Whitehead
This website, created 16 months ago, regularly gets 1000 visitors a month. The children in your classes may like to see where some of them come from, although they are not all recorded by any means. There is a little tab which says Geo Visitors, and there is a balloon which shows you where recent visitors come from. You can even click on any balloon and then move the tool upwards to zoom in onto the area where the visitor lives. It is interesting for children because they can learn the names of the countries and towns in the world – as well as wondering who else enjoys the same poetry as they do.
A SKYPE VISIT TO YOUR CLASSROOM
There is another interesting development which I would like to tell you about, which relates to computer technology. As from September, if you would like me to visit your classroom for a short period, just to say hello and tell you a bit about where I live, or why I write poetry etc. – or to read you one of my poems or, more importantly, to hear what you have written or to hear you reading one of my poems, I can arrange that with teachers. Children who live locally to me are lucky because I can visit them regularly, and I am involved with them in their schools, libraries and special events such as our Ilkley Literature Festival. But I could also come to your special event via Skype. It would need to be arranged in advance, but your school can contact me by Email.
LOTS OF IDEAS TO MAKE POETRY SO INTERESTING
I hope your teachers look at the section called:
Help for Parents and Teachers with Literacy.
I am trying to get some good ideas that parents and teachers can use to bring poetry to life in such interesting ways. For example, why not try some of my story poems as drama for a special event in your school? Please read this section. Also, please print off my notice for schools and libraries and put one in your school library, or your local children’s library. Thanks so much.
I include a link to a sheet of small printed cards containing details of the website. Teachers can easily print off the cards to hand out to the classes to clip to their poetry folders.
Children might like to print them off too, for their friends.