How to Use Poetry Across the Curriculum

By Ross | Poetry, Teachers, Top Tips

Motivate pupils and keep them engaged with cross-curricular links

Cross-curricular linking has many benefits for pupils as it allows them to approach familiar subjects in new and creative ways, helping to keep them engaged and motivated.  

But how can poetry be used to link lessons across the curriculum?  

Let’s look at one of our competitions for examples!  

The Big Green Poetry Machine competition 

The Big Green Poetry Machine competition is an exciting opportunity for pupils to explore the natural world and express their thoughts and feelings about it through poetry. This competition has cross-curricular links to subjects like art, geography, history, and science, and can be incorporated into lesson plans in a variety of ways. 

Linking poetry with art 

Eco-poetry is a fun and engaging way to introduce school children to the beauty of nature. Nature and art are the perfect recipe to get pupils curious and creative and there are some great opportunities for cross-curricular activities. 

Here are some examples: 

• Taking children on a nature walk around the playground and having them write down their observations 

• Encouraging children to keep a nature scrapbook including flowers, leaves and other interesting mementos of the natural world 

• Nature-themed art projects such as illustrating their poems, painting, sculpting and drawing 

• Poetry slams that pupils can perform in front of their classmates 

Integrating poetry with geography 

Poetry can be a great way to explore more complex environmental issues and express how they feel about them.  There are many fun and engaging activities that pupils can do to integrate poetry with geography in order to learn more about the natural world and the issues that it faces.  

Here are a few ideas: 

• Writing place-based poetry: Pupils can research the location and environment of the subjects of their poetry and incorporate that information into their writing 

• Understanding environmental impact: Pupils can use poetry to express their thoughts and feelings about global eco-issues 

• Mapping their poetry: Pupils can create maps that illustrate their poems showing affected areas, declining habitats, or the impact of a natural disaster 

Using poetry to learn about history 

The Big Green Poetry Machine competition is a great way for pupils to learn about environmental movements and events of the past through poetry. Exploring history can help children understand the issues and the impact conservation movements can have. It also allows them to express their thoughts and feelings about the importance of protecting the planet!  

Some examples include: 

• Creating timelines that illustrate key events and movements in the history of environmentalism 

• Researching the life and work of important figures such as Rachel Carson 

• Learning about environmental movements and events such as the first “Earth Day” or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 

Using poetry to approach scientific concepts 

Scientific concepts and ideas about the natural world can be explored in new and interesting ways by looking at them through poetry. Using poetry will help pupils develop their scientific literacy and understanding of the world around them.  

Why not try:  

• Having your pupils write poetry about scientific concepts such as the water cycle, the solar system or the structure of atoms 

• Getting your pupils to illustrate their poems with scientific diagrams  

• Encouraging them to design and conduct experiments that are inspired by their poetry 

Wrapping it up 

As you can see from our eco-friendly poetry competition there are lots of ways that you can link poetry into different lessons to create cross-curricular opportunities that will have your pupils engaged and captivated. Head to The Big Green Poetry Machine web page to download your free lesson resources today! 

We’d love to hear what you think! Share your thoughts & ways that you have used The Big Green Poetry Machine in lessons at your school – visit us on social media to keep the conversation going!