What happens when a teacher becomes a judge for one of the UK’s biggest children’s poetry prizes? Saira Bano shares her inspiring journey behind the scenes of the CLiPPA — and how it’s transformed her classroom and her pupils’ love for poetry.
This year, I had the incredible privilege of being one of the judges for the CLiPPA, CLPE’s Children’s Poetry Award, and it’s been one of the most enriching and inspiring experiences of my teaching career. My role involved reading and reviewing a wide range of children’s poetry collections alongside my fellow judges, who included last year’s winner, Matt Goodfellow, and his fellow poet Roger McGough. All the judges were equally passionate about the power of poetry in the classroom.
When judging, we were looking for collections that sparked imagination and an emotional response, whilst offering something fresh and original. We paid close attention to voice, rhythm, language, and how well the poetry would engage with children in the classroom. It was pure joy to explore collections that used language playfully and equally enjoyable and moving to experience those that tackled big ideas in ways that felt accessible and meaningful for children.
The five shortlisted books this year each stood out in their own way and all offer something different. We know that Brian Bilston’s collection Let Sleeping Cats Lie will have children laughing out loud with its humour and playfulness. We loved how varied the structures of the poems were and could see them appealing to primary school pupils of all ages. Colossal Words for Kids by Colette Hiller, illustrated by Tor Freeman, amazed us with its originality, ambition and clever ‘word’ play. We know that teachers and children will be thrilled with this creative way of learning new words and will be inspired to use the same approach to write their own poems about their own chosen words.
We were deeply moved by We Are Family by Oliver Sykes which tackles some challenging and powerful themes and messages. The collection is perfect for starting discussions about emotions, helping children respond personally and empathetically to poetry and could also inspire them to write their own poems based on their experiences. Wise Up! Wise Down! is a fantastic adventure through John Agard’s and JonArno Lawson’s world. The poems in this collection often pose questions or offer unusual perspectives that invite discussion and deeper thinking. Big Red Dragon by Jane Newberry is a lively collection that aims to introduce the joy of poetry to our very youngest readers. It lends itself beautifully to exploring rhythm and rhyme, encouraging our youngest learners to find their voices and use their bodies to perform. I’m really excited to bring the shortlisted books into the classroom as there are so many creative opportunities to explore.
I would definitely encourage other teachers to take part in the CLiPPA via the special Shadowing scheme. It’s an incredible way to deepen your own engagement with children’s literature while giving your children an unforgettable opportunity to connect with poetry on a personal level. One of the most exciting things about the CLiPPA is how it celebrates performance. Encouraging children to learn and perform poems aloud brings the words to life in a completely new way. When I have incorporated poetry performing in the classroom, I’ve seen children grow in confidence, develop a deeper understanding of language, and find a real joy in expression. Even the most reluctant readers often find a voice through poetry performance.
Whether you decide to enter the CLiPPA Shadowing competition or not, here are some practical methods you could use to encourage the children in your class to engage with the CLiPPA and the collections we’ve chosen to shortlist.
Listen to the poets performing their poetry
Listening to a wide range of poetry — as often as possible — lets children hear and feel the rhythms of different voices. It shows them that poetry comes in different forms and can be written by a range of different people. Watch the CLPE videos of the poets on this year’s shortlist to give children a model of what poems sound like off the page, and take a look at performances by previous shortlisted and winning poets too, such as Valerie Bloom, Kate Wakeling and Joseph Coelho. They’ll learn what fluent reading sounds like, and how to ingrain meaning into a poetry performance.
Read and engage with poems from the shortlist
Read and reread poems from the shortlisted collections. You might want to print them out so that children can explore them in pairs or groups. Encourage children to mark up and annotate the poems with their thoughts, feelings, observations and questions and to highlight particular language that interests them. This will enable children to make connections with poems they particularly like and not only will their fluency improve but the familiarity will allow them to understand the words and the poem’s meaning.
A word of caution: don’t be tempted to start any dissection of the poem before giving children this opportunity to internalise and respond to it at a personal level. Group discussions where children can come together in responding to poems read from their own unique viewpoints, with their own experiences in mind, are a really good way to start.
Prepare to perform
Performing poetry is the best way to bring it alive, and the competitive element of the CLiPPA Shadowing gives children an exciting goal: the chance to perform live onstage at the National Theatre alongside the poets they’ve come to know through their poetry. It’s vital to allow children to choose the poems they most connect with for their performances: this will make them authentic and engaging. Preparing for a performance allows children multiple opportunities to practice reading, and to try out using their voices in different ways to express the meaning behind the words most effectively. Performing poems out loud demonstrates how intonation and prosody can help translate meaning to an audience. As they work up performances, allow children to record themselves and to perform to others, giving them chance to see and reflect on their work, re-working parts along the way and trying out different ideas when things could be improved. When they are happy with their performance, these can be recorded and submitted by their teachers for judging.
Whether you’re reading, performing, or writing poems in class, the CLiPPA lifts poetry off the page and into the hearts, minds and bodies of children — and best of all, the impact will be instant and long-lasting.