🎨 Art Poems KS2 | Creative Cross-Curricular Writing Activities🎨
Art and poetry are natural partners. Both use imagination, colour, and pattern to create meaning. Writing art poems KS2 gives children the chance to express themselves in creative, visual ways, while also developing their literacy.
Teachers can use art poems to connect English with art lessons, PSHE, and assemblies. They also make fantastic display pieces!
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
Here are some fun examples of art poems KS2, each with a classroom activity designed to get your pupils writing and performing.
🌈 Colours
Red is a rocket that zooms through the sky,
Orange is fire with sparks flying high.
Yellow’s the sun that shines on the ground,
Green is the grass where life can be found.
Blue is the ocean, deep, wild and wide,
Purple’s a secret I’m trying to hide.
Black is the night when the stars fade away,
White is the hope of a brand-new day.
✨ Activity idea (expert literacy focus):
Colour poems are perfect for developing figurative language.
Start with a class brainstorm: What emotions or objects do colours suggest? (red = anger, blue = calm, yellow = happy).
Model how to turn a colour into a metaphor (e.g. “Red is anger boiling in a pot”).
Pupils write their own stanza using “Red is… / Blue is…” etc.
Extend by linking to Feelings & Emotions Poems KS2 for PSHE.
🖌️ The Painting
The canvas waits, a space of white,
I splash it with a burst of light.
I swirl, I drip, I flick, I play,
A masterpiece is made today!
✨ Activity idea (expert literacy focus):
This poem models verbs and onomatopoeia.
Ask pupils to imagine themselves painting. Which words describe their actions? (splash, swirl, flick).
Encourage them to write short poems full of painting verbs and sound words.
Perform with actions, mimicking the brushstrokes.
This links well with Performance Poetry KS2.
🔺 Patterns
Circle, spiral, twist and turn,
Lines and zigzags start to burn.
Stripes and spots and checks collide,
Shapes exploding side by side.
✨ Activity idea (expert literacy focus):
Patterns help children understand structure in poetry.
Provide a page of patterns (spirals, zigzags, stripes).
Discuss what movement or mood each pattern suggests.
Pupils choose a pattern and describe it in a stanza.
For extra impact, try Shape Poems KS2 to combine text and visual presentation.
🖼️ The Portrait
A serious stare, a painted smile,
Eyes that follow all the while.
A story told in every line,
A secret world that once was mine.
✨ Activity idea (expert literacy focus):
Portrait poems encourage inference and empathy.
Show a portrait (Mona Lisa, Van Gogh, or even a school photo).
Ask: What is this person thinking? What might their life be like?
Pupils write a poem in the voice of the portrait.
Extend by linking with History Poems KS2.
✨ Activity idea (expert literacy focus):
This poem is ideal for teaching structure, sequencing, and onomatopoeia in a fun and memorable way.
Introduce the countdown: Read the poem aloud with the class joining in on the numbers from 10 down to 1. Discuss how the countdown builds pace and excitement.
Spot the onomatopoeia: Highlight words like Zap! Kapow! Blam! and talk about how sound words make the text more dynamic. Challenge pupils to brainstorm their own comic-style noises (e.g. Whoosh! Splatt! Zing!).
Collaborative writing: Put children into groups and set a classroom “clean-up” or “end of day” theme. Each group writes one stanza starting with a number and a task (e.g. “5… Molly and Raj: Stack the chairs!”).
Performance extension: Create a full class poem as a countdown from 10 to 1, with pupils performing their stanzas dramatically and shouting the sound effects.
Cross-curricular link: Connect to Performance Poetry KS2 by emphasising pace, rhythm, and audience engagement.
This activity develops sequencing skills, introduces onomatopoeia, and encourages teamwork while making poetry highly performative and fun.
🎭 The Gallery
I walk through the gallery, halls full of art,
Each picture a story, each sculpture a heart.
The whispers of colour, the shadows, the light,
A thousand ideas in front of my sight.
✨ Activity idea (expert literacy focus):
This poem works well for a gallery walk activity.
Create a “gallery” in class with art prints or pupils’ drawings.
Children walk around, jotting one descriptive word per piece.
Use the collected words to build a class poem about the gallery.
This makes a perfect assembly performance or display.
📚 Why Use Art Poems in KS2?
Using art poems KS2 helps children to:
Develop figurative language and imagery 🎨
Connect English with art, history and PSHE 📚
Express emotions through colour and pattern 🌈
Gain confidence through performance 🎤
👉 For more inspiration, try:
Poetry and art are both about imagination. When children write art poems, they learn to see the world in new ways and express ideas with confidence and creativity.
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
