How to Use Poetry Across the Curriculum in Primary Schools
Why Poetry Belongs Everywhere
Poetry isn’t just for literacy lessons. Its rhythm, creativity, and flexibility make it a powerful teaching tool across the whole curriculum. Using poetry in subjects beyond English can deepen understanding, build vocabulary, and make learning memorable.
The National Curriculum encourages schools to integrate poetry into reading, writing, speaking, and listening. But the real magic happens when teachers use poetry across the curriculum — from history and science to PSHE and even maths.
Here are some creative, practical ways to bring poetry into every subject in your primary school.
👉 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
History Through Poetry
Activity Idea: Ask children to write a diary-style poem from the perspective of a historical figure (e.g. Florence Nightingale, a Viking warrior, a child in WWII).
Why it works: Builds empathy, understanding of key events, and connects facts to emotions.
Extension: Try a class performance poem retelling a historical event.
👉 Link: See my [Viking Poetry Workshop blog] for more history-themed ideas.
Science Poetry
Activity Idea: Create poems using scientific vocabulary. For example, a “Water Cycle Rap” or a shape poem about the solar system.
Why it works: Reinforces key terms and concepts through rhythm and repetition.
Extension: Try blackout poetry with science textbooks — pupils uncover hidden poems about nature.
Geography Poetry
Activity Idea: Write sensory poems about landscapes, rivers, or weather. Use similes and metaphors to describe the world.
Why it works: Helps pupils connect with the environment and use descriptive language to bring places alive.
Extension: Create a “soundscape poem” of a rainforest, with different groups performing sounds and verses.
Maths Poetry
Activity Idea: Challenge pupils to write list poems about numbers or shapes (e.g. “I am a triangle…”).
Why it works: Makes abstract ideas playful and memorable.
Extension: Use rhyming couplets to describe maths concepts (“A square has four sides, all equal and neat, a circle’s round edge can never be beat”).
PSHE and Wellbeing
Activity Idea: Use poetry to explore feelings, friendship, and resilience. Prompts like “If I could put kindness in a box…” give children a safe way to express themselves.
Why it works: Poetry can support mental health, empathy, and emotional literacy.
Extension: Celebrate Anti-Bullying Week with a whole-school performance poem.
👉 Link: See my [Anti-Bullying Poetry blog] for more ideas.
Religious Education
Activity Idea: Encourage pupils to write reflective poems on themes like hope, peace, or celebration.
Why it works: Poetry encourages personal reflection and can connect children to spiritual and moral themes.
Extension: Perform poems in assemblies or link them to religious festivals.
Why Poetry Across the Curriculum Works
Builds creativity and vocabulary in every subject.
Helps children retain key concepts through rhyme and rhythm.
Encourages empathy and imagination in history, geography, and PSHE.
Makes learning memorable and engaging for all learners.
Conclusion
Poetry is not just an “add-on” in the literacy curriculum — it’s a versatile, creative tool that can enrich every subject. By weaving poetry into history, science, geography, maths, and PSHE, teachers can boost children’s engagement, confidence, and understanding.
If you’d like your staff to feel confident using poetry across the curriculum, [book my Poetry CPD training]. Or, give your pupils the chance to experience the magic of poetry with an in-person or online [poetry day].
