Reading for Pleasure Through Poetry KS2 📖 | Inspiring a Love of Words
Reading for pleasure is at the heart of the English curriculum — and poetry is one of the most effective, enjoyable and inclusive ways to nurture it!
Through Reading for Pleasure Through Poetry KS2, pupils can:
🌟 Discover the joy of language and rhythm
🎭 Build confidence through performance and play
📝 Explore ideas and emotions through verse
💬 Connect reading with listening, empathy and imagination
👉 In my Poetry Days across the UK, I work with children from Reception to Year 6 — performing my poems, sparking laughter and excitement, and showing teachers how poetry can unlock a lifelong love of reading.
📅 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
💡 Why Poetry Encourages Reading for Pleasure
Poetry is short, engaging and musical — the perfect format to hook even the most reluctant reader.
Because poems are often read aloud, they develop confidence, vocabulary and reading fluency at the same time.
When children perform poetry:
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They feel successful quickly (even with short texts)
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They interpret meaning through tone, pace and gesture
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They connect emotionally with language
It’s a form of reading that feels like play, but builds serious literacy skills.
🔗 Related: Poems About Books & Reading KS2 | Performance Poetry KS2
👩🏫 Poem Example 1: Bookshop Cat
by Ian Bland
I live in a bookshop, my name is Scout,
I curl by the window and watch the world out.
I’ve read every story from front to back,
About pirates, dragons and wolfman Jack!
The children come in, they giggle and read,
They stroke my fur — I purr with speed.
When they open a book and begin to explore,
It’s like magic spills out across the floor.
💡 Activity Ideas:
1. Poetry Corners 📚
Turn your reading area into a “Poetry Corner.”
Display Bookshop Cat alongside short, funny or thoughtful poems from different poets.
Encourage children to “drop in” and choose one poem to read aloud each day.
2. Poetry Pals
Pair up children to perform the poem as a duet — alternating lines or stanzas.
Encourage them to rehearse expression, movement and pacing.
Ask: How can we make the listener feel what the cat feels?
3. Class Bookshop Display 🐾
Create a “Bookshop Cat” wall with book covers the children recommend.
Next to each cover, they write a two-line poem beginning “I love this book because…”
🐉 Poem Example 2: The Reader’s Spell
by Ian Bland
Open a book and whisper a word,
And suddenly magic is seen and heard.
The room disappears, the walls drift away,
And I’m lost in a story till the end of the day.
No wand, no potion, no wizard’s yell —
Just me and my book and the reader’s spell.
💡 Activity Ideas:
1. “Poetry & Performance” Workshop 🎭
Explore how rhythm and repetition can turn reading into performance.
Pupils perform in pairs using different “tones” — mysterious, excited, gentle, magical — to see how emotion changes the poem.
2. Reading for Pleasure Journal
Children write about a book that cast its own “spell” on them.
They can describe it poetically — “It whispered adventure,” “It shimmered with sadness.”
This helps pupils link their reading experiences to creative writing.
3. Art & Literacy Crossover ✨
Illustrate The Reader’s Spell using pastels or digital art.
Display as a “Magic of Reading” gallery to celebrate reading week or World Book Day.
🔗 Related: World Book Day Poems KS2 | Poems About Books & Reading KS2
🧩 Poem Example 3: Why I Read Books…
by Ian Bland
Because the words transport me to another place
Because my mind can be blasted into outer space
Because the characters sometimes become my friends
Because I can see life through a magic lens
Because they make me laugh and make me cry
Because they release me and let me fly
Because I want to sense what others feel
Because I want to find what they reveal
Because they draw me and I forget myself
Because they’re there up on the shelf!
💡 Activity Ideas:
1. “Because I Read…” Framework
Pupils write their own versions, completing each line with Because I read…
Challenge them to include personal and emotional reasons — not just actions.
2. Shared Reading Performance
Assign one line per pupil and perform as a class piece.
Use choral echo, volume and gesture to create a moving, rhythmic performance.
3. Reading Reflection Display 📖
Create a classroom wall titled “Why We Read”.
Each child contributes one illustrated line from their poem — building a visual celebration of reading across the class.
🧠 Teacher Pedagogy Notes
Curriculum Links:
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Reading (Comprehension): Engage with poetry as a form of literary enjoyment.
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Writing (Composition): Write and perform original poetry linked to reading experiences.
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Spoken Language: Develop confidence, expression and fluency.
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PSHE: Empathy, wellbeing and reflection.
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Art & Design: Illustrate or visually interpret poetic ideas.
Differentiation:
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Support: Scaffold writing with starters (“Because I read…”, “Books help me…”, “When I read I feel…”).
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Challenge: Introduce figurative language (“Books are doors”, “Words are wings”).
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Extension: Create performance scripts using music or percussion for rhythm.
Cross-Curricular Ideas:
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Library Link: Perform poems in the school library or invite a local librarian for a “poetry reading hour.”
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Digital Literacy: Record short video performances for the school website or reading blog.
🌟 Final Thoughts
When pupils experience Reading for Pleasure Through Poetry, they start to see reading not just as something they have to do, but something they love to do.
Poetry makes reading inclusive, playful, emotional and creative — the perfect way to nurture lifelong readers.
📚 Poetry opens the heart, grows the imagination, and makes every reader a storyteller.
📣 Bring Poetry to Life in Your School!
👉 In my Poetry Days across the UK, I work with children from Reception to Year 6 — performing my poems, sparking laughter and excitement, and showing teachers how poetry can unlock a lifelong love of reading.
📅 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
