✏️🔺Shape Poems KS2: Fun Concrete Poetry Examples for the Classroom🎨📚
When we think of poetry, we often imagine rhyming verses laid neatly on a page. But poetry doesn’t always have to be presented in a straight line! Shape poems (also called concrete poems) are poems where the words form a visual image that reflects the subject of the writing.
For children in KS2, shape poems are an exciting way to combine creativity with presentation skills. They encourage pupils to think carefully about language, rhythm, and imagery, while also making decisions about layout, spacing, and shape.
👉 In my Poetry Days (in-person and online), children love experimenting with shape poems. They enjoy the humour, the challenge, and the chance to produce work that looks fantastic on display.
Here are some fun examples from my own collection to inspire your classroom…
📚 More Ideas: Poetry Teaching Ideas (144+ KS2 poetry activities)
🚀 My Rocket Ship
📝 Activity idea: Give children templates of rockets, planets or stars and let them create their own space-themed shape poems. This works perfectly alongside a science topic on space.
👉 Related: Space Poetry for KS2 🔗 5 Exciting Poems To Learn And Perform KS2 🔗 Best Poems For Children To Learn And Perform KS2
Great for teachers looking to save time!
📌 Mr McNair – The Teacher with a Drawing Pin on His Chair
I NEVER ADMITTED (poem text forms a pin shape)
A mischievous classroom moment turned into a concrete poem!
📝 Activity idea: Encourage children to take a funny or embarrassing school moment and turn it into a visual poem. The shape could be a pin, a chair, or even a whistle.
👉 End Of Year Poetry Ideas 🔗 Poetry CPD and Training for Teachers 🔗 Teaching Figurative Language Through Poetry
🔗 7 Creative Poetry Starters For KS2 🔗 KS2 Poetry Vocabulary Mats 🔗 KS2 Poetry Comprehension Worksheets
🔄 Mr Wise – The Teacher Who Should Apologise?
This one is written as a flowchart poem — a brilliant way to show how poems don’t have to stick to a traditional structure.
📝 Activity idea: Challenge your class to write a “decision tree poem.” For example: Should I do my homework? or What happens when you annoy your teacher?
🌌 Mr Laws – The Teacher Who Loves Star Wars
This playful poem takes inspiration from the famous Star Wars opening crawl. It’s a brilliant way to connect poetry with popular culture, perfect for engaging reluctant writers.
📝 Activity idea: Ask pupils to reimagine their classroom or school as a Star Wars galaxy. Who are the heroes, villains, and guardians of peace? What’s the battle they’re fighting?
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🥁 Born to Drum
📝 Activity idea: Children can write their own musical instrument poems and then arrange them in the shape of the instrument — guitars, pianos, violins or even a triangle!
🐌 I Am a Snail
Words spiral into the snail’s shell, showing how text can follow a path instead of sitting in straight lines.
📝 Activity idea: Let pupils choose animals and match the words to their shape — spirals for snails, zig-zags for lightning, or waves for fish.
👉 Related: Animal Shape Poem Writing Framework
👉 Related: Animal Poems KS2 👉 KS2 Character Poems 🔗 Christmas Similes and Metaphors KS2 🔗 Teaching Rhythm and Rhyme KS2
🔗 KS2 Shared Writing For Poetry
🐍 I Am a Snake
This poem slithers across the page in winding lines, perfectly matching the movements of a snake.
📝 Activity idea: Use this as inspiration for writing movement poems — what would a kite poem look like? Or a rollercoaster? Or a football flying into the net?
Why Use Shape Poems in KS2?
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✅ They bring visual creativity to writing lessons.
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✅ They support reluctant writers by making poetry more playful.
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✅ They’re perfect for cross-curricular links with art, science, and even ICT.
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✅ They make fantastic displays for classrooms and corridors.
Bring Shape Poems to Life in Your School 🎭
If you’d like your pupils to not only write but also perform exciting poems like these, why not book one of my Poetry Days?
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✍️ I deliver workshops in schools all over the UK.
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💻 I also run online poetry workshops — perfect for schools anywhere.
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🚀 Shape poems are always a hit and children leave with poems they’re proud to share and display.
👉 Get in touch today to book your Poetry Day in school or online workshop and let’s bring the magic of poetry alive for your pupils.
