Teach Your Primary Children How To Write A Christmas Shape Poem!

👉 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

Great for teachers looking to save time!

A Fun KS2 Christmas Shape Poem Activity

Christmas is the perfect time for festive poetry! A Christmas shape poem makes a brilliant lesson idea. With a little rhythm, rhyme, and imagination, children can create poems that look fantastic inside a card—and may even bring a tear to their parents’ eyes.

My Example: What Is Christmas?

My poem What is Christmas? has a simple structure. Each line is a snapshot of what Christmas means to me. The rhythm is created using 7–8 syllables per line, and every second line rhymes.

Here’s a sample pattern:

• I’m the tinsel on the wall (7 beats)

• The crazy thrill that grips us all (8 beats)

You can encourage rhyme, but it’s not essential. The most important thing is that each line creates a strong image or feeling about Christmas.

How to Teach Christmas Shape Poems

1. Brainstorm Ideas
   Ask children: What does Christmas mean to you? Encourage quick-fire ideas—food, decorations, songs, family traditions, and special memories.

2. Write Short Lines
   Using the brainstorm, children create lines of 7–8 syllables. Rhyme is optional but adds sparkle if they can manage it.

3. Choose a Shape
   Once they’ve written a draft, challenge pupils to present their poem in a festive shape. Popular choices include:

   • Christmas tree

   • Star

   • Stocking

   • Bauble

   • Present

4. Polish and Perform
   Display finished poems around the classroom or in Christmas cards. You could also invite children to perform them at a school assembly.

👉 Christmas Haiku Poem Writing Framework

👉 Christmas Cinquain Poem Writing Framework

👉 Christmas Acrostic Poem Writing Framework

👉 Christmas Mesostic Poem Writing Framework

👉 Christmas Telestich Poem Writing Framework

Extra KS2 Festive Poetry Ideas

• Collaborative Class Poem: Each child contributes one line to make a giant class Christmas shape poem.

• Advent Poetry Calendar: Write 24 short poems and display one each day in December.

• Acrostic Twist: Write “CHRISTMAS” down the page and create an acrostic poem alongside the shape poem. 👉 Try my free resource: Mesostic Poems

• Performance Challenge: Turn shape poems into choral readings, with groups taking different sections.

• Art & Design Link: Decorate the shape poems with glitter, collage, or festive borders to create Christmas displays.

• Cross-Curricular Link: Explore Christmas traditions in different cultures, then write shape poems inspired by them. 👉 Try my free resource: Poetry Across The Curriculum

Teacher Tips

• Keep lines short and focused on one image.

• Encourage descriptive language—similes, metaphors, and powerful adjectives.

• Remind children that neat presentation makes a huge difference to the final effect.

A Christmas shape poem is festive, creative, and fun. It’s a great way to combine poetry writing with seasonal art, and the finished pieces make lovely keepsakes for children to take home. I always offer an online poetry workshop in the run up to Christmas- details can be found here.

Good luck with your festive writing—and have a wonderful run-up to Christmas!

Best wishes,
Ian Bland

👉 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