How the 'Writing from Nature' resource is developing young poets
Written by Sean Cumming (Project Manager at the National Literacy Trust) and Rosalind Allen (RSPB Education and Families Development Officer)
Quick links;
National Literacy Trust's 'Writing from Nature' resource
The RSPB's Wild Challenge Award scheme
Since its launch in April 2022, teachers across England have downloaded the free National Literacy Trust’s Writing from Nature resource to inspire potentially thousands of pupils to write and perform poetry through the outdoor exploration of nature. In this blog, find out about two schools that used this free online resource with Years 5-9 and how spending time connecting with nature through the five nature connection pathways (senses, emotion, beauty, meaning, compassion) has developed their appreciation of nature and enabled them to develop their skills in writing poetry.
New growth (excerpt of New growth by Erin, Appleton Academy. Full poem can be found at the end of this blog)
Her hair was a yellow tree, violently shaking in the wind,
Her eyes like the bottom of the ocean, deep blue.
Her lips as stiff as wood, not even flinching,
Her nostrils like caves, leading to the unknown.
Her teeth crooked, like headstones in a graveyard,
Her smile shot sideways, like a branch shooting outwards.
Her arms are like sticks, trying not to be snapped,
Her hands like dry, dead leaves.
Her nails never grew, it was like trying to restore a dead plant...
The Writing from Nature resource, which includes the work of contemporary poets from around England, was designed as a full learning scheme of work to be delivered by a teacher both in class and outside in a greenspace (this could be the school grounds or a local park or greenspace). It is part of the Young Poets Programme, which focuses on supporting specific schools around the country, and thanks to this, Project Manager Sean Cumming was able to visit a couple of schools to observe first-hand the resource being used.
Like many of the schools supported by the National Literacy Trust, Hawes side Academy in Blackpool serves an area with a high percentage of free school meal eligible children. All pupils in the Year 5 mixed ability class engaged well with the introductory games and activities. These activities are designed to enable pupils to develop ideas, talk about word use, be creative with language and have fun playing with words and were effective for pupils that found writing and poetry challenging, as well as those that were already enthusiastic about it.
The outdoor ‘Wild Challenge Award’ activity part of the resource took place in the school garden – somewhere familiar for most of the children. Exploration focused on Wild Writing, and the activities resulted in a number of the pupils taking a more active interest in the natural world. It was felt that for greater benefit, a longer portion of time should have been spent on these activities.
Feedback indicated that using the resource enhanced pupils’ love of poetry and skills for writing. Every pupil enthusiastically contributed to a poem or wrote their own, including some who usually struggle to write individually. As a result, pupils said they felt “more positive”, “more positive about poetry”, “more confident”, and “more creative”.
Nature’s sounds
I can hear a goldfinch,
Chirping in the trees
Oh wait, there’s a seagull stealing my tea.
I can hear a pigeon tapping,
Their beak at my feet.
Tayla (Hawes Side)
Sean’s other visit was to Carlton Bolling – a secondary school in Bradford. Most of the participating students had struggled in English class in the past and many had English as an additional language. For some, this was an opportunity to be involved in a type of enrichment activity previously unavailable to them; several reported they had not really explored the outdoors before.
Again, the poetry games were well received, even though the teacher had initially felt they may be very challenging. Very quickly, all pupils were doing creative word play and metaphor building. This was excellent preparation for the outdoor session – a 45 minute trip to a nearby park. Here pupils observed beauty in detail through the ‘Look Closer’ Wild Challenge activities from the resource and also used the sense of touch to do a Nature’s Texture scavenger hunt, which counts towards the ‘Sensing the World’ Wild Challenge. (Beauty and senses are both nature connection pathways.)
The incredibly enthusiastic response from the pupils demonstrated that the activities were engaging and helped them to notice and appreciate the natural environment around them. One pupil told Sean: “I can’t believe I have been walking past this every day!” Another said, “I usually just jump on the swings but I find this really relaxing and fun.” This latter remark links with the ‘emotion’ pathway of connecting with nature and fits with well reported research that contact with nature is beneficial for health and wellbeing. Indeed pupils were asked about their feelings and emotions at the beginning and end of the day to find out what had changed – overwhelmingly, pupils felt very positive.
Another pathway to nature connection is ‘meaning’ which includes exploring how nature appears in poetry. Back in the classroom, pupils produced a wonderful group poem, then their own individual ones, many of which were unique, creative and complex. Students rated the activities highly and reflected that ‘we take nature for granted’ – indicating that their awareness of and compassion (the fifth pathway to nature connection) for nature had increased.
Nature is in Me
We saw leaves like old friends
But one flew away
Feathers that wrote history
Fall like a soft grey blanket
A dull cloud
A three leaved clover
Sprinkled in glitter;
A flower push through
The earth’s carpet
Like snow
Grass like a green sea
Beholding its citizens
An ocean filled with bodies
Butter flowers melt from trees
And we realised
Nature is a maze of memories
Nature is in me
Ms Mason’s Class (Carlton Bolling)
This feedback and observations of the activities, albeit small scale, is a good indication that this joint initiative between the RSPB and the National Literacy Trust is effective at doing what we wanted it to do: provide teachers with a resource that connects pupils with nature and inspires, enthuses and equips them to write meaningful poetry.
Visit Writing from Nature: a poetry resource | National Literacy Trust to find out more about the resource and how to download it for free.
New Growth by Erin from Appleton Academy in full below;
New growth
Her nails never grew, it was like trying to restore a dead plant.
Her thought like a labyrinth, each opening leading to a dead end.
Her dreams were vast and vibrant, yet she knew she’d get stuck in the mud.
Her confidence like a snail’s trail, left behind for good.
Her memories were a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
Her hopes were like a flower, they would bloom large.
Her life was a balloon in a storm.
Erin (Appleton Academy)