Education » National
Poetry Day 2009 - Heroes and Heroines
 National Poetry Day is Thursday October 8th 2009
During
National Poetry Day, people all over the UK take part in a celebration
of great poetry.
This year's theme was Heroes and Heroines.
Every year, the Scottish Poetry Library runs a series of CPD sessions
for teachers on how to make the most of National Poetry Day.
And we produce
a range of postcards featuring poems from Scottish poets on the theme
of the year, which we send out to schools across Scotland.
You will find
teaching suggestions to accompany some of the National Poetry Day poems
on this website.
Teaching ideas
We’ve provided some simple suggestions here for using four
of the poems in the classroom:
A teaching resource for the other four poems, written by Ken Cockburn
for S1-3 students, will be available on GLOW for National Poetry
Day. This is part of a wider project based around the National Poetry
Day theme and poems, and will be followed by two live GLOW meet sessions
with poet, Elspeth Murray.
Preparation
Before looking at any of the poems you might find it useful to hold
a general discussion with your class on the theme of heroes and heroines.
We had some lively discussions in our CPDs this year in the run-up
to NPD, with some teachers feeling that we should not encourage children
to put people on pedestals at all, and many fearing that for most
of their pupils it would be hard to distinguish between heroism and
the kind of shallow celebrity prized by the many hopefuls entering
talent contests on TV.
Suggestions for a general discussion
Where do we hear the words hero and heroine used? (In the news about
brave children; in comic books; when referring to the main character
in a film; in sports commentary after a match...? It may be that
some of your class have never heard the term or can’t relate
it to anything.)
Discuss what qualities make a hero or heroine.
- Is it the same
for everyone? Can there be different types of heroes or heroines?
- How much does it depend on other people’s perceptions?
Can you be a hero if no-one else acknowledges your qualities?
Discuss the distinctions between fame, celebrity, admiration
and heroism.
- Is this distinction important to or even relevant
to your class?
The Poems
Each of the four poems is different in style and structure, but
also in the nature of the hero portrayed and the point of view of
the poet.
Some of the questions we’ve suggested are the same for each
poem, others relate specifically to that one. And of course you may
come up with many more of your own, and feel free to mix and match
the activities we’ve suggested for each poem.
What are you doing for National Poetry Day?
› Send us your ideas, news, photos
and videos
› Visit the National
Poetry Day Website
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