The Poetry Archive website can make a unique contribution to teaching and learning. These materials have been specially designed for English teachers at Key Stage 3. Each piece addresses a specific learning objective, and suggests innovative ways of using the rich resources on this website.

= These pieces are in PDF format, ready for you to download and use in the classroom.

This sequence of activities, written by Julie Blake, is designed to form a self-contained project lasting several lessons. Its primary focus is on writing reflectively about texts, taking account of the needs of others who might read them. Its pedagogical method is to give students a structured experience of research and development of a text for a real audience and purpose.

This sequence of activities, written by Julie Blake, is designed to form a self-contained writing project lasting several lessons. Its primary focus is on experimenting with visual and sound effects of language in poetic form, with additional work to develop a broad understanding of characterisation techniques. Its pedagogical method is to work in ways that value playful experimentation.

This sequence of activities, written by Julie Blake, is designed to form a self-contained project lasting several lessons. Its primary focus is on understanding how writers explore and present their themes. Its pedagogical method is to work in ways that value creativity, independent research, and critical thinking.

This sequence of activities, written by Julie Blake, is designed to form a self-contained guided research project lasting several lessons. Its primary focus is on understanding how texts refer to and reflect culture, with work to develop an underpinning appreciation of what culture is. Its pedagogical method is to work in ways that value open-ended enquiry, creativity and critical thinking.

This sequence of activities, written by Julie Blake, is designed to form a self-contained unit of work lasting several lessons. Its primary focus is on comparing the presentation of ideas, values or emotions in related or contrasting texts, although it also gives some coverage of the framework objectives related to historical context and media comparison. Its pedagogical method is to develop a textured, historically contextualised understanding of Tennyson's 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.

This sequence of activities, written by Julie Blake, is designed to form a self-contained project lasting several lessons. Its primary focus is on the thematic and stylistic comparison of two poems from different times; its pedagogical method is to give students a mixture of creative 'play' with two poems and a structured approach to stylistic analysis, in the belief that the combination helps to develop richer, multi-layered readings, as well as providing different access points for students.