Session 1 · AUTHOR: Techniques
Form workshop
- 10 minQuick tour of forms: haiku, list poem, shape poem, two-voice poem, free verse.
- 25 minRotate through three form stations. Draft one quick poem at each, using your noticing lists.
- 10 minLine-break lab: write one sentence out three ways with different line breaks. Read each aloud. Which works best?
- 5 minStar the draft you want to keep working on.
Session 2 · AUTHOR: Hear Voices
Poets on stage
- 10 minRead 'From page to stage'. What is spoken word? What is a slam?
- 20 minListen to two or three poets perform (Children's Poetry Archive, NZ On Screen). Track their pauses, volume changes and gestures on a listening grid.
- 15 minTalk: how does hearing the poet change what the poem means? Whose voices and languages did you hear?
- 5 minWrite one technique from a performer that you want to borrow.
Getting started
Start with a haiku: three short lines about one thing you can see right now.
Stretch
Write a two-voice poem where two speakers see the same place differently, such as a tūī and a bulldozer.
Checkpoint
Each student has at least three short drafts in different forms and one performance technique to try.
Activities for this week
- Magpie remix: a chorus poem: How can sound and repetition hold a poem together?
- Where I'm from poem: What small details tell the story of who you are?
Useful this week
- Glossary of poetic terms ↗ Clear definitions and examples for every device and form you meet.
- The Children's Poetry Archive ↗ Hear poets read their own poems aloud.
- Tuwhare ↗ A documentary about Hone Tuwhare, one of Aotearoa's best-loved poets.