What to do today
1. Read the poem: I am a writer
- Read the poem, ‘I am a writer’. Read it in your head first and then try reading it out loud. What rhythms and patterns can you hear when you read it aloud?
- Choose your favourite three images from the poem. Why do you like these images in particular?
2. Reflect on the poem
- Read the Reflection Prompts and think about your answers for each.
- Write a reflection on the poem, by writing some of your answers as
sentences.
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3. Prepare a performance
- Watch the poet Joseph Coelho talk about how to perform a poem. https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks1-ks2-understanding- poetry/zdwxbdm This is really brilliant–you may want to watch it more than once!
- Make notes about Joseph Coelho’s tips.
- Practise a performance of ‘I am a writer’
Try these Fun-Time Extras
- Share your performance with someone else. Could they film it and send it somebody?
- Watch Joseph Coelho perform the poem. What do you notice in particular about the way that he performs it?
https://vimeo.com/129644553
I am a writer
Joseph Coelho
I am the clash and collide of the stars because I create worlds.
I am the awareness of the trees because I hear the wind.
I am the sweat of a rainbow because I refract all the colours.
I am the blood in a pen because I ink arteries.
I am the blade in a sharpener because I make nibs vanish.
I am the edge of a rubber,
rounded, worn and softened by mistakes.
I am the conversation of notes, discussing melodies.
I am the holes in a flute, knower of unknown tunes.
I am the skin of a drum. Every hit, beat and bang bouncing off me,
forming music from nothing.
p. 54 Werewolf Club Rules by Joseph Coelho
