Competition Winners
Whenever I have had the opportunity to encourage a school of children I have done so with a poetry competition and am never disappointed with the results. I deliberately do not separate the school into age or ability levels, but judge every poem alongside the rest on an even footing. The surprising result is that there is always an even mix of winners across the ages and literacy levels, which inevitably is a real encouragement, particularly to the children who often say openly “I’m not very good at literacy”, and then find that they have won a prize in a poetry competition.
To prove my point, here are the winning poems from my local schools, including all ages and literacy levels and judged genuinely alongside an entire school, or class. I do not look for perfection, but for potential and poetic techniques that a child often doesn’t even realise that they have themselves. Therefore, I have included my comments on each poem and what I liked about it, as well as possible ways to learn more and improve.
TIP when judging a competition….
Don’t look for perfection in a poem. If someone has written an acrostic, that is an achievement in itself. If they include rhyme it becomes harder and even more so if they have a consistent rhythm. Throw in some imagery, alliteration, personification, similes, metaphors etc and it becomes clear that there is more to a poem than the end result. Acknowledge each achievement individually and encourage the children not to aim too high too soon, but to grow into new techniques and as one technique becomes more natural to them in style, they can then develop another alongside it.
Hopefully, you’ll see evidence of my approach in my judging and comments. Click on the following links to see the winning poems for each school…..
Fitzwilliam Primary School (Including a couple of senses poems about Victorian children working down the mines)
Queen Primary School (On the topic of World War Two)
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