Poetry and Poppies
Drama workshops
✓ Reception - Year 6
✓ Led by a professional actor-facilitator
✓ History, Remembrance, Poetry
✓ Free teacher resources
✓ Delivered in your school hall
Discover the First World War from an interactive, drama-based perspective.
Part history, part literature and part drama, our Poetry and Poppies workshops use theatrical techniques to explore the people and stories of the Great War.
We can bring your whole school together to create and perform a show that presents a chronological exploration of the war, or work class-by-class to take an in-depth look at the World War One experience.
Led by a professional actor-facilitator, the children work together to create scenes that imaginatively weave poetry, interviews with soldiers, and personal accounts from people who lived through this defining time.
Working collaboratively, your children will develop their historical knowledge, physical literacy and communication skills, and experience performing in a way they will never forget.
Created by:
Abigail Rosser
Find out more about our creatives.
Our Poetry and Poppies standalone sessions are great for any number of classes and provide a more in depth exploration of the topic.
- We work with children in their usual classes from Year 1 to Year 6.
- Sessions are 35 - 60 minutes for KS1 and 50 - 90 minutes for KS2.
- We can work with up to six classes per day, or up to five KS2 classes.
- To work with fewer classes we can visit for just an afternoon or morning session. To work with more than six classes we can visit across multiple days.
Alternatively, the day-long Poetry and Poppies Today performance workshop is perfect for a one-form entry school from Reception to Year 6, or 5 or 6 KS2 classes.
- For two or three form entry schools we work across multiple days.
- To cover the material we need at least three classes from KS2.
- At the end of the day, children come together to perform the material they have worked on to each other, creating a full performance with music and narration.
- To use poetry and literature to build empathy and discover what life was like during the First World War.
- To discover and retain key dates and historical information.
- To empathise and think critically about the experiences of people who lived and died during the First World War.
- To expand vocabulary and develop a stronger command of spoken English through a combination of poetry and prose.
When you book you will receive a link to a full pack of materials used to inspire the workshop. This includes a poetry anthology, propaganda posters and letters from World War One.
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Watch us in action!
Get a flavour of the West End in Schools experience with our new workshop highlights video.
