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Book of the Week: We Are Together

This week, the Grimsdell Children’s Library Book of the Week has been chosen by Junior Librarian, Amelia from 2RM.

Amelia recommends: We Are Together by Britta Teckentrup.

Amelia’s reason for her choice:

“This is one of my favourite poems because it is a reminder about the importance of friendship and that by working together we can achieve so much more. It reminds me of The Grimsdell Way.”

We hope you agree! Amelia has written so poignantly about her love of this book and its impact – encouraging her to write her own version of The Grimsdell Way, which has been catalogued as part of the library’s resources and is regularly on loan.

Mrs Harvey would also recommend ‘We Are Together’ with its focus on the themes of togetherness and friendship. This poem celebrates the diversity in the world and the power of working together in order to achieve our agreed goals.

A stand out feature of this book is the way in which the illustrations use ‘peek through’ cuts out to create a growing community of people. The rhyming text honours the special qualities that each of us has but also acknowledges that life is richer with others in it. It starts with the importance of our own self – our special gifts, dreams and hopes but then it shows that with one another we can achieve infinitely more.

At Grimsdell, we regularly celebrate the role that poetry plays within or Literacy curriculum. It is a key component of our curriculum and from a purely educational perspective, helps to build reading, speaking and listening skills .Children need to learn to read a variety of texts and poems are one of those forms.

The unique thing about poetry is that we often read aloud, repeat often, and share in groups. When children are listening to poems orally, they are building their listening skills. They learn to attend to the words they hear and to think about what those words mean together. Poetry encourages the exploration of language and vocabulary, for example, poetry often contains words that rhyme for effect. Children can learn about phonics and letter sounds by listening for and locating rhyming words. A poem can be used to teach sentence structure, parts of speech, and many grammar skills. Teaching grammar in engaging ways can be a struggle. Poetry can help! Poetry builds vocabulary. Children get exposed to words they have not heard before, and they listen to them in context.

Poetry can inspire writing and encourage creative thinking. Poetry is a form of expression. Writing it lets us get out our feelings and thoughts on a subject while reading it encourages us to connect and find meaning in our experiences. Poetry can have a positive impact on the social and emotional learning of children. It may offer them a new way of thinking about something. It can put things into words that children may not know how to express otherwise. Poetry encourages children to express themselves and their feelings.

Jeanette Winterson, (a poet and writer) once said, “It isn’t a hiding place. It is a finding place.” Poetry inspires children’s imaginations to run wild.

Children have a natural curiosity to foster and encourage with poetry. It creates enchantment and wonder in a child’s mind. Poems encourage children to imagine new worlds and experiences.

Happy Reading!

Mrs Harvey