Write poems for children and younger readers through curiosity, sound and concrete surprise. Plan different ways to encounter the words without forcing a moral.
Suggested pace
4 weeks
Learning time
16 hours
Format
Self-paced
Our course is evergreen, so its suggested pace is not a fixed start date or deadline. Explore our syllabus and original open lesson below. The full teaching pack, feedback arrangements and delivery still need to be completed before enrolment opens.
AN OPEN LESSON · ABOUT 20 MINUTES
Let the surprise remain a surprise
An invented poem about a sock that wants to be a flag can invite play without ending 'and that is why we should be brave'. An explanatory moral may narrow what a younger reader can make of it.
Try it now
Write eight lines about an ordinary object with an unexpected ambition. Try the ending as an image, a question and an explanation.
Read it back, or check the result
Choose the ending that leaves an interesting encounter. This writing exercise does not require contact with children; any future reader testing needs appropriate consent and safeguarding arrangements.
This original Learn Courses exercise is free to read and use for your own practice. It is a standalone introduction, not a claim that the full course or tutor feedback is available.
FREE · AT YOUR OWN PACE
Follow this plan
Keep your own record as you work through the open lesson, each module and the final project. The full lesson pack and tutor feedback are still in production, so this records your own study, not an assessed result.
Our course is evergreen. Register interest for course-specific availability contact, without a fixed start date, payment or reserved place. This does not subscribe you to a general newsletter.
IS THIS FOR YOU?
Who this course is for
Writers interested in poems for younger readers, with attention to voice, curiosity and the practical reading situation.
Before you begin
A notebook or accessible writing tool and a way to read the supplied text-first material.
No formal writing qualification is required. Bring existing drafts if useful, or start with the original prompts supplied for the course.
Use my own work, public-domain material or expressly permitted sources. Sharing personal experiences is optional.
FREE TO DO
Free
Our poetry and writing courses are free to do. We will not charge a course fee for these courses. The published introductory lesson is available now; full teaching materials and any tutor-led sessions will open when ready.
No course fee. Try the open lesson now; full course enrolment is not open yet.
The sample is fictional. It is separate from this course’s future lessons.
A PRACTICAL NEXT STEP
What you’ll be able to do
Define a fictional reading context and audience range without assuming all children share the same interests or abilities.
Write an original refrain that supports joining in without making loud performance compulsory.
Draft a poem around a concrete surprise and remove an explanatory moral from the ending.
Assemble three original poems with read-aloud notes, accessible text and an ethical plan for any future feedback involving children.
THE TEACHING PLAN
Your next 4 weeks
A clear route through the subject, with something to make, test or reflect on at every stage.
01
MODULE 1
Choose a particular reading situation
Define a fictional reading context and audience range without assuming all children share the same interests or abilities.
Your practical activity
Define a fictional reading context and audience range without assuming all children share the same interests or abilities.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding
Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind choose a particular reading situation. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.
02
MODULE 2
Make sound invite participation
Write an original refrain that supports joining in without making loud performance compulsory.
Your practical activity
Write an original refrain that supports joining in without making loud performance compulsory.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding
Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind make sound invite participation. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.
03
MODULE 3
Trust the reader with an image
Draft a poem around a concrete surprise and remove an explanatory moral from the ending.
Your practical activity
Draft a poem around a concrete surprise and remove an explanatory moral from the ending.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding
Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind trust the reader with an image. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.
04
MODULE 4
Prepare a thoughtful small collection
Assemble three original poems with read-aloud notes, accessible text and an ethical plan for any future feedback involving children.
Your practical activity
Assemble three original poems with read-aloud notes, accessible text and an ethical plan for any future feedback involving children.
How the plan proposes to check your understanding
Provide the original draft, a revised version and a short craft note explaining the choices behind prepare a thoughtful small collection. Include a source-and-rights note and identify what you chose not to share.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Your final project
Assemble three original poems with read-aloud notes, accessible text and an ethical plan for any future feedback involving children. Show how the first three module experiments informed the final result. Personal disclosure and public performance are optional.
What you’ll produce
Define a fictional reading context and audience range without assuming all children share the same interests or abilities.
Write an original refrain that supports joining in without making loud performance compulsory.
Draft a poem around a concrete surprise and remove an explanatory moral from the ending.
Assemble three original poems with read-aloud notes, accessible text and an ethical plan for any future feedback involving children.
A concise reflection, revision record and source-and-rights note.
What good work looks like
Intent and craft: 30 marks for purposeful choices that the submitted work demonstrates.
Development: 25 marks for meaningful experiments, revision and an explained response to feedback.
Coherence and usability: 25 marks for an integrated portfolio or practical pack suited to its intended audience.
Reflection and sources: 20 marks for clear process notes, honest attribution and appropriate privacy boundaries. Completion requires at least 70/100, all exercises and correction of any unresolved source-rights or privacy issue. Literary taste, personal disclosure, publication acceptance and sales are not marking criteria.
Resources for your learning
An original text-first lesson and worked example for choose a particular reading situation.
An original text-first lesson and worked example for make sound invite participation.
An original text-first lesson and worked example for trust the reader with an image.
An original text-first lesson and worked example for prepare a thoughtful small collection.
A course-specific workbook, source-and-rights ledger and a completed project reference.
Captions and transcripts for any recordings produced before launch.
A course you can access
Provide text-first lessons, edited transcripts and captions for every recording.
Support screen readers, keyboard navigation, readable formatting and low-bandwidth downloads.
Offer equivalent written or recorded evidence; live attendance and rapid spoken responses are not required by default.
Allow an invented or indirect writing route and private tutor submission where a subject feels personal. Provide content notes and a clear support boundary before enrolment.
FINISH WITH SOMETHING USEFUL
How you’ll complete the course
Complete the four original exercises and a revision or testing record.
Submit the capstone with a source-and-influence statement and meet the published 70/100 rubric.
Respond to feedback or explain a reasoned decision to retain the original choice.
No public performance, personal disclosure, external publication or commercial sale is required. Completion is internal recognition of assessed work, not external accreditation.
Completion will describe the work you have done. No external accreditation or professional qualification is claimed.
BEFORE ENROLMENT OPENS
What still needs finishing
Course materials and delivery are not ready yet. We’ll update this page before enrolment opens.
Produce and review the four original lessons, exercise sheets and reference submissions for this course.
Confirm tutor availability, relevant experience, feedback arrangements and realistic study time through a pilot.
Clear source and media rights, provide accessible equivalents and keep personal disclosure optional.
Approve the final fee, access period, support, cancellation and refund terms before sale.
Verify paid entitlements and private submission boundaries before enrolment opens.
Any future testing or delivery involving children needs appropriate safeguarding, consent and a separate operational plan. This initial writing course is for adult writers.
FURTHER READING
The ideas behind the course
Our poetry curriculum draws on public subject research and our original writing exercises. Linked external sources retain their own authorship and are background references, not our course materials or an endorsement. The full teaching pack still needs production and review.
This is an independently developed Learn Courses subject plan. Its open exercise uses original invented material.
Write poems about grief, absence and changing life through concrete detail and chosen distance. Use original examples without any requirement to disclose a personal loss.
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