Campion School
Poetry in Motion
In a recent Geography lesson on waterfalls, Year 7 students used Seamus Heaney’s famous poem, Waterfall, to explore the power and beauty of waterfalls through poetry. They learned how waterfalls are formed in rivers as part of an ongoing erosion of soft and hard rocks, which eventually carves out gorges, giving them an understanding of the natural forces and power behind these dramatic landscapes.
The students watched a video of The Devil's Glen Falls, the stunning location in Co Wicklow, Ireland, that inspired the poet’s words, which helped bring the poem to life and sparked the students’ imaginations.
To deepen their ideas, students watched a range of videos focusing on sensory experiences – considering what they could see, hear, touch and feel. Together, they collected vivid words and powerful phrases to capture the sounds, movement and atmosphere of cascading water.
Finally, with waterfall sounds playing softly in the background of the classroom, the students transformed their ideas into their own imaginative and descriptive poems – with some being selected for the school’s poetry competition in celebration of World Poetry Day on 20 March. The results were outstanding, showcasing creativity, confidence and a wonderful appreciation of language.
Well done to all of our talented young geographers and poets who took part in this exciting cross-curricular project.