Read to Me: Poetry

Time

Read & Write

4 3 2 1 Mid-Late Stages

Benefits

Participants

One to One

What you need

A book of popular poems or refer to our list of a well-known selection, which are a joy to read aloud. List of poems to search for on the internet if you do not have access to a poetry book – a good starting point:

Apple Blossom - Louis MacNeice
I remember, I remember – Thomas Hood
The Railway Children - Seamus Heaney
Love and Life – John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Sonnet: How do I love thee? - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A Red, Red Rose – Robert Burns
She walks in beauty like the night – George Gordon Noel, Lord Byron
What are days for? Phillip Larkin
Sea Fever - John Mansfield
Peace - Henry Vaughan
If – Rudyard Kipling
All the World’s a Stage – William Shakespeare
Macavity: The Mystery Cat - T.S Eliot
Ode to a Nightingale - John Keats
Daffodils – William Wordsworth
The Tyger - William Blake
Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll
The Owl and the Pussycat - Edward Lear
Spellbound – Emily Bronte
The Star - Jane Taylor
The Shell – James Stephens

Intro

The world is full of poems – and even the most novice poetry-reader will have read at least one or two in their lifetime. But some people just can’t get enough of them and love all sorts, including the most famous, like “My love is like a red, red rose” by Robert Burns

People progressing on their dementia journey can find reading a struggle, so it’s important to bridge the gap between their love of poetry and devouring it

This activity helps people to enjoy poetry once again, as you’re going to read their favourite poems – or ones they might like – to them. These sessions can be very therapeutic, relaxing and stimulating for the brain. And they’re especially good for people with limited mobility who spend a lot of time sat down or in bed

The Activity

Prepare a selection of poems before the session
Visit the person in their room or where they are seated – somewhere quiet without any distractions
Greet the person by holding their hand or laying your hand gently on their hand or forearm
Sit at their eye level and ask them how they are. If they can’t respond verbally, look for any visual clues, such as a change in breathing, movement of their head, hands or eyes and respond by then letting them know how you are or talk about something that is going on that day
Make eye contact and say you’re going to spend some time with them reading poetry
Start with a short poem first
Be expressive with your voice, using different volumes, tones and pace
Keep holding their hand, or maintain light touch all the time you’re reading to them
Pause for a few seconds once you’ve finished to signify the end of the poem, then make some comments about it, responding to any verbal or nonverbal responses
Carry on with more poems in the same way if the person seems relaxed
Keep going for as long as you have time or as long as they’re happy to keep listening
Once the poem is over, take some time to talk about what will happen at the next session and let them know where they are in the day (e.g. “it’s time for your tea break soon” or “lunch will be ready in a minute”