HAPPINESS IS - fab poem by Year 8 girls

Here is a group poem, written by a Year 8 class I have been working with. Each student in the class contributed a line, which I then arranged into a poem. Enjoy!

Happiness Is by 8S, Plashet School

Happiness is

Playing with your sister;

Having fun;

Having an adventure and using your imagination.

Happiness is

A one-in-a-million feeling inside you

When you achieve something which

you have been yearning for all these years;

When you find a friend.

Happiness is

Sitting beside the warm fireplace

Watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate;

The smile that sits on your baby brother’s face

As he giggles away;

A yummy icing cake with beautiful flowers.

Happiness is

When it is snowing heavily,

Enough snow to build a snowman;

Going on holiday with your family;

When you’re at the city farm

And your favourite cow moos.

Happiness is

When your whole family sits down

To eat takeaway whilst watching TV;

When you’re meeting your new baby niece

For the first time;

When you’re exchanging smileys with everyone.

Happiness is

Finally getting on with your sister;

The proud look on your mother’s face;

Going on your phone and talking to ducks.

Happiness is

When your baby brother and sister

Come out of the hospital;

Watching movies on your laptop;

Receiving a Get Well Soon letter.

Happiness is

Receiving a smile from someone;

Playing football;

Going to the seaside.

Happiness is

Dreaming about unicorns while sleeping at night;

A thousand monkeys jumping around everywhere;

A branch that’s swaying left to right.

Happiness is you

Being yourself.

Welcome to the Silly Isles!

I've always wanted to visit the Scilly Isles. I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't in part because of the amusing name. This prompted me to write the following poem. As a fun workshop idea, get children to design their own 'silly isles'. What would they visit? Who would they meet? What would they eat? Where would they sleep? etc!

Welcome to the Silly Isles

Welcome to the Silly Isles!

Come and visit for a while.

There’s lots to do and lots to see

so come and take a walk with me...

You’ll be greeted by a moose

who’ll offer you some ping pong juice.

Next you’ll see a jaguar

who’ll teach you how to play guitar.

We don’t read books or watch TV,

we sit and watch our famous tree.

It stands there still all day and night,

but will it move? We think it might!

Come aboard the wobbly train

to take you to the giant drain.

There you’ll find a thousand piglets

feasting on a pile of twiglets.

Pleased to meet you! I’m the crow.

I’ll teach you all you need to know.

My brother is a rock called Gary,

lately we’ve made plans to marry.

Over there you’ll see a chair

cavorting with a grizzly bear.

Please don’t gasp, and have no fear:

they’re the king and queen round here.

Oh, you’re tired? Well come with me now –

here’s a bed made of a sea cow,

hollowed out and filled with bread.

Come and rest your weary head!

For breakfast would you like some sticks,

or would you like some roasted bricks?

Perhaps you’d like some shredded wheat

served with a side of smelly feet?

Welcome to the Silly Isles!

Come and visit for a while.

There’s lots to do and lots to see.

so come and take a walk with me.

 

 

 

ANXIETY - Poem & Workshop Idea (KS2/3)

Anxiety

There’s a tightness in my stomach.

There’s a tingle in my brain.

There’s an adder in my bladder

and it’s driving me insane.

There’s a ringing in my ears.

There’s a stiffness in my neck.

There’s a lizard in my gizzard

that I cannot keep in check.

There’s a storm in my aorta.

There’s a bullet in my back.

There’s a lion and it's trying

to embark on an attack.

There’s a splinter in my sphincter.

There’s a groaning in my bones.

Don’t make me go outside today –
I want to stay at home.

Unfortunately I suffer from anxiety. In fact, concentrating on writing the above poem helped ease it a little bit. Anyway, why not try writing something similar? Think of an emotion, then write a poem about it using the format "There's a.... in my...." Try to think of the most imaginative ideas you can. Then the rest of the class can try to guess the emotion!

(PS, I know that humans don't technically have gizzards. But I have poetic licence, and I'm not afraid to use it!)

THE FUTURE - Remarkable Poem by Year 9 Girl

Last week I worked with a Year 9 English class who'd just been reading 'The Looking Glass' by Chekhov. In this story, a young girl looks into her future, and realises it isn't all she expected it to be. Based on this, I asked the students to write poems about their own futures. We warmed up by doing timelines of the future, starting at 'today' and ending with 'death'. They then had to add five items to their timelines. These could be based on imagination, predictions, hopes, fears, or a combination of all of these. I then asked each student to pick an event, and write a poem about it, imagining it in detail, teasing out possible consequences and perspectives. I left this activity very open, after having shared my own poem (at the end of this blog piece).

But I'm not very interested in my own poem. What I am interested in is this wonderful poem about marriage, from the perspective of a 13 year old girl. One of the great things about working with poetry is getting an insight into students' lives and thoughts. With that in mind, here is the poem:

The Timeline by Sharmin (Year 9)

Marriage…

It’s the person you’re destined for.

The love of your life.

Your partner, companion, husband or wife.

He comes home every day after work.

Has his meal as normal.

He watches TV, does his things,

until the next day.

I awake as usual.

He’s already at work.

Time passes by…

The clock echoes throughout the house.

Tick…tock…tick…tock.

He has not returned.

The phone rings, I wish it was him.

I fall onto my knees.

A day passes. The house

Is cold. I’ve cried through tears

to see my own reflection in them.

You don’t realise someone until

they’re gone.

Pain is just a consequence

of love.

His time had come,

my everything,

my husband.

 

The Winner by Joshua Seigal

My time has come.

The spotlight shines.

The trophy’s in my hand.

 

My time has come.

I’m on TV,

in a brand new suit and tie.

 

My time has come.

My voice rings loud.

My lips can say no wrong.

 

My time has come.

I look at you

from the mantelpiece

of the world.

 

My time has come.

The fire burns –

in fact I smell the smoke.

 

My time has come.

My picture’s edge

is curling in the flame. 

 

My time has come.

The trophy melts.

My suit is torn to shreds.

 

My time has come.

I have to go –

please try not to forget.

RESOLUTIONS - NEW YEAR POEM

Resolutions

Day 1

I won’t be late for school again.
I won’t swing in my seat.
I’ll do my best on every test
and I will never cheat.

I’ll help with chores around the house.
I won’t get in a rage.
I’ll get a broom and sweep my room
and clean the hamster’s cage. 

I’ll put my money in the bank.
I won’t spend it on sweets.
I’ll make a pledge to eat more veg
and give up eating meat. 

I’ll go out jogging round the park.
I’ll try hard to get fit.
I will not shirk, I'll do the work
and I will never quit.

I’ll be the best that I can be,
improve in every way.
I will shine bright, and I will write
a poem every day!

Day 2