Personification Poem by Tommy, Year 7

I am Patron of Reading at Stalham High School in Norfolk. My role involves visiting the school a couple of times a year to perform and run workshops, often with Year 7, and occasionally involving children from local primary schools. During my last visit we worked on personification poems. I presented pictures of a number of objects, and asked pupils to write poems from the perspective of one of these objects. Some wonderful poems were produced, and I was particularly impressed with the following poem from the point of view of a key, by Tommy in Year 7:

I'm a Key by Tommy

My owner is a drug dealer
He gets me to hide them in the back.

I'm alone
The others were taken
That's why I stayed with him in his pocket.

I wanted to tell so badly
But I knew I would be punished
So I didn't
I kept it in
And that's when they came.

They took him
He threw me into the corner
Hopefully never to be found
But I glistened in the moonlight
I was taken
I begged him to let me go.

That's when I saw the others
Who were now scrap metal
So am I.

I saw light
I glistened
I knew everyone's dirty secrets
And I would open their doors
To reveal their lies.

I'm your worst nightmare
What am I?

Feminist Poems With Year 8

I am Poet in Residence at a girls' secondary school. In Year 8 they have been learning about feminism, and I recently worked with some of the classes to create poetry around this theme. I was conscious not to 'mansplain' to them, or to go over the shoulds-and-shouldn'ts of the issue; instead, I was keen to discuss what feminism meant to them. Using this wonderful poem by Sojourner Truth as inspiration, students wrote their own poems. Here are a couple of interesting examples from the students I worked with:

I Can by Haleema

Be a famous mathematician,

With lots of awards.

Have a huge house and

work as a fireman.

I can

Be a scientist and dissect

animals and creatures.

Be a professional footballer

and play for famous clubs.

I can

Wear green and blue

tops with tracksuit bottoms.

Go fighting for my country

and put my life at risk.

I can

go to work as a plumber

whilst men stay at home and clean.

Get a degree in English

and move to a new city on my own.

I can.

Poem by Maryam

When I was a baby

It was all about cuteness

It was all about protection

It was all about me.

No one else but me.

Five years old and five times more strictness.

It was all about being careful,

Making sure I don’t bang into something.

It was all about learning how to write.

I could do it and I was only a little girl.

It came to a point when

I could do what I believed was called “anything”

I could dress how I wanted to

I could play whatever I wanted to

I could do “anything”.

Now it was a time

A time where I had to be extra careful

Outside in the REAL world

Whenever I could actually go out

I would always be with someone

Making sure nothing bad happens.

I am a girl.

I’m strong

I’m confident

I can take care of myself

I don’t need this whole overprotection thing

This thing when my parents would always be there

All the time.

Boys aren’t everything!

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)

SENSES POETRY - KS1

We’re Having a Party!

We’re having a party!

What can you see?

Bouncing balloons

and sparkly ribbons.

We’re having a party!

What can you hear?

toe-tapping tunes
and chuckling children.

We’re having a party!

What can you smell?

The flickering flame

of birthday candles.

We’re having a party!

What can you taste?

Sandwiches, cake
and plenty of sweets.

We’re having a party!

What can you feel?

The love and the hugs

of all of your friends. 

This poem can serve as a model for thinking about the five senses with KS1. Start by thinking of a scenario, which could be relevant to other things you may have been looking at in class - pirates, the seasons, sports, festivals etc. Next, think of a repeated phrase, to be used at the beginning of each stanza. Each stanza then discusses one of the five senses. Simple! This can be done as shared writing with younger children, or group or individual work for older ones, Enjoy!