BRILLIANT POETRY BY TANFIELD LEA PRIMARY SCHOOL

I would like to share two very different poems from pupils at Tanfield Lea Primary School in Co. Durham, whom I have had the privilege of working with today. The first is a group effort by children in Year 1. I was particularly impressed by their use of rhyme, which is a very difficult skill to master at such a young age. Here is Year 1's fantabuliferous poem: 

The next poem was written by Romola, in Year 4. The challenge here was to write a poem based around an emotion. I actually gave this class the instruction not to rhyme, but Romola was a maverick and ignored this advice. (I secretly love it when this happens and pupils take ideas in their own direction!) Again, I was impressed with Romola's skill at constructing a rhyming poem that not only makes sense, which is difficult enough in itself, but does a wonderful job at conveying emotion and passion. Here is Romola's wonderfulistic poem; I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Feelings by Romola, Year 4

I walked home from school

And sat on my bed

With one thousand thoughts

Burning in my head.

I thought about fights

Between mum and dad

As I listened to the fight

I got more and more sad.

My happiness flowed through

My finger tips

My eyes, my nose

My brain and my lips.

Then the sadness came

Just batting through

“I don’t like him or her

Or even you!”

No way will I

Talk about my class

The strictness, the rules

The playing of brass.

The bullies were coming

Right for me

“NO!” I’ll conquer you bullies

You wait and see!

I no longer dwell

On worries or fears

I’ll tell everyone

And I’ll gather my peers.

No-one will stop us

Not even my friends

For together, here and now

Friendship never ends.