My story on Friday began:
The boxer bruised and bloody lay,
His eyes half-closed and swollen…
The teacher wrote a little note:
Use a semicolon!
Next Monday my story will begin:
Once upon a time…
New Boy
When we had PE,
The new boy changed in the toilets,
Out of sight of all the others.
‘Shy, are we?’ asked the teacher impatiently,
When the boy emerged in grubby shirt and shorts.
‘Come along, son, let’s have that top off.
You cannot do PE wrapped up like that.’
‘Please, sir,’ pleaded the boy, ‘can I keep it on?’
‘You heard me!’ snapped the teacher.
With downcast eyes, the new boy
Pulled the shirt slowly over his head
And we all saw the dark blue bruises on his thin white arms.
Letter to a Bully
Dear Martin,
I saw your name in the paper
The other day,
And thought I’d write.
You probably won’t remember me
But I remember you.
I remember your cold blue eyes
And nasty smile,
And how you mouthed, ‘You’re dead!’
Across the classroom
When the teacher looked the other way.
I remember my cut lip
And bloody nose,
And how I rubbed by bruised shins
On the way home,
When you had run off laughing.
I remember the ache and hurt
And fear inside,
And how I dreaded end of school,
With you in wait outside
To push me up against the wall.
Yes, I saw your name in the paper
The other day,
And thought I’d write.
As I said, you probably won’t remember me,
But, oh, how I remember you.
Henry Smails
The chief defect of Henry Smails
Was chewing at his fingernails.
Nibble, nibble all the day,
He nibbled all his nails away.
Then foolish Henry licked his lips
And started on his fingertips.
His worried parents were bereft,
For Henry had no fingers left.
Then, to his parents’ deep dismay,
His hands and arms were gnawed away.
Then his body, legs and toes,
Yes, Henry nibbled all of those.
Until at last, as we had feared,
Poor Henry, he just disappeared.
Remember, children, Henry Smails
And do not bite your fingernails.
In Trouble
The boy
Outside the head teacher’s room,
Eyes red with crying,
Grubby smears on his cheeks
Where he’s wiped away the tears,
Waits to be seen.
He sighs
And plucks his hair nervously,
Then springs upright,
Like a puppet on pulled strings,
At the sound of the barking order:
‘Come in!’
The Inspector Man
‘Twas Monday and the quembling staff
Did scyre and skrimble in their shoes.
All cractious were the pupils
And the caretaker – not amused.
Beware the inspector man, my dear,
The eyes that shine, the crockatrice grin.
Beware the soft and sugary voice –
Do not be taken in.
Miss Mimsy triwered in her room.
Long time she stood, long time she thought
Then, hearing a smuffling from the hall,
She snatched up a snick of chalk.
She heard the shuckling, wheebling cry,
Then through the door the creature came.
She saw the smile and fangling teeth
And brackling eyes aflame.
But Dean had left his sports-bag out,
It sterched before him by the door,
And as the creature clumbered in,
It tripped and trumbled to the floor.
‘Oh, thou hast done a worthible deed,’
Miss Mimsy told her beamish boy,
‘For thou hast foiled the inspector man.’
She griggled in her joy.
‘Twas Monday and the quembling staff
Did scyre and skrimble in their shoes.
All cractious were the pupils
And Miss Mimsy – most amused.
Teacher
There was an old teacher called Blewitt,
Who was clever, and oh how he knew it.
‘Pay attention!’ he roared.
‘The work’s on the board.
Take a look and then I’ll go through it!’
Using Your Imagination
On Monday Miss Morrison
Said we could paint a picture
And all use our imaginations.
I drew a dragon
In a dark and dripping cave,
With yellow scaly skin
And slithery, snake-like tail,
Blue fins and bone-white horns,
Red-eyed and breathing purple flames.
But Miss Cawthorne, when she saw it, sighed and said,
‘David, dear, dragons are not yellow.
They are green!’
So There!
Our English teacher, Mr Smart,
Says writing English is an art,
That we should always take great care
When spelling words like wear and where
Witch and which andfair and fare,
Key and quay and air and heir,
Whet and wet and flair and flare,
Wring and ring and stair and stare,
Him and hymn and their and there,
Whine and wine and pear and pare,
Check and cheque and tare and tear,
Crews and cruise and hare and hair,
Meet and meat and bear and bare,
Knot and not and layer and lair,
Loot and lute and mayor and mare.
Well, frankly, sir, I just don’t care!
So there!
Letter Home
Dear Mrs McNamara,
I’m writing this to say
That your son was very naughty
When he came to school today.
The bell had gone for lessons
When your Darren wandered in,
Then he talked all through assembly
And refused to sing the hymn.
He doodled on his reading book
And wouldn’t work in class,
And at break he broke a window
And dropped litter on the grass.
Your son just would not eat his lunch
Despite the dinner lady’s plea,
Then he hid behind the curtains
And refused to do PE.
I have to say I do not like
Your Darren’s attitude.
When the head teacher had a word with him
He was very very rude.
He stamped his feet and shouted,
Then slammed the classroom door,
And screamed and shrieked and yelled and howled
All down the corridor.
Now I’m sure you will appreciate
That the situation’s grave.
I think you should keep your son at home
Until he can behave.
The thought of Darren coming back
Fills everyone with dread.
After all I’m just a pupil
And he’s the deputy head.
Examiner
The school examiner, Mrs Best,
Who spent her life devising tests,
At last is sadly laid to rest,
And now in hea
ven she’s assessed.
Kinds of Poem
Alphabet Poem
Here the alphabet is used as the structure for a twenty-six- line poem.
Calligram
The words used in a calligram – also called concrete or shape poetry – form the shape of the topic described.
Cautionary Verse
A narrative poem which often features a disobedient child or a foolish person who, as a result of his or her actions, comes to a sticky end. It teaches a salutary lesson.
Conversation Poem
A free verse or rhyming poem in which two characters hold a conversation.
Diamont
A seven-line poem written in the shape of a diamond which contains a contrast of ideas or descriptions. It ollows this pattern:
Line 1:
The topic
(1 word)
Line 2:
Describes the topic
(2 words)
Line 3:
Expresses some action
(3 words)
Line 4:
Relates to the topic
(4 words)
Line 5:
Action words about the opposite of the topic
(3 words)
Line 6:
Describes the opposite of the topic
(2 words)
Line 7:
The opposite of the topic
(1 word)
Epitaph
A short, often very simply written poem in memory of omeone who has died. You can see epitaphs carved on ombstones in the churchyard.
Free Verse
A poem without rhyme.
limerick
A short and amusing verse of five lines which follows a ixed pattern:
Line 1:
hymes with second and fifth lines
(8 or 9 syllables)
Line 2:
hymes with first and fifth lines
(8 or 9 syllables)
Line 3:
hymes with fourth line
(5 or 6 syllables)
Line 4:
hymes with third line
(5 or 6 syllables)
Line 5:
hymes with first and second lines
(8 or 9 syllables)
Parody
A poem which copies the structure of a well-known poem
for comic effect.
Rhyming Poem
Rhyme is when two words sound alike. Sometimes poems use rhyme to get our attention or to make us listen, sometimes to create a pleasing musical effect. Rhyme also gives pattern to the verses in a poem. In most rhyming poems the rhyme appears at the end of the line. In some it occurs in the middle of the line (internal rhyme). Full rhymes occur when the words sound exactly alike (as in ‘high’ and sky’). Near or half-rhymes are when the words sound similar but are not full rhymes (as in ‘mine’ and ‘grime’).
Rhythmic Poem
All poems have rhythm – that is, a pattern of beats or ounds. Some poems have a slow and stately rhythm, thers a regular singsong rhythm.
Riddle
A riddle is a word puzzle. Some riddles are one line and thers are much longer; some are easy to solve and others re very difficult.
Index of First Lines
‘And the prize for the best attendance this year goes to William Webster
41
Anne’s grandpa wears glasses
20
As you sit all tense in the dentist’s chair
5
Bully
7
Dear Granny and Grandpa
19
Dear Martin
45
Dear Mrs Auchterloonie
2
Dear Mrs McNamara
54
I really am excited!
38
I’m a daydreamer, a daydreamer
14
In a dark dark town
33
In the Home Corner
23
Inspector
8
‘It’s your turn to take the dog for a walk,’ said Dad to Lizzie
9
Little Lizzie felt quite dizzy
30
Mary in a pale blue cloak
37
Matthew saw a grey squirrel
1
Miss Cawthorne says I can’t play conkers any more
34
Miss Perkins has a vulture
27
Mrs Moore
24
Mum: And where have you been until this time?
11
My best friend
4
My father drives an ambulance
39
My story on Monday began
42
On Monday Miss Morrison
52
Our English teacher, Mr Smart
53
Please, don’t bring me back to the zoo
16
She secretes them in spaghetti
31
The boy
48
The chief defect of Henry Smails
47
The great green shiny monster stands still
13
The school examiner, Mrs Best
56
There was an old teacher called Blewitt
51
There’s a new kid
22
To the boy with his head
17
‘Twas Monday and the quembling staff
49
Up and down, up and down, on the escalator in he town
29
‘What is the point,’ asked Dad
32
When I threw a lump of mud at Michael Morrison
5
When Leroy laughed
36
When we had PE
44
‘Will you come out of the bathroom!
40
‘You are not going out like that tonight!
10
‘Your picture’s most unusual,’ Miss Moore, our teacher, said
28