Laura got in touch with me a few months ago because she and her class had discovered Poetry Box. I invited her to send her some poems and tell us what they did. I was so delighted that Poetry Box can stretch and inspire other places. The young poets have most definitely used their eyes and ears, as their poems sound good and are popping with juicy detail. Thank you so much for sending these in. Great job! Happy poem days across the other side of the world!
This from Laura:
The whole of Year 5 (pupils aged 9 and 10) had an hour’s session on poetry during our Go Global week.
For the session I put together a brief powerpoint explaining about you with a link to your website, and an extract from the email you sent about the possibility of their poems featuring on your blog, which made them very excited and motivated! Then there were a few photos of the Tui bird (which the children had never seen before), after which we read your poem about the bird. Following this we switched our focus to the kiwi bird: we listened to its cry, watched a short video of it moving and looked at photos of it. I also shared some key facts about it with the children – they were particularly fascinated by the size of its eggs! It was then their turn to write. Given the time constraints, I did not give them any instructions regarding form etc, although I did stipulate that the use of rhyme should not be their foremost concern. A few pupils decided to copy the structure of your tui poem.
I was really pleased with the energy and enthusiasm the pupils showed during the session. They certainly enjoyed learning about the kiwi. They also loved having the freedom to write poetry without having to follow any rules – so rare in our very crowded curriculum!
Some of the poems:
The Kiwi
The kiwi,
the king of the bush.
As small as a netball.
As sensitive as a snake.
As fluffy as a puppy.
As protective as my mum.
Sleeps all day and parties all night.
He sings his song camouflaged in the green.
As rare as a white tiger,
As lovable as a pony.
by Bella M
The Kiwi
Kiwis have a long beak,
thin beak, white beak, pointy beak.
They have black feathers,
furry feathers, heavy feathers, fat feathers.
Noisy kiwis,
quiet kiwis, old kiwis, young kiwis,
in the New Zealand land,
wild land, hot land, forest land
in a loyal pair
nocturnal pair, Oceania pair, grand pair.
by Scott R
The Kiwi
Its beak long and thin
Its feathers soft and rare
Its squawk high and constant
The kiwi bird.
Sensitive like a cat,
Lovable like a dog
Wings without flight
Bushy like a koala
The kiwi bird.
Burrows like a rabbit
Nocturnal like a bat
Eggs like planets
Legs long and stringy
The kiwi bird.
by Bruno C
The Kiwi Bird
Kiwi, kiwi, small and brown,
Kiwi, kiwi, on the ground,
Kiwi, kiwi, camouflaged and rare,
Kiwi, kiwi, I know you’re there.
She sleeps by day and comes out at night,
and meets her mate in the moonlight,
her body is hard to see when it’s as dark as night.
She eats her food of bugs and plants
then return to her burrow to sleep.
by Lucy W
The Kiwi
The kiwi is a little bird, a tiny bird, a small bird.
He is a fat bird, a chubby bird, an enormous bird.
He is a rough bird, a feisty bird, a naughty bird.
The kiwi has a big egg, a huge egg, a fat egg.
by Scott W
Kiwi poem
Kiwi is a small, small bird,
But doesn’t live in a herd.
The kiwi has a big, brown back,
And also a trimmed tail.
The kiwi bird is very fat,
It has whiskers like a cat,
It has claws like strips of silver,
And feathers like a glowing river.
by Michael S
The Kiwi Bird
I am endangered,
I am small and round.
I can’t fly at all,
but I get around.
My whiskers are long,
my beak is sharp.
My eggs are large
but I am small.
Can’t you guess me at all?
I am squeaky and cheeky,
lovable and cute.
Still can’t guess me? One more clue:
I burrow in the ground,
You should be able to guess me now.
Fine, I will tell you.
I am a kiwi bird, get it now?
by Poppy T
My Kiwi Poem
The other birds don’t like me much
They say I have no feathers to touch.
They say I don’t sing but squawk
and that’s not really proper bird talk.
They say that I have an odd bird name
and when I am around I am a pain.
I have huge eggs that I do lay
and that’s what the other birds say.
Although the other birds don’t like me
I’m a happy bird, can’t you see?
by Lily S
