SAMPLE FROM THE KEY STAGE ONE POETRY PACK (QUESTIONS PUBLISHING 2003)

FAMILY POEMS

My Gran's got a motorbike

My gran's got a motorbike
Come sun or hail or rain or snow
My gran's dressed, she's got to go !
Whatever form or type of weather
On goes gran's protective leather

She doesn't drive or sail or hike
My gran's got a motorbike !

She likes to ride and see the view
From her B. M. W.,
But watch her and you'll see she's fonder
of her nicely polished Honda

She doesn't drive or sail or hike
My gran's got a motorbike !

The first one she was ever caught on
Was her dad's expensive Norton,
Its chrome would shine, its wheels would gleam,
She even liked the headlight beam !

She doesn't drive or sail or hike
My gran's got a motorbike !

But on her Harley Davidson
I'm sad to say she did 'the ton',
Her teeth shot out - it didn't suit her,
So now she only rides a scooter.

She still won't drive or sail or hike
At night she dreams of motorbikes.

My Baby Brother

It was ace … having a baby brother !
it meant I was never last
in running, hopping, jumping races
it meant I always won
the 'Who is tallest competition ?'
it meant I was never a baddie
he was !
When my friends and I played 'Scientists'
and we made our special
brown sauce, milk, salt and lemonade potion
there was always someone to try it !
It was ace … having a baby brother,
Even if he sometimes got angry
For no reason at all !

Dad's into D.I.Y.

Dad's into D.I.Y.
Shelves are leaning … ask us why ?
Dad's into D.I.Y.

The roofs collapsing,
Taps are leaking
Mum and Dad are hardly speaking
Why such trouble … this is why
Dad's into D.I.Y.

The washer leaves a flooded floor,
Rooms now have lost their doors,
The fish tanks' dry and the fish are in it
If we see Dad's hammer we just bin it,
It's a problem, why oh why
Is dad into D.I.Y.

Around our house a paint smell lingers,
He hammers nails into his fingers,
Trips on tools, spills carpet cleaner
On the dog, who's getting meaner,
All because … and you know why
My dad's into D.I.Y. !

Family Poems : Notes for Teachers

The two main advantages of reading themed groups of poems with pupils are

The three poems included here were chosen for their structural variety.

'My gran's got a motorbike' rhymes in couplets and has a repeating chorus.

'My baby brother' is an example of free verse (no rhyming structure).

'Dad's into D.I.Y.' has a more fluid rhyming pattern which includes both triplets,

The roofs collapsing
Taps are leaking
Mum and Dad are hardly speaking

and couplets
Around our house a paint smell lingers
He hammers nails into his fingers.

A discussion of the similarities and differences of these three poems can be used as an introduction to the following activities :

The publication of pupils' poems in book format, and its inclusion in a class (or school) library context, is a useful means of motivating pupils and helping them to view themselves as authors.

National Literacy Strategy Links
Year 1 Term 3 T.9 : to read a variety of poems on similar themes