Specific poem formats
Autumn
After summer, the leaves of the claret ash change colour;
Upgraded are the efforts of last spring.
Temerariously, the fairies of autumn tint each leaf: rouge, tangerine, golden.
Ultimately a masterpiece, resplendent!
Merrily a gust of wind arrives with a chill, the tree shivers,
Not remembering to hold on to its marvellous cloak.
Studying the physical and natural world through
Careful observation
Investigating ideas
Experimenting
Noting results
Collecting facts
Ending with our best conclusions.
Sensational
Chemistry
Is
Exciting.
Nicely
Causing
Explosions!
TEACHER’S REVENGE !
“Time, boys time!” the teacher said,
“Enough’s enough, now off to bed!”
At least ten minutes we stayed before
Cautiously opening the dormitory door,
Held our breath and tiptoed out.
Everyone was just about
Ready to raid the pantry when –
‘“So! Caught out red-handed then!”
Right, left, right to the dorm we went,
Each of us dreading sir’s intent –
Very grounded the rest of term or
Each of us feel the cane’s full furor!
Now we all think twice about
Going forth after lights are out!
Everyone KNOWS what waits without!
J.R.POULTER
ACROSTIC – TEACHER’S REVENGE Teacher Notes by J.R.Poulter
My father was sent to boarding school from an early age. His stories of life in a large boarding school, about what the boys got up to, inspired my acrostic.
School life today is both the same and very different.
Activity: List ways school life has not changed.
List ways in which it has changed.
Are the changes for the better or worse?
In giving you answer, write an acrostic using the word,
YES, for changes to the better, and the word, NAY, for changes for the worse.
Whoops!
William Hopper was a flea,
He hopped high as high could be.
Oh no William hopped too high –
On a pigeon passing by!
Pigeon flicked him off mid-air,
Splat went William everywhere
Road-side grass heads nodding
Mark the path
Echidna lumbers on oblivious
Virginia Lowe
Click, clack, click, clack
No, I’m not a knick-knack
Do you know what I am?
Can you do what I can?
Crash, clang, bang, bash
Eyes flash the cymbals smash
Put me down, see me go
Watch me give a tuneful show
Walking, marching, shuffling too
Do you need another clue?
Wind me up and I will roam
Romping, plodding through your home.
In a fancy stripy jacket,
Making such an awesome racket.
A very long and curly tail
Swirling like a garden snail
Brown and fluffy, squashed flat nose
Arms and legs and curly toes.
Do you know what I am?
Can you do what I can?
I am of course a children’s toy,
A lovable pal for girl or boy.
A wind-up monkey with a hat
To chase away that sneaky cat!
I could be quite mistaken
but I’m feeling pretty sure
that polliwog’s a word
you’ve never come across before.
And pobblebonk’s another,
with a funny kind of sound,
a word I’m also certain
you have never seen around.
They’re not a type of candy
or variety of fish.
They’re not exotic items
in some oriental dish.
They don’t have beaks or feathers
and they’re not a breed of dog.
A polliwog’s a tadpole
and a pobblebonk’s a frog.
I will give you a smile if you care to look up
but I won’t show my face on a dark, dark night.
I will rule over oceans as though they are slaves
but I won’t ever say if that’s wrong or right.
I will make a lake’s surface a silvery spread
but I won’t share my shine when the day is bright.
I will block out the Sun every once-in-a-while.
My Solar Eclipse is an awesome sight!
Celia said: There was a Total Solar Eclipse over part of the USA recently. Our Moon is 400 times smaller, yet 400 times closer than the Sun. This precise difference makes them appear the same size from Earth. When they line up perfectly, it can take our breath away! Imagine what a riddle this event must have posed to people centuries ago, before we really understood the movements of the stars, planets and our silvery Moon.
MY
Being.
Blossoming Blooming
Balanced Bedazzling Ball-of-Fire
Being Befriended, Beloved By
ME
Robyn said: Nearly a Diamante! Every child is a diamond. Some need love to polish those prisms so they can shine. Poetry in kids’ prisons would help! What a marvelous thing for kids to do – create positive poems about themselves using this pattern!
