Sally Bavage writes
Year 3 have been studying animals, including humans, as part of their science work this term. They have also worked with the school's favourite Proper Professional Published Poet – James Nash – who returns to the school by acclaim, after more than a two-year pandemic break, and is so warmly greeted by the former year 3's now in year 6 who remember his work with them in December 2019.
This time the young writers were inspired by the skeleton and found it great fun to write, edit and redraft poetry about bodies. And read either their whole poem or their favourite lines to an audience of one hundred staff, other year groups and around twenty parents/carers. I remind myself these are seven or eight years old, with the aplomb of adults and the ability to milk a line here and there. Fantastic.
“I am a spine.
I keep the back up straight and look like a blunt sword without a handle.”
“I am a skull. A face without flesh.”
“I'm a femur, the strongest bone and like a propellor connected to the tibia and fibula.”
“I like to go the NHS. Try to break me!”
“i'm a ribcage and look like a shelter.
Nothing gets out of my cage.”
I'm ribs. I look like a helter skelter.”
“I'm a spine. The shoulders sit on me and squash me. I never get any rest.”
I am a toe bone. I have nine other brothers and sisters.
The fingers are my cousins.”
What imagery. What use of vocabulary.
There were many other comments about keeping these bodies healthy with exercise and nutrition – the scientific learning has definitely struck home and been interpreted through poetry. A LitFest first.
One mum said: “The poetry was so expressive; my son has talked a lot about it at home and really enjoyed it.” A dad commented: “I'm really blown away by the lines my daughter wrote and chose to read out.”
Class teacher Helen Barley was so impressed with the descriptions they used and found several children had really surprised her with their confidence and the quality of their writing. The whole class really enjoyed collecting all the bone words they could use in their verses.
Headteacher Jane Devane was so pleased to have James Nash back in again after the disruptions of the Covid years. She said: “Always so joyful to have James in school, inspiring children to love poetry and see themselves as poets too.”
Last words to the children.
“We've loved learning how to write a poem.”
“Really good fun.”
and, of course,
“Poems don't have to rhyme!”
Grateful thanks are given to the Outer West Area Management Committee of councillors, whose funding for a visiting poet allowed this to go ahead.
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