Poetry the Wondercrump Way

John Lynch on writing poetry with the children of Handford Hall Primary School in Suffolk – School of the Year winners for the 1994 Wondercrump Poetry Competition.

There are many strategies for getting children to produce powerful and committed writing. However, all of them can equally produce the bland and mediocre if children do not sense the will of their teacher; the will to produce something exciting, original; something that takes reality by surprise. For me, and for other staff at Handford Hall, the role model offered by the teacher is critical; I often use my own writing to initiate or support writing sessions, and invariably write alongside the children.

Patrick’s poem, ‘Bullies’, was written at an after-school Writers’ Club that I run. I talked about my own experiences of being bullied when I was a child. Not surprisingly, most of the children didn’t want to relate personal accounts to an audience of 30 or more of their peers so we decided to write about bullies in general; what sort of things they do; what they say, and so on. I read ‘Duncan Gets Expelled’ by Jackie Kay and we used her idea of the bullies having ‘things’ in their teeth and pockets.

During the actual writing session the whole class wrote in silence, in response to a question, like ‘What sort of things do bullies say?’ or, ‘What have they got in their heads?’ My questions press buttons that activate the children’s ideas; the silence and the limited time span between questions causes what Ted Hughes calls, ‘a crisis, which rouses the brains resources: the compulsion towards haste overthrows the ordinary precautions, flings everything into top gear, and many things that are usually hidden find themselves rushed into the open. Barriers break down, prisoners come out of their cells.’ Also, the reading out of separate bits by some of the children as others listen or continue to write, establishes a kind of collective consciousness where ideas are picked up, re-formed, altered and made personal. Sometimes, children will read out whole sections, and others will offer feedback: ‘I like the bit where you say …’ or, ‘Why don’t you say something about …’

Bullies

They say things like,

‘Shut up!’ ‘Oi, Smelly!’

‘Baby Boy! get out of me way!’

‘Gollywog!’ ‘Fatface!’

They punch, kick, elbow,

push, stare, break your arm

in the middle of the playground

to make you have a nose bleed.

They’ve got lasers in their eyes,

knives in their teeth,

dangerous music in their brains.

At home, they feel left out

when their mum says

it’s time for bed.

Patrick Anderson (7)

Handford Hall County Primary School, lpswich, Suffolk

(Age Category Winner

(School of the Year)

 

The bush

Next to my dad’s grave

there’s a playground,

to make us happy,

and at the far end

there’s a bush.

I never go into it.

It’s all prickles

with bluebells, daisies

and roses beside it.

Joe went in the last time we went.

I was scared

because I didn’t know

what was in there,

and I didn’t know

what was going

to happen to him.

Ellie Thomson (7)

Handford Hall County Primary School, Ipswich, Suffolk.

(Age Category Winner)

(School of the Year)

Ellie’s poem, ‘The Bush’, was written at Writers’ Club, too. It came out of a discussion about personal experiences of being scared. I encouraged the children to talk to a partner, then to talk in larger groups. Then, if they wanted to, to relate a personal experience to the class. I related a personal experience of being scared. Next, I asked the children to write about a time they were scared. They wrote for about 15 minutes, in silence, with no input from me. The structure came from the sequences of talk, and the request itself. Some children wrote stories, some wrote newspaper-type reports; some, like Ellie, wrote in a more personal style.

Laura’s ‘Poem’ was simply an idea borrowed from Ink-slinger edited by Morag Styles and Helen Cook. This was an off-the-cuff writing session where the children were asked to use metaphor as a way of talking about a poem. Laura’s poem was a snowflake.

‘I’ve thought of a poem.

I carry it in my hands

like a snowflake.

If it melts, I’ve lost it.

So I put it somewhere cold

until I can write it down.

A snowflake wouldn’t

be the same without

the coldness, and

the stars inside it.’

This piece of writing, like the others, was drafted. The emphasis, at the beginning, is on getting ideas on the page. After the first draft, the children edit their work. This can involve re-ordering parts of text, deleting parts, finding better, more appropriate vocabulary; ensuring that their writing makes sense and says what they want it to say, and so on. I also get the children to work together; each child has a response partner who gives oral feedback, then writes on a post-it and sticks it to their partner’s draft. Spellings are checked; how many are corrected will depend on what the writer wants, and on the purpose and audience for the writing. Punctuation and handwriting are also considered specifically at this point in the writing process.

Above all else, it’s how the children experience this writing process at school that is most important. Who do they see it belonging to? Who is the writing for? Why do they write? These are the fundamental questions, whether they are writing poetry, stories, science reports, thank-you letters or whatever. All are based around the issue of ownership. In terms of the writing I’ve focused on here, this issue is addressed when the teacher allows, and ensures, that the child’s voice comes through on the page.

Wondercrump Poetry is published by Red Fox, 0 09 952261 6, £3.99.

Other books mentioned:

‘Duncan Gets Expelled’ is from Two’s Company published by Blackie, 0 216 93317 X, £5.99; Puffin, 0 14 036952 X, £2.99.

The Ted Hughes quote is from Poetry in the Making, Faber, 0 571 09076 1, £4.99.

Ink-slinger is published by A & C Black, 0 7136 3320 4, £6.95.