🏰 Sonnets KS2 | Exploring Shakespeare for Primary

Sonnets might sound like something from another world — kings, queens, and quills! — but they’re actually full of rhythm, emotion and fun. With a little creativity, even KS2 pupils can enjoy writing their own mini-Shakespearean masterpieces.

Through Sonnets KS2, pupils can:
📜 Learn about rhyme and rhythm in a creative way
💬 Build confidence performing classic and modern poetry
✍️ Experiment with structure and form
🎭 Explore character and voice through drama and performance

👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.

📅 You can book me for:

In-person Poetry Days across the UK
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)

➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland

💡 What Is a Sonnet?

A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines, traditionally written about love, life, or time.
It follows a special rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) and has a musical rhythm called iambic pentameter — ten beats per line, like a heartbeat.

That might sound tricky, but children quickly get it when they clap the beats:
da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM!

There are many kinds of sonnets, but the most famous are by William Shakespeare, whose poems overflow with imagery and emotion.

✍️ Sonnet 1 – Homework, O Homework!

A light-hearted sonnet about every child’s favourite topic — homework!

Homework, O Homework!

Homework, O Homework! My enemy, my foe,
You steal my evenings, ruin all my fun.
While friends play football, I must learn to grow
By copying spellings one by one.
You make me write of Romans, kings and queens,
Of fronted adverbials and SPaG.
I dream of screens and crisps and jeans,
But find myself in learning’s weary drag.
Yet when the work is done, I feel a glow,
My brain expands — perhaps you’re not so bad.
Still, Monday night, I’d rather watch a show,
Than read about a Greedy Goat called Brad.
So though you test my patience day and night,
You keep me clever — and that feels right.

💡 Activity ideas:

Rhyme hunt: Highlight the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG pattern.
Perform it: Half the class reads “moaning” lines, the other half reads the positives.
Writing task: Pupils write their own “Sonnet to…” (e.g., Sonnet to My Maths Book, Sonnet to My Phone).

🔗 Related: Funny Poems KS2 | School Poems KS2

⚽ Sonnet 2 – To My Football Boots

Even Shakespeare might have written about football if he’d had the chance!

To My Football Boots

O faithful boots, all muddy, scuffed and torn,
You’ve felt the grass and heard the crowd’s loud roar.
From break-time battles to the frosty morn,
You’ve helped me shoot and cheer and sometimes score.
Your laces flapping, tongues that never stay,
Your golden studs that glisten in the rain.
You’ve won me glory — though not every day,
And carried me through victory and pain.
When Saturday arrives, you’ll take your place,
Beside the bag of muddy shirts and dreams.
Each kick a moment, each goal a chase,
Each match more thrilling than it ever seems.
O faithful boots, don’t let me down today —
Let’s win this game the Shakespearean way!

💡 Activity ideas:

Drama warm-up: Act out the “voice of the boots.”
Art link: Design your own “heroic” sporting sonnet poster.
PE link: Write sonnets celebrating teamwork, sport, and fair play.

🔗 Related: Sports Poems KS2 | Performance Poetry KS2

🍽️ Sonnet 3 – O, Lunchtime!

A celebration of that most glorious part of the school day!

O, Lunchtime!

O, Lunchtime! Bell of joy and hope and chips,
You save us from the morning’s grammar groan.
We grab our trays with smiles upon our lips,
And race to find the seats we call our own.
The smell of gravy drifts across the hall,
The dinner ladies shout “Don’t run so fast!”
We swap our jokes and puddings, one and all,
And hope the custard isn’t from last class.
Then playground freedom calls us out to run,
To climb, to chat, to laugh and sometimes fall.
You are my break, my joy, my daily sun,
O, Lunchtime — best of all!
If lessons drag, I’ll dream of you divine,
And count the minutes ’til you once are mine!

💡 Activity ideas:

Performance poem: Add clapping or tray-banging rhythm.
PSHE link: Discuss why breaks are good for wellbeing.
Creative task: Write “Sonnet to My Playground” or “Sonnet to My Best Friend.”

🏫 Sonnet 4 – A Modern Classroom Sonnet

This one explains what it’s like to write a sonnet today — mixing old-school charm with modern life!

A Modern Classroom Sonnet

We tap our pens, our laptops start to hum,
We try to think in rhythm, beat and rhyme.
Our teacher smiles and waits for wisdom to come,
But all we write is “poems take too much time.”
We count the lines and see we’re almost there,
Fourteen in total — not so hard at all!
We rhyme “bear” with “chair” and “hair” with “flare,”
And write of dragons flying down the hall.
We read it loud, the class begins to cheer,
Our sonnet’s finished, and it even flows!
Perhaps old Shakespeare would applaud from here,
And whisper softly, “Nicely done, my pros!”
So next time someone says, “This form’s too old,”
We’ll say, “It’s ours — we made it bold!”

💡 Activity ideas:

Group challenge: Write a collaborative sonnet line-by-line.
Cross-curricular link: Tie to English History or Shakespeare Week.
Extension: Try writing a “half-sonnet” (7 lines) for younger pupils.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Notes

Curriculum links:

English: rhyme, rhythm, poetic forms, language play
History: Shakespeare and Tudor England
Drama: performance and voice
PSHE: confidence and self-expression

Differentiation:

Support: use a simplified 8-line “mini sonnet.”
Challenge: maintain full iambic pentameter.

Engagement tips:

Perform in pairs as “modern Shakespeareans.”
Compare your sonnet to one of Shakespeare’s (like Sonnet 18).
Decorate with quills, scrolls or digital art for display.

🌟 Final Thoughts

Sonnets might be centuries old, but they’re still full of fun and creativity.
With humour, rhythm and teamwork, KS2 pupils can make this classic form their own — just as Shakespeare would have wanted!