Three-page PDF with KS1 cross-curricular activity ideas
KS1
Years 1-2
With its poetic prose and evocative illustrations, The Tear Thief by former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy can inspire learning across the curriculum.
These cross-curricular activity ideas help you explore the characters, and look at the metaphors and similes in the text. You’ll also examine the way the book uses the language of sound to create atmosphere.
Why teach The Tear Thief?
The Tear Thief is a glorious book to share with children. Inside its pages you will find poetic language, stunning illustrations and a powerful message about emotional truth.
The author, Carol Ann Duffy, was the first woman ever to hold the Poet Laureate post in the United Kingdom.
There’s certainly a sense of poetry in the language of this book, with its rhythm, colours, textures and original imagery. The poetic language is complemented by Nicoletta Ceccoli’s ethereal pictures, with their blue, ghostly tinge.
What is the book about?
On the surface, The Tear Thief’s story is a simple one. The tear thief is a ghostly character who moves invisibly through the night.
Her job is to collect tears from the children she visits, and she does this each day, in the hour between suppertime and bedtime.
Some of the tears she collects are those of anger, red and glowing like rubies, shed by a child in a furious tantrum. Others are tears of jealousy, or self-pity, or fear – all with different qualities and colours.
But the most precious tears of all are those of true sadness, which are worth more than diamonds. Their very special secret is only revealed right at the end of the story
Sue Cowley is an experienced teacher, author and presenter, and an expert on creative approaches to teaching and learning. Browse National Poetry Day resources.
