Annie's Rhymes - Auld Intae New

Creating New Rhymes For Old In Doric - Workshop Contents

In the 2 hour workshop, the pupils get a quick introduction to the project - who Annie was, how she collected rhymes and how the class will work together with Pauline to create some new rhymes then create their new-for-old rhymes in groups. Workshops are split roughly one hour before and after the morning break.

We start off finding out about Doric and how it varies depending on whether you're from the coast, the land or the toon! Many pupils start off declaring "Nah, wi dinna spik ony Doric ava in oor hoose!"
Then it's time for creating a vocabulary of Doric words on the board - fit, fan, foo, far, fae! Words for clothing, words for animals, words for body parts - our favourite Doric words!

Next we talk about Annie's life and how different it must have been to our lives today. How was work different without washing machines, cookers, tractors, sewing machines? How was transport different - how do they think Annie got around to collect her rhymes? And finally - what did people do in their leisure time without TV, iPads, smartphones?

Then it's time to create the first rhyme!
The project title "Fan The Loons An Lassikies Cam Oot Tae Play" takes its name from one of Annie's original collected rhymes. All schools involved in the project have worked with this one, choosing another time of year to write their "New for Auld" rhyme.

Yule has come and Yule has gane
And we've aa fared weel
Jockie's at his flail again
And Jenny's at her wheel
An aa the loons an lassikies are back tae the skweel

Here, we look at the original rhyme and work together as a class - translating any Doric words and asking what the whole rhyme means. What time of year is it? What is this flail that Jockie is working with (it's an agricultural tool used for threshing grains!) What kind of wheel would Jenny be working with over 100 years ago?

The class will then choose a favourite time of year (Breaking up for school holidays! Halloween! Easter!) and, with Pauline's help, decide what they want the rhyme to say and fit the whole thing together, using Doric words where they can.

If there is still time before the morning break, the class will work with Pauline to create a new rhyme from scratch. Typically two lines expressing things they like, followed by two rhyming lines of dislikes. Or a rhyme about a person or animal getting into some sort of funny problem.

After break, the classes are split into groups of 3. A mixed ability group is preferable. The classes are handed a glossary sheet, some vocabulary sheets (see below for downloads) and a worksheet containing one of Annie's rhymes.

Each worksheet has the instruction to read over the rhyme and use the glossary for any difficult or new Doric words. Only a short time should be spent on understanding the original rhyme as laboriously writing out a literal translation can take up a lot of the group's time!

Each worksheet then has some suggestions for their New-For-Old rhyme.
For example:

Teachers, assistants and Pauline can help the pupils in their groups to create new rhymes, encouraging Doric vocabulary wherever possible.

Once the rhymes have been written, the pupils are asked to illustrate them. They can also illustrate the two rhymes created with Pauline in class. These illustrations can be worked on after the 2 hour workshop has finished.

The workshops are designed for Primaries 4 to 7 (2 hours), with a possible shorter visit (approximately 45 minutes) to the Primary 1 to 3 classes. In a smaller school the 2 hour workshop can be run with composite classes of older pupils. In a larger school, a primary 6 or primary 7 can be chosen to benefit from the workshops. Similarly, the 45 minute visit could be to a composite P1-3 class in smaller schools or a P3 class in larger schools.

P4-7 Workshop

The younger pupils get a much shorter visit - typically 45 minutes before lunchtime.

Pauline will tell them about Annie Shirer and her life - again discussing how her life would have been different from ours. The class will learn about how she would escape the hard work and caring for sick relatives at home and head off on her bicycles to collect songs and rhymes from the folks that lived in the local area.

Pauline will read a couple of Annie's rhymes, explaining what they mean - for example!
The auld wives o’ Crichie haud a gey Aiky Fair,
They danced roond the tents wi’ their jiggers a’ bare.

The class will then work with Pauline to create a couple of new rhymes from scratch. Typically the first rhyme will be based on something local. For example, the Kininmonth pupils wrote a rhyme about Annie herself, heading off on her bike; Fishie pupils wrote about why Fishie is the nickname for Fetterangus; Mintlaw pupils had the options to write about the Monks of Deer or Aden Country Park and Crimond pupils could write about the tune named after their village - or the fact that the kirk clock face has 61 seconds!

A second rhyme will be written, if there is time! Pupils are free to choose their own theme.

Again, pupils are asked to illustrate their new rhymes, but the teachers are also provided with 3 or 4 of Annie's original rhymes which we think will inspire some fantastic drawings - and so far we have not been dissapointed!

To book your own workshop or to find out how to run your own, please see the contact form at the bottom of this page.

P1-3 Workshop

Workshop Resources

A glossary of many of the Doric terms used in Annie's rhymes selected for the project. Click on the image to download the pdf.

Two pages of Doric Beasts or animals.
Click on the image to download the pdf.

Some Doric Body Parts.
Click on the image to download the pdf.

Some Doric Claes or Clothes
Click on the image to download the pdf.

Sets of Doric rhyming words including many from the project.
Click on the image to download the pdf.

Book a Doric Rhyme Workshop with Pauline

Interested in bringing the richness of Doric language and rhyme into your classroom? Pauline offers engaging workshops tailored for primary pupils.

Each session includes:
- A 2-hour workshop for P4–P7 pupils
- A 45-minute workshop for P1–P3 pupils

To request a booking, please complete the contact form.

The workshop cost is £165 plus travel expenses. We may also be able to suggest potential funding sources to help support your workshop—just let us know if you’re interested.