lion
d) cat
e) hen
f) sheep
7. Suggest a reason why the cow cannot stray.
The first tooth
Charles and Mary Lamb
Through the house what busy joy,
Just because the infant boy
has a tiny tooth to show!
I have got a double row,
all as white, and all as small;
yet no one cares for mine at all.
He can say but half a word,
yet that single sound’s preferred
To all the words that I can say
In the longest summer day.
He cannot walk, yet if he put
with mimic motion out his foot,
As if he thought he were advancing,
It’s prized more than my best dancing.
1. Why is the poem called “The first tooth”?
2. What does the word “infant” suggest about the age of the boy?
3. Give an example of alliteration from the poem.
4. What does “prized more” mean?
5. What does everybody prefer to all the words the older sibling can say?
6. Quote a word to prove that the infant tries to imitate movement.
Vocabulary
Infant – small child, baby
mimic – imitate
prized – valued
If things grew down
Robert D. Hoeft
If things grew down
Instead of up,
A dog would grow
Into a pup.
A cat would grow
Into a kitten.
Your sweater would grow
Into a mitten.
A cow would grow
Into a calf
And a whole would grow
Into half.
Big would grow
Into something small
And small would grow
Into nothing at all.
Vocabulary
sweater – a jersey or pullover
mitten – a glove that covers four fingers together and the thumb separately
1. Match the animal in column A with its young in column B. Write down the animal and its young.
2. What other “things” does the poet mention and what do they “grow” into?
3. What warning does the poet give at the end of the poem?
4. Use a dictionary and choose the meaning from column B to fit the expression that contains the word “dog” in column A.
5. Write down a homophone for “whole” (line 11). What is the difference in meaning between these two words?
The vulture
Hilaire Belloc
The Vulture eats between his meals
And that’s the reason why
He very, very rarely feels
As well as you and I.
His eye is dull, his head is bald,
His neck is growing thinner.
Oh! what a lesson for us all
To only eat at dinner!
Have a discussion with your friend.
• Do vultures play any role in nature? What role is it?
• Why do you think it is important that we protect vultures?
• Why do you think vultures are bald?
• Will a vulture attack a calf? Why?
Questions
1. A quatrain is a stanza that has four lines. How many quatrains are in this poem?
2. Write down the rhyme scheme of the poem.
3. Which two words describe what the vulture looks like?
4. Why does a vulture feel unwell all the time?
5. What lesson is to be learnt from the vulture?
6. A group of vultures is called a colony. What are the collective names for the following:
a) A group of chickens is a . . .
b) A group of cattle is a . . .
c) A lot of cookies is a . . .
7. Choose the correct answer and complete the sentence:The vulture is a .
