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English for Life Reader
Grade 7
Home Language
Compiled by Elaine Ridge
Best Books
| Strategies for reading poetry | |
| 1. | Preview the poem – notice the poem’s form: its shape, length, title (why did the poet choose that particular title?) length of its lines, and whether or not it has stanzas. |
| 2. | Visualise the images – in your mind’s eye, picture the images and comparisons the poem makes. Do the images remind you of feelings or experiences you have had? |
| 3. | Try to figure out the theme/main idea – ask yourself, “What’s the point of this poem? What message is the poet trying to send or help me create? Why did the poet write this poem in the first place?” |
| 4. | READ AND RE-READ THE POEM UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND – much “heavy reading” must be read thoroughly, considered and thought about over and over again until it is understood. If some of the most intelligent people in the world have to reread literature in order to understand it, don’t you think that you have to? |
| 5. | Above all: Enjoy and have fun! Put yourself in the “puzzle” mode trying to figure out what the poem’s message is. |
| Pre-reading | |
| 1. | This poem uses a good example of the effect of alliteration. The sound ‘fl’ at the beginning of words is repeated often. Practise saying “ffffllllllll” so that you sound like a fly flapping its wings so hard that it makes a fluttering, buzzing sound! |
| During reading | |
| 2. | Enjoy the wordplay as you listen to or read this poem. |
A flea and a fly in a flue
Ogden Nash
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do
Said the fly, ‘Let us flee.’
‘Let us fly,’ said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
flue – a pipe which sends hot air or gas or smoke towards a chimney
flaw – an imperfection or weakness; in a pipe this would be a crack
| Post-reading | ||
| 3. | Why does this poem amuse us? (Why might we enjoy repeating this poem several times?) | |
| 4. | What does the fly suggest that they do? | |
| a) | Does the flea agree with the fly? | |
| b) | How do they escape? | |
| 5. | This is a limerick. Note the number of lines, the particular rhyme scheme and the rhythm that you must use. Now write your own. | |
| Pre-reading | |
| 1. | Skim the poem to find out what happens. |
| During reading | |
| 2. | While you read more slowly, see what you can pick up “between the lines” about the sort of person the speaker is and why she feels so happy when the boy gives her a radiant smile. |
busstop
Michele Freind
i saw a nice boy
with long sideburns
and short hair and a blue suit.
he stood in front of me in the bus queue.
when the bus came
he stood back
to let me climb into the bus in front of him.
i turned to thank him
he gave me a radiant smile
it warmed my heart and made my day beautiful.
and then (wrapt in a haze of rosy dreams)
i tripped
and fell into the bus
flat on my stupid face.
sideburns – hair grown down the side of a man’s face. (It was considered “cool” to havethese sideburns!)
wrapt –poetic way of writing wrapped
haze – light mist
rosy – romantic
| Post-reading | ||
| 3. | Why do you think the speaker does not give us the name of the boy? | |
| 4. a) | The speaker says she was “wrapt in a haze of rosy dreams”. What do you think these dreams were about? | |
| b) | Are we intended to laugh at what happened to the girl? Can you pick up the clue in the last line which shows that she is laughing at herself? | |
| 5. | Can you think of a reason why there are no capital letters and there is very little punctuation in this poem? | |
| Pre-reading | |
| 1. | From the way the poem is laid out on the page, you can see that it is a letter. Many of the words that were used at first are crossed-out, and re-written. Skim through the poem twice, first reading the crossed-out words, and the second time, omit the crossed-out words. |
| During reading | |
| 2. | As you read through the poem, consider why it is important to keep the crossed-out words. |
Thank-you letter
Robin Klein
Dear Aunty Grace, Mum said I had to
I’m writing this letter to say
I hate that terrible dress you sent
I adore the dress you sent today.
Eek! Mauve! The colour’s just terrific!
Those little puff sleeves are really neat!
Frilly socks to match! It’s just too much!
I’d rather wear blisters on my feet!
Mum says the dress looks sweetly charming.
It suits me now I’m growing up.
I was really made to try that thing on
I really felt like throwing up!
The lace around the hem’s a nightmareI
I WON’T wear that ghastly dress! a dream!
I’ve never seen such pretty ruffles.
I hope I wake up before I scream!
You shouldn’t have spent so much money,
but thanks for such a
