Thursday 8 December 2016

FORM TWO POEM: What is Red by Mary O'Neil

Image result for mary O'neill

Mary O'Neill knew from childhood that she wanted to be a writer. She began her careers an advertising copywriter, and after becoming a partner in her own agency, she moved to New York. There she divided her time, as author and housewife, and she started to write children's books for Doubleday, of which Hailstones and Halibut Bones is the most famous.Mary O'Neill, a children's book author, died of heart failure on Jan. 2 in Yuma (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center. She was 84 years old.


What is Red?

Red is a sunset
Blazing and bright.
Red is feeling brave
With all your might.
Red is a sunburn
A spot on your nose.
Sometimes red, is a red red rose.
Red squiggles out when you cut your hand.
Red is a brick
And the sounds of a band.
Red is hotness
You get inside
When you’re embarrassed
And want to hide.
Fire-cracker, fire-engine
Fire-flicker red –
And when you’re angry
Red runs through your head.

Red is an Indian
A Valentine heart,
The trimmings on
A circus cart.
Red is a lipstick
Red is a shout
Red is a signal
That says, “Watch out!”
Red is a great big
Rubber ball.
Red is the giant-est
Colour of all.
Red is a show-off,
No doubt about it –
But can you imagine
Living without it?

RED


Related image  Image result for red spot on nose  Image result for sunburn
Image result for red rose Image result for bleeding hand  Image result for red bricks

Image result for red hot steel  Image result for red face embarassed  Image result for fire crackers


Image result for fire engine  Related image Image result for angry face

Image result for red indian  Related image  Image result for circus cart

Image result for red lipstick  Image result for red symbolises



The main theme of the poem "What is Red" by Mary O'Neill is how one colour can PROVOKE feelings and responses. Some of these responses are cultural ("red is a fire engine"; "red is a rubber ball") and some are real life experience ("red squiggles out when you cut your hand").
She  seems to paint the idea of the color red in every  line of her poem. The sentences are short and specific. "Red is a lipstick. Red is a shout. Red is a signal that says 'WATCH OUT'."She  repeats the specific word "red" to make impression on the colour in our grey matter. "Red" are also unpleasant colour which potrayed  embarrassment, anger and a  sunburn. The negative effects of the colour such as a show-off is mentioned and she has  no doubt about it. But can we live without red colour?"

THEMES:

1.Courage
2. Red is the warmest of all colours.
3. Positive versus Negative
4. Prosperity
5. Life and vitality

MORAL VALUES:
1. Bravery/Courage
2. Determination
3. Love
4. Positive attitude
5. Confidence


MORAL LESSONS:

1. We should have a positive attitude in our daily life
2. Have self confidence in doing everything and anything
3. Be brave/courageous in facing the challenges in life
4. We must try to control our anger or temper
5. We should not be hateful towards others
6. We must try to change our bad behaviour



https://riangceria.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/poem-what-is-red-form-2-practice-2-answers/

http://online.anyflip.com/ohth/nrks/mobile/index.html#p=18


Wednesday 7 December 2016

FORM TWO POEM: My Hero by Willis Hall


Willis Hall by Lewis Morley 1960.jpg

Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio and television writer who drew on his working class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. His best-known work was a stage adaptation of the 1959 novel Billy Liar (1960), co-written with the book's author and Hall's lifelong friend and collaborator Keith Waterhouse.

Life and Work
Born in Hunslet, Leeds, Hall was the only son and elder child of Walter Hall, an engineer's fitter, and his wife, Gladys (née Gibbon). He attended local council schools as well as Cockburn High School After graduation, Hall worked in a variety of positions including factory worker, trawler hand, and amusement park attendant. Upon reaching the age of eligibility for National service, Hall volunteered for the regular army, where he served as a signals corporal in Malaya. During idle hours there, he wrote plays for Chinese children that were later broadcast on Radio Malaya and designed sets for Singapore Little Theatre.

Hall's military experiences later inspired his first play, The Disciplines of War,about British soldiers ambushed in the Malayan jungle, that premiered on the fringe of the Edinburgh International Festival in August 1957. After gaining interest from the Producer Lindsay Anderson, the play was renamed The Long and the Short and the Tall, and premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1959. That year it won the Evening Standard's Play of the Year Award, and was later turned into a film version directed by Leslie Norman in 1961 and a BBC television series in 1979.

Following his success with Anderson at the Royal Court, Hall contacted a boyhood friend, writer Keith Waterhouse, about adapting his successful novel Billy Liar (1959). Their 1960 play of the same name starred Albert Finney when it premiered in 1960, and played for 582 performances before being taken out on a series of national tours. Following this success, in 1963 Hall's and Waterhouse's self-styled company, "Waterhall Productions", adapted the story for the big screen, where it was filmed by John Schlesinger, with Tom Courtenay in the lead role. Under Waterhall's coaxing, the piece also became the long-running Drury Lane musical, Billy (1974), starring Michael Crawford, and a television sit-com both in Britain (1973–4) and in the United States (1979).

Hall continued this successful partnership with Waterhouse and, over the next thirty years, the two men produced more than 250 scripts for theatre, film, and television.

Hall also wrote more than a dozen children's books, including a series about a family called the Hollins who meet a vegetarian vampire called Count Alucard. He also wrote a book, Henry Hollins and the Dinosaur. His membership of The Magic Circle was a source of inspiration for these books. He also wrote 40 radio and television plays, as well as contributing to many TV series, including The Return of the Antelope and Minder.

He wrote a musical about the scarecrow Worzel Gummidge, and others based on the books Treasure Island and The Wind in the Willows. He also wrote the script for the successful project, Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure (1996).


Hall was married four times. His first three marriages to Kathleen May Cortens (m. 1954), actress Jill Bennett (m. 1962), and Dorothy Kingsmill-Lunn (m. 1966), all ended in divorce. On 2 November 1973, Hall married the 28-year-old dancer and actress Valerie Shute, who survived him, along with his four sons. Following a long fight with esophageal cancer, Hall died at his home in Ghyll Mews, Ilkley in West Yorkshire on 7 March 2005.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Hall)

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My Hero by Willis Hall

My dad's as brave as a dad can be,

I rate him Number One,

He's not afraid of the dead of night,

Or anything under the sun.



He's not afraid of a late-night film,

Full of horrors on the telly,

And is he afraid of skeletons?

Not dad, not on your Nelly!



He's not afraid of meeting ghosts,

He'd even smile and greet 'em,

And things that scare most dads the most,

My dad could just defeat 'em.



He's not afraid of vampires,

Or a wolf-man come to get him,

If Frankenstein's monster knocked on our door,

He wouldn't let that upset him.



My dad's as brave as a dad can be,

And he's always ready to prove it.

So why, when a spider's in the bath,

Does Mum have to come and remove it?


Pharaphrase of the poem.
Stanza 1.

The persona is very proud of his father who he feels is as brave as any other father or even braver.In his eyes,his father is Number One as his father is fearless and not afraid of the dead of night and anything under the sun.

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Stanza 2.

The persona says his father is not afraid to watch horror movies late in the night.Horror scenes of skeletons do not scare him or put him off watching them.
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Stanza 3.

The persona is positive his father is not afraid of ghosts and would even smile and acknowledge them.His father dares to fight against things that most other dads are afraid of.
Image result for ghosts movies
Stanza 4.

The persona's father will not be intimidated by horror,figures like vampires ,wolf-man or Frankenstein's monster even if they appear at the door.
Image result for vampire  Image result for wolf man  Image result for frankenstein monster

Stanza 5.

The persona says his father is as brave as a father can be an he's always keen to show it.But when his father sees a spider,he will not touch it and mother has to come to his aid.This is something the persona cannot understand about his brave father.Is he really afraid of mere spider?

Image result for a man scared of a spider

Image result for a man scared of a spider

Synopsis.

The persona feels his father is very brave and is not afraid of any time of the day and anything in the world.He rates his father who watches horror movies late at night is not put off by any horror scenes or fearful skeletons.If any ghost appears in front of his father,he will either greet them or fight them off.Horror figures,big or small,ugly or scary looking do not give him the creeps even if they appear at his door.However,the persona's father or his hero has a weakness-He has a fear of spider.

Themes.

1)Respecting and looking up to someone.
2)Living up to people's expectation.
3)Believe in no one's skills and strengths.
4)Everyone has flaws or weakness.
5)Accepting people for what they are.
6)Parent-child relationship.
7)Hero worship.

Moral Values.

A)Recognise and acknowledge our weakness.
B)Not be afraid to acknowledge our weakness.
C)Value family relationship.
D)Must set good examples.
E)Try to live up to young children's expectation.
F)Able to separate the reality from make-believe.
G)Willing to help those in trouble.

Language and Style 
1. The language used by the poet is light, simpl and easy to understand.
2. It is attributive as the poet the persona talks about his parents.
3. Use of few negative sentences
4. He's not afraid of the dead of night,
He's not afraid of meeting ghosts,
He wouldn't let that upset him.
5. There are four lines per stanza.

Tone, Mood and Atmosphere
1. Direct and matter-of-fact
2. Innocence and purehearted
3. Serious
4. Pride 
5. Rhyme and Rhythm
Stanza 1 - a, b, c, b
Stanza 2 - a, b, c, b
Stanza 3 - a, b, a, b
Stanza 4 - a, b, c, b
Stanza 5 - a, b, c, b

Literary Devices

1. Symbol
'Dead of night' - symbolize darkness and anything and everything not feared by the persona's father
'anything under the sun' - anything that can be seen during the day
2. Imagery
'a late-night film, Full of horrors' - signifies a terrifying horror movie
'vampires, or a wolf-man' - gives a clear image of horror figures
'I rate him Number One' - shows the persona's pride and hero worship towards his father
3. Repetition
'My dad's as brave as a dad can be,'  - to emphasize the persona's belief that his father is a brave man.
 'He's not afraid of..'  - repeated in four stanzas to emphasise the persona's father is brave.
4. Assonance
'monster knocked on our door'
'He'd even smile and greet them'
5. Methaphor
The persona compares his father to a superhero who will take on ghostly or horror figures. He is a human who has supernatural courage.
6. Alliteration
And things that scare most dads the most
7. Rhetorical Questions
'And is he afraid of skeletons?'
'Does Mum have to come and remove it?'
8. Irony
The irony is that the father does not seem to be afraid of horror movies and ghoulish figures like 'vampires' and even Frankenstein's monster but he is afraid of a little spider.

Practices with Suggested Answer (SA)

1.How do you think the persona probably looks when he talks of his father?Choose two word from the list given-sullen,bored,,serious,proud.
SA: Proud and serious.

2.Why does the persona use the phrase 'dead of night' to refer to the father being considered brave?
SA: Because the father not afraid of the darkness.

3.How would a person who does not enjoy late-night horror movies react to horror scenes?
SA: Not afraid to watch horror movies.

4.Describe the father's reaction to show that he enjoys horror scenes shown over the television.
SA: The persona's father is not afraid to watch horror movies.The scenes of skeletons do not scare him or put him off watching them.

5.Name the object mentioned by the persona that most people are afraid of.
SA: The object mentioned by the persona that most people are afraid of is ghost.

6.What does the persona say his father will do?
SA: The persona says his father is not afraid of ghosts and would even smile and acknowledge him.

7.What does the persona says his father will do if he sees something which other fathers are scare of?
SA: The persona's father would even smile and acknowledge if he sees seomething are scare of.

8.If the persona's father is not afraid of gholish figures,what will he do if one of those appears at his door?
SA: The persona's father will not be intimidated if one of the appears at his door.

9.Why do you think the persona's father is always ready to prove to his son that he is brave?
SA: Brave as father can be and always keen to show it.

10.How does the persona feels about his father and his fear to spider?
SA: He is confused.

11. In Stanza 1,which expression shows the persona's pride in his father?
SA: I'll rate him Number 1.

12. What does the persona's father enjoy doing at night?
SA: The persona's father enjoy watching horror movies at night on the television.

13.What literary device is used for the line 'And is he afraid of skeletons'?
SA: Rhetorical question.

14. The persona compares his father with other fathers.What is the comparison?How does the persona feel about it?
SA: Comparison: The persona's father is not scared of the things that scare most dads.                                                  The persona is proud of his father.

15. How does the persona show confidence in his father in the event his father sees a ghost?
SA: The persona's father is not scared and would smile and greet to the ghost.

16. Explain the character trait portrayed bye the persona's father.
SA: Not scared of ghost.

17. List the ghoulish figures as mentioned by the persona.
SA: Vampire,Wolf-man and Frankenstein monster.

18. What moral value have you learned from the poem?Would you recommend the poem to a friend?Give a reason for this.
SA: Yes.Because we could get some good examples for our lives.

19. What does the expression 'dead of night' normally imply?Why do you think the persona uses this expression.
SA: The dead of night shows the spirit of the father towards the darkness and his braveness.

20. What does the word 'skeletons' bring to mind?Why does the persona mention this?
SA: The skeletons is a scary figures who only has bones and no flesh.Because the skeletons has a scared-looking.

21. According to the persona,what would his father do if he meets someone or something that challenges his pride or abilities.
SA: The persona's father is doing his best to challenged it to uphold his reputation and pride.

22. Parents should set good examples for their children.Do you agree with this?Do you think the persona's father sets good examples of behaviour for the persona?If so,how does he do this?Give one examples.
SA: Parents are the leader in the family.He make everything for the happiness.

23. In Stanza 5,what does the line 'And he's always ready to prove it' imply about the parent-child relationship?
SA: Father knows now highly the child think of him so he will do anything to leave up to that standard.

24.What are the 'things' that the persona feels 'Scare most dads the most' but not his dad?
SA: The 'thing' is ghost.

25: What does 'hero worship' means?How is this portrayed in the poem?
SA; The person you admire for the braveness of the father.

26: The persona's father or hero has a weakness.What is the weakness?How and why do you think the persona feels?Why should he feel this way?
SA: i)Weakness:Scared of spiders.
 ii)Feeling:Weird because his father is not afraid of ghosts figures but scared of spiders.



NEW NOVEL 2017: WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA BY ARTHUR RANSOME


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Arthur Michell Ransome was born on the 18th of January 1884 in Leeds. His father Cyril (1851-1897), born in Manchester, was the eldest son of Thomas Ransome, a chemist. Cyril read history at Oxford and was to become Professor of History at the Yorkshire College (later to become Leeds University). Arthur Ransome's mother Edith was a daughter of the artist Edward Baker Boulton, who spent much of his life sheep-farming in Australia. Arthur was the eldest child, having a brother, Geoffrey and two sisters, Cicely and Joyce.

Arthur Ransome's ancestors were East Anglian, and had founded the firm of Ransome & Rapier, engineers and makers of agricultural implements. His great-grandfather John Atkinson Ransome moved to Manchester, where he became a noted surgeon, being one of the team summoned to aid the MP William Huskisson after he suffered a serious, and ultimately fatal, injury at the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway in September 1830. Arthur's paternal grandfather Thomas was a scientist and failed inventor, who left debts to the family when he died.

The Ransome family frequently took their holidays at Coniston Water, in the English Lake District, where at a very young age Arthur developed a fascination for the area and its inhabitants. Above all, he grew to love the lake, and it became a private rite for him on arrival to run down to the water and dip his hand in, as a greeting.

After a brief period at a day school in Leeds, Arthur was sent to the Old College at Windermere, a preparatory school, where he was not happy. The school had few books, and Arthur compensated by reading voraciously during the holidays. Although he was not a brilliant scholar, he went on to Rugby School where he was much happier and came under the wing of sympathetic teachers. Shortly before Arthur moved to Rugby, his father died from a bone infection which even the amputation of a leg had failed to prevent. Cyril Ransome's death at the age of only 46 was a bitter personal loss for Arthur, as he felt that he had been a disappointment to his father and had lost the chance to grow closer to him as an adult, but he did inherit his father's love of fishing.

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is the seventh book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published in 1937. In this book, the Swallows (Walker family) are the only recurring characters. They are staying in a new location, Pin Mill on the River Orwell upstream from the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.

Image result for WHERE IS HARWICH HARBOUR
The book features a small sailing cutter, the Goblin, which is almost identical to Ransome's own boat Nancy Blackett. This book also features accurate geography unlike the Lakes books. Ransome sailed Nancy Blackett across to Flushing by the same route as part of his research for the book.



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Harwich Harbour


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Harwich Harbour 2016




Image result for parts of a yacht
PARTS OF A YATCH


Image result for ayatch in a  rough and stormy sea
A  YATCH AT SEA



We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea is  a well known book by Arthur Ransome and retold by Ralph Mowat is  about four children who when left alone on a friend’s boat at anchor at Pin Mill on the river Orwell, drag their anchor and drift out to sea. In a strengthening wind they decide it is better to keep sailing down wind rather than turn back, they next morning they arrive at Flushing on the Dutch coast. An exciting adventure! But they were lucky to have Holland so close on the other side of the North Sea.


Image result for north sea harwich and holland



Chapter 1: On the River
Chapter 2 : In Harbour
Chapter 3 : Drifting Out to Sea
Chapter 4 : A Stormy Night
Chapter 5 : Sinbad and the Pilot
Chapter 6: Arriving in Holland
Chapter 7: Coming Home

SUMMARY
John,Roger, Susan and Titty help Jim Brading to tie a rope to the buoy In return he invites them to sail aboard Goblin. Mother agrees provided that they stay within the estuary of the rivers Orwell and Stour, do not pass the Beach End buoy at the mouth of the rivers, and do not go out to sea. These conditions are imposed because of the imminent arrival of their father,  a  Navy, who is expected to return by ferry at any time from Holland. The children agree to these conditions.

Unfortunately, on the second morning Goblin   runs out of petrol because Jim forgets to fill up before they start.  So Jim rows ashore to  buy some petrol and promises to return in ten minutes but does not return. An unexpected bank of fog drifts over the river, and the Goblin is without her captain. Some hours later, after hearing the anchor drag in the fog, the Walkers realise that the tide has risen, the anchor chain is now too short, and they are drifting down river. While John tries  to put out more chain, John loses the anchor, and the yacht drifts out beyond Beach End into the North Sea. Aboard the drifting boat, John decides that it is safer to hoist the sails and go farther out to sea  rather than  the risk of being wrecked in the fog. They put about in the night to return to the river, but find that sailing against the wind is impossible, so run eastward with the wind.


The Goblin sails east through the night in hazardous conditions, being nearly run down as the navigation lights are out of paraffin. John has to leave Susan at the helm while he reefs the mainsail. He is almost swept overboard, but succeeds in his objective. At dawn next morning, John persuades Susan to continue to the nearest port rather than trying to return to Harwich. They rescue a kitten floating on a packing-case. They find themselves approaching an unknown coast; it is the Southern Netherlands. Jim has warned them about longshore sharks who might claim salvage if asked for help. But they see a pilot ship, and pick up a Dutch pilot who later learns cross the North Sea in the storm. He decides  to help the children and it is  free of charge..

They arrive safely in Flushing. A ferry is leaving to Harwich their father sees John and shouts  to him as he is leaving on a ferry to Harwich. Their father leaves the ferry just in time and returns to help them sail the Goblin back.  Susan is terribly sad about their mother who will be worrying about them so their father sends a telegram from Harwich  to her. On arriving in England, the Goblin and its crew are reunited with their mother and with Jim Brading, who is looking for his missing yacht. Mrs Walker feels angry because the children go to Harwich to meet their father. Jim had been unconscious in hospital for two days, suffering from concussion after being involved in a collision with a bus. Roger keeps telling their mother that they met Father in Holland. Hence, Father has to tell their mother about the mishap and the children are sure that Mother will understand that  they  didn't mean to go to sea.

ANSWERING TIPS 

TEMPLATE FOR NOVEL RESPONSES

I hope this template will be helpful.

PARAGRAPH 1 : INTRODUCTION
                 ………(title of the novel)……………by ………………..(name of author)……………is the short story I learnt. This story is about ………………….( a short synopsis of the story in three sentences). The …….(recycle the question here)……………………………………… There are many ………(sate the main ideas)………………………..
PARAGRAPH 2 : BODY 1
                First of all, ……( state the FIRST MAIN IDEA). This is because …………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when……………….. (provide evidences with key word from the story). ……………………………………..(write 3 evidences)………………. As we can clearly see now, ……..(link the cause to an effect)……………………………
PARAGRAPH 3 : BODY 2
                Next, …..( state the SECOND  main idea)…………………………. This is because………………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when…………………….(provide evidences from the story with key word from the story). ………………………….(write 3 evidences) It is as clear as day that………………….(link the cause to an effect)………………………..
PARAGRAPH 4 : CONCLUSION
                In my opinion………………………………………………………………………………………………………… In conclusion …………………………..(restate the main ideas)........................................………………………………………………………………......................................................... I hope…………………………………………………………………………………………… (state the moral value you have learnt from the novel)

Introductory paragraph: Present Tense
Body paragraph: Write the  evidences in the  past tense
Conclusion : Present Tense

MODEL QUESTION
A.CHARACTER
1.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character you like/admire/your favourite character. Give reason for your choice.
2.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character that you think is helpful. Give reasons for your choice.
3.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about characters that work together. Give examples of how they work together to support your answers.
4.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character you would or would not like to have as a friend. Give reasons for your choice.
5. Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character that motivates you to be courage or bravery in the face of danger. Give reasons for your choice.
6.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character who is brave/courageous. Give reasons for your choice.
7.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character who has to undergo hardship in order to survive. Give reasons for your choice.
8.Based on the novel that you have chosen, write about a character who is kind. Give reasons for your choice.

      

FORM ONE: News Break by Max Fatchan


Image result for max fatchen poems

On October 14 2012 Australia lost one of its living treasurers. Max Fatchen was a words craftsman. He was equally respected in the worlds of literature and journalism, having received prestigious awards including an Order of Australia for literature in 1980, an Advance Australia Award for literature in 1991 and a Walkley Award for journalism in 1996.

Max Fatchen was born in 1920 at Angle Vale in the South Australian plains. He walked away from farming life to embrace a life of words. He started his working life as a copyboy for the Adelaide News in the late 1930s. His love of journalism never waned. At 92 Max was still writing a column for a weekly newspaper in Adelaide as he had for the last 64 years - starting in The News in 1948 and then The Advertiser from 1955.

Having already had a successful career in journalism, Max began writing for children in 1966. When asked in an interview in 2010 why he took up writing for children, he reasoned, "Because they're the most challenging audience in the world. And I'm very fond of them, and they're fond of me.




News BreakImage result for A DEPRESSED BOY WITH A REPORT CARD


Now why so loving, darling,
And why the sudden kiss?
You’d help me with some little jobs?
For goodness sake, what’s this?

Your face is clean for once, dear,
Your clothes without a crease.
You saved your luncheon money?
Will wonders never cease?

No dropping of your school books,
No shrieking, childish treble.
Today you are a lamb, love,
Where yesterday a rebel.

But surely you’re some stranger,
No rage or hullabaloo.
Come closer, let me look, dear,
Can this be REALLY you?

Now were you struck by lightning
Or were you stunned at sport?
Ah … now I see the reason.
You’ve brought your school report!
– Max Fatchen

SUMMARY OF THE POEM
1. The poem has six stanzas.
2. Each stanza consists of 4 lines.
3. It has a specific rhyme abcb.
4. The rhyming words make the poem sound musical.
5. It is about a child whose behaviour changes ant the puzzled parent learnt about the reason at the end of the poem.

SUMMARY OF EACH STANZA

In the first stanza, the parent is wondering why his child’s behaviour is suddenly so loving.The child even gives a kiss to the parent and the parent is bewildered that the child offers help. The parent desperately wants to know the reason for the sudden change.

Image result for A CHILD KISSIN MOTHER   Image result for A CHILD KISSIN MOTHER


In the second stanza, the parent is surprised to see the child’s face neat and tidy. The child’s clothes are also neat as if it has been ironed and has no crumples.
Image result for a tidy boy   Image result for DIRTY CLOTHES school uniform
The parent is also shocked to know that the child did not spend his money for lunch that day as he usually does.

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The parent is astonished with all the surprises that he is getting and thinks when it would all end.

In  stanza 3, the parent is surprised that his child did not drop his school books as he returns home.Image result for NEAT BOOKS IN SCHOOL BAGS      Image result for BOOKS ON THE FLOOR


The child does not scream or show an outburst of anger. The parent praises the child for his good behaviour that day as the child acts like a gentle lamb when just the previous day, the child was going against his parent.

Image result for A GENTLE LAMB   Image result for A WAILING CHILD


In stanza 4, the parent feels as if the child is a stranger to him – like a new person.

The child does not show any anger or any emotional disturbance. Therefore, the parent asks the child to come closer so that he can see his child better as he wonders if that is really his child.

That brings us to the last stanza, stanza five, where he also wonders whether his child had been struck by lightning or injured during sports that has made him temporarily unable to react. Finally, he understands the real reason for the change as he noticed that the child has brought his school progress report.
Image result for report card progress comments


Point Of View

The first person point of view is used

Setting
No specific time frame is mentioned.
The setting is in a house.

Persona
A parents who is puzzled to see the chil's sudden changes of behaviours.

Tone and mood
It is light-hearted and humorous. The reader is fuul of curiousity at the beginning but laugh when they read the last sentence.


Theme
1. Honesty is the best policy
2. Disobedience
3. Ulterior motive


Moral Value
1.Honesty
2. Behave well
3. Courage to face unpleasant consequences

Metaphors

The poet uses metaphor to describe the behaviour of the child. ‘Today you’re a lamb’ which shows innocence and obedience when the child is compared to a lamb; and ‘Where yesterday a rebel’ which shows disobedience and defiance when the child is said to be a rebel (lines 11 and 12)

Structure, Style and Language

The poem consists of 5 stanzas with four lines and the rhyme scheme is ‘a, b, c, b’.  The style is simple and direct. The language and choice of words used is easy to understand as we can relate it to what a child does.




Tuesday 6 December 2016

FORM ONE : Sad I Ams by Trevor Millum

The Poet
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Trevor Millum

Born Woking, Surrey, 1945. BA Birmingham 1967. PhD Birmingham 1970. PGCE University of Zambia 1971. Subsequently teacher, writer and software developer.
Professional Officer for NATE 1998-2004. Creator of 'Poetry Place' on the Teachit website (teachit.co.uk/poetryplace).

Sad I Ams


I am
   the ring
   from an empty Cola can
   the scrapings
   from an unwashed porridge pan
   the severed arm
   of last year’s Action man.

I am
   the envelope
   on which the gum is gone
   the Sellotape
   where you can’t find the end
   the toothless stapler, springless bulldog clip
   the dried up liquid paper
   that mars instead of mends
   the stamped addressed reply
   that you forgot
   to send.

I am
   the battery in which no charge is left
   the starter motor which remains inert
   the tyre on which the tread is worn
   the sparking plug which shows no sign of spark
   the carburettor chocked by bits of dirt
   the chromium trim from which the shine has gone.

I am
   a garden
   overgrown with weeds
   a library book
   that no one ever reads
   a stray
   which no one thinks to feed
   the piece of good advice
   which no one seems to need.

SUMMARY OF THE POEM
1. The poem consists of four stanzas.
2. Each stanza consists different number of lines.
3. There is no clear rhyme scheme in the poem.
4. Stanza 1 and 4 do not rhyme while stanza  2 and 3 have some rhyme scheme.
5. The poem is about neglecting or discarding things which are of no use to us anymore.
6. The persona compares himself/herself to numerous  things that are no longer needed.
7. The title Sads I Ams implies a gloomy tone to the poem.

SUMMARY OF EACH STANZA:

In the first stanza, the poet is describes himself as the things that are usually thrown away 
because they have become useless to the owner


  • the ring of the can is usually thrown away  after we open the can
Image result for ring from an empty cola

  • the scrapings should be cleaned when the pans are put to wash –nobody wants to keep the dirt on the pan 
  •  Image result for food scrapings
  • And finally -when the toy’s arm is broken- the ‘action’ figure toy becomes distorted- next year a new action figure would become more popular.
Image result for broken toy of action man

In the second stanza, the poet is now describing used things that cannot be used any longer.

Image result for unrecyclable old envelopes
  • the envelope where the gum doesn’t stick- perhaps it is an old envelope; 
Related image

  • Sellotape that is old or not marked where the end is impossible to find; 

Image result for broken stapler

  • stapler that has no place to attach the bullets- thus, it has become not functional; 

Image result for spring -less bulldog clip

  • spring -less bulldog clip: one without spring would not be able to function;


Image result for liquid paper


  • liquid paper  that is dry; 


Image result for envelopes address

  • and an envelope that he had already put the stamp on but had forgotten to post.


The third stanza also describes things that have become useless to the owner.
Image result for car battery


  •  Battery that needs to be charged- it shows that the car cannot be driven; 

Image result for starter motor

  • starter motor which does not work
Image result for tyres without tread
  •  tyre has no threads anymore - it becomes dangerous to drive with such tyres as they have no grip
  • Image result for spark plugs
  • Spark plug that does not work-the engine of the car would not start if the plugs do not function; 
Image result for carburetor
  • carburettor that needs to be serviced before it can be used
Related image

  • and chromium plating which is not shining!

In the final or fourth stanza, the poet describes things that are not paid attention to such as: 

the garden that is not taken care of which is full of weeds-Image result for garden full of weeds
which implies that no one has cleaned the garden;





 a library bookImage result for outdated library book which is probably outdated that no one wants to borrow it; an animal such as a stray dogImage result for stray dogs that no one takes care of and finally good advice Image result for good advicesthat no one heeds.

SETTING
No specific time and place is mentioned.

PERSONA
The gender is not mentioned, It can be assumed that the persona  is an elderly person as he feels neglected and likens himself/ herself to various objects which  has no use to anyone anymore.


TONE AND MOOD
 It is gloomy and depressing. The persona manages to evoke a feeling of sympathy in the reader for the persona as well as the discarded things.

THEMES
1. Rejection
2. Being neglected
3. Being forgotten
4. Feeling  of uselessness

MORAL VALUES
1. Appreciating others
2. Recyling

METAPHOR
All the unwanted things the persona liken himself/herself to.

IMAGERY
All the unwanted items  describe the  unwanted things vividly


Below are some popular questions:

What happens to the action man?
Its arm is broken

2. What is the condition of the porridge pan?

It is unwashed/dirty.

3. What happens to the envelope?

The gum is gone.

4. What does the phrase ‘toothless stapler’ mean?

The stapler has no staple.

5. What happens to the liquid paper?

It has dried up.

6. Why do you think the starter motor remains inert?

It has broken.

7. What happens if someone uses a tyre with thread that is worn?

It is dangerous and may cause accident.

8. Why do you think the garden is overgrown with weeds?

No one uses the garden anymore/No one stays there anymore.

9. What would you do if you see a hungry stray on the street?

Feed them/bring them to animal shelter.

10. Less and less people like to go to the library these days. Why?

Because people can access to a lot of things using the internet at home.

11. What is the mood of the persona?

sad/disappointed.

12. What does the person forget to send?

A stamped addressed reply/ A return letter

13. In your opinion, how can we make the chromium trim shine again?

Wash and polish it.

14. Suggest two things that can cheer the person up.

i. Share their sadness with someone.

ii. Listen to some happy music.

15. If you could give an advice to your younger self, what would that be?


Don’t give up easily when there is a challenge/ Be brave/ Help people/ Don’t be afraid to make mistakes/e