- Poem
- Blast off, Year 4
- Issue 7, 2019
A Hairy Tank
Learning resource
Outcomes
Worksheet: Examining an illustration
Understanding EN2-4A
Conduct a See, Think, Wonder thinking routine to explore the title and make predictions about ‘Hailstone’, using the illustration in Blast Off issue 7, August 2019 (page 15) as a stimulus. This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry. Students could use this See, Think, Wonder worksheet to record responses.
- What do you see?
- What do you think about that?
- What does it make you wonder?
Engaging personally EN2-2A
Point of view: Write poem from a human’s point of view, watching the wombat. Optional title ‘Fatty’. Encourage students to use the textual elements in the poem to enhance their creative writing endeavours. Explore further the English Textual Concept ‘Point of View’.
Complete a Personal Response worksheet about ‘what they have been thinking about lately’ in relation to the poem ‘A Hairy Tank’ to elicit student responses to the text.
Connecting EN2-11D
Text-to-self connections occur when we make connections between personal experiences and the text.
Text-to-Self: Have a class discussion on how do the ideas in this text relate to students’ own lives, ideas and experiences. Ask students to consider:
- What I just read reminds me of the time when I …
- I agree with/understand what I just read because in my own life …
- I don’t agree with what I just read because in my own life …
Students complete this Connection Stems worksheet. Discuss as a class.
Teaching Strategy explained: Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World Rationale.
Engaging critically EN2-2A & EN2-7B
Complete this Analysing Poetry worksheet to guide and ascertain student understanding.
Research Jenny Blackford and her poetic process by reading Australian Children’s Poetry: Interview with Jenny Blackford.
Write a letter to Jenny Blackford using the Writing a Letter to an Author guidelines and worksheets and the Narrative Praise Question Polish Peer-Review worksheet as a scaffold. Encourage students to highlight three elements within the narrative that they would Praise, Question and Polish:
- Praise: What I like about the author’s writing style or ideas.
- Questions: For the author to remove any confusion.
- Polish: Things to improve, I would change, I wish that …, I wonder if …, I couldn’t believe …
Support: Write a postcard
Experimenting EN2-10C
Intertextuality: Use the poem ‘A Hairy Tank’ as a scaffold to write a poem about a different type of Australian animal. Appropriate the structure, imagery and some words of the poem. Explore further the English Textual Concept ‘Intertextuality’.
Write a Haiku poem (see this Britannica definition of Haiku). Explore lesson plans and ideas at Scholastic’s Be the Poet: Writing Haiku Poetry lesson plan. Option to support students using a Haiku graphic organiser.
Extension: Write a Senryū.
Rewrite the poem using synonyms where possible or antonyms to make a nonsense poem. Students can use a Rhyming words generator for added fun.
Research poetic devices using this Poetry Dictionary for Kids. Identify how many different poetic devices or techniques are evident in ‘A Hairy Tank’.
Animate ‘A Hairy Tank’ using Looking Glass.
Reflecting EN2-12E
Conduct an I used to think ... But now I think … routine. This routine helps students to reflect on their thinking about a topic or issue and explore how and why that thinking has changed. It can be useful in consolidating new learning as students identify their new understandings, opinions, and beliefs. Record responses on this I Used to Think … Now I Think … worksheet.
Exit Slips are a formative assessment that can be used to quickly check for understanding. The teacher poses one or two questions in the last couple minutes of class and asks student to fill out an ‘exit slip’ (e.g. on an index card) to ascertain student thinking and understanding. Here are Instructions on filling out an Exit Slip and two Exit Slip worksheets.