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  • Poem
  • Countdown, Year 3
  • Issue 7, 2019

Tree Frog

    Learning resource

    Outcomes

    Worksheet: Which rhyming scheme?

    Understanding          EN2-4A

    Conduct a See, Think, Wonder thinking routine to explore the title and make predictions about ‘Tree Frog’, using the image on Countdown 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?

    Present Poetic Devices and Figurative Language eReading worksheets to teach or refresh student knowledge about poetic devices and figurative language. Option to use a variety of other eReading worksheets and a quiz at the end of the slideshow.

    Engaging personally EN2-2A

    Point of view: Write paragraph from the frog’s point of view, looking into the person’s bedroom on a rainy night. Option to write a poem titled ‘Window’. Encourage students to use these 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’s going on in your head' in relation to the poem ‘Tree Frog’ 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 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 an Analysing Poetry worksheet to guide and ascertain student understanding.

    Experimenting           EN2-10C

    Write the next stanza in the poem ‘Tree Frog’. Note the repetition of the first lines and how swapping green and tree adds interest and appeal the text. Discuss poetic techniques and devices evident in the poem, for example rhyme, tone and repetition etc. and how and why these are used.

    Intertextuality: Use the poem ‘Tree Frog’ as a scaffold to write a poem about a different animal. Appropriate the structure, imagery and some words of the poem. Explore further the English Textual Concept ‘Intertextuality’.

    Research poetic devices using this Poetry Dictionary for Kids. Identify how many different poetic devices or techniques are evident in ‘Tree Frog’.

    Animate ‘Tree Frog’ using Comic Life.

    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 of 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.

    Further reading

    English Textual Concepts

    Resources

    Poetry Dictionary

    Harvard Thinking Routines

    Think from The Middle: Strategy Tool Box

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