Student Book pages 2–9
Unit 1: Turtles and Wombats
The Big Picture
This unit’s poems rely on rhyme and rhythm to entertain
readers. Students will benefit from hearing the poems read
aloud and from experimenting with their own reading of the
texts. Discuss with students how a poem can contain examples
of other text types, such as narrative and description. Ask
students why these poems continue to entertain today—both
poets were born well over 100 years ago.
In this unit
• Source texts—Classic and contemporary
literature (poetry)
• Text features—Poetry (rhyme, rhythm,
repetition)
• Writing—A rhyming poem; Examples of
alliteration
• On the DVD—Text and audio recordings of
poems by A. B. Paterson: Weary Will, High
Explosive and Fur and Feathers; Glossary for the
Paterson poems; Biographies of A. B. Paterson
and Vachel Lindsay
The Little Turtle—is a poem by Vachel Lindsay, an
American poet born in 1879. It is a relatively easy poem for
students to learn, due to its rhythm, rhyme and repetition.
Ask students to identify the repeated words and patterns.
Discuss the effectiveness of the word snapped. What other
word could be used instead? Is it as good? Introduce the
term onomatopoeia. Ask students why the turtle caught
everything except the poet.
Weary Will—is an extract from a poem by A. B. “Banjo”
Paterson, an Australian poet born in 1864 (the complete
poem is seven stanzas; see the DVD). Ask students if they
know anyone called Banjo. How do you think the poet got
this name? Do you have a nickname? Show students a $10
note; a drawing of Paterson is on it. Discuss the meaning
of words such as combat, dwell and shrewd (p6 q4). Ask
students if they have seen a live wombat and what makes
them such good diggers. Ask students to identify the rhyming
words, and discuss how the spelling of the rhyming sections
of these words can differ.
• Other resources—Diary of a Wombat
(HarperCollins Publishers Australia, 2002);
Wombats, see www.environment.nsw.gov.au/
animals/Wombats.htm and www.dpiw.tas.gov.
au/inter.nsf/webpages/bhan-53f7kj
In the texts—pages 4–5
See Teaching Guide pvii for this unit’s syllabus
outcomes.
• Discuss the meaning of rhyme, line and stanza (q4).
• Read the questions with students and make sure they
know which questions relate to each poem. Demonstrate
to students the different ways of answering the questions,
eg writing words, yes/no, ticking boxes.
Listening, speaking and extension
•
2
Students read aloud Paterson poems from the
DVD. (The recording of Weary Will is used in Work
Sheet 3.) Ask them to experiment with tone,
volume and pitch. They then listen to recordings
of the poems. Was hearing the poems more
enjoyable than just reading them? Why? Hold a
class vote for the favourite poem. Students work
in small groups to add background sounds to the
readings. A glossary for the three poems is also on
the DVD; explain to students how to use a glossary.
•
Students research the life of Banjo Paterson.
A basic biography of Vachel Lindsay is on the
DVD, with an incomplete biography of Paterson—
students complete the Paterson biography and
read both aloud to the class.
• Students research and write an information report about
the common wombat or the northern hairy-nosed
wombat, one of the most endangered mammals in the
world—see Other resources.
• Students include some or all of these words in their
weekly spelling lists: there, didn’t, skies, little, puddle,
climbed, forever, caught, mosquito, creature, shrewd,
equipped.
TARGETING ENGLISH Lower Primary TEACHING GUIDE
Unit 1: Turtles and Wombats
• Allow time for students to experiment with reading the
poems aloud (q5). Encourage constructive comments from
peers.
Read and learn—pages 5–6
• Revise rhyme (q1) and remind students that words that
rhyme do not necessarily have the same spelling patterns,
eg flea/me. Encourage students to think of more words
that rhyme with examples from the text.
• Guide students to the dictionary on page xi of their
Student Books, and watch as they use their knowledge of
alphabetical order to find the entry for verb (q2). Explain
that verbs determine the tense of writing. Ask students
to locate the verbs in The Little Turtle (all past tense) and
change them to present tense.
• Provide dictionaries for q4. Encourage students to check
that each meaning matches the context of the word in
the poem.
• Revise punctuation marks: their names and uses (q5). See
other activities on pp118–119. Copy the table onto an
OHP transparency and complete it as a class first.
Your turn—page 7
• When students have completed q1, discuss the term
alliteration. See specific activities on p126.
• Brainstorm lists of relevant rhyming words (q3). Allow
students to draft poems before writing their completed
poems on p7. Encourage students to have fun writing
short, catchy poems; alternatively, they could modify and
expand The Little Turtle.
• Provide time for students to practise reading their poems
aloud. Invite a neighbouring class to act as an audience.
Adjectives—pages 8–9
• Show different classroom items and ask students to say
adjectives that describe the colour, size, number or feel.
Encourage students to use a range of adjectives, rather
than relying on the same ones.
• After students have completed q6, ask them to reverse
the order of the adjectives they used and read aloud
again. Can you hear the difference?
Work Sheets
• Work Sheet 1 extends students’ understanding of
rhyme. For the It’s your choice option (q3), students write
rhyming words that use the spelling patterns of baby or
key (eg truly, monkey).
• Work Sheet 2 revises knowledge of adjectives and verbs.
For more activities on verbs, see Student Book pp38–39
and pp60–61.
•
Work Sheet 3 prompts students to write their
own ideas for the next stanzas of Weary Will. The
complete version of Banjo Paterson’s poem is on the
DVD. Discuss the many new, difficult words in the
full text of Weary Will (refer to the glossary on the
DVD) and explain the role of Australia’s wild dog
fence, the longest fence in the world.
Assessment
• Work Sheet 4 reinforces rhyme and adjectives; see
Assessment Answers below.
• To assess Student Book writing, use the poetry rubric
(Teaching Guide p91).
Assessment Answers
(see Teaching Guide page 7)
1 c
2 cat/mat, fly/cry, jump/bump, ground/round,
said/fed, you/through
3, 4 and 5 Teacher to check.
TARGETING ENGLISH Lower Primary TEACHING GUIDE
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Unit 1: Turtles and Wombats
Work Sheet 1
The Little Turtle
1 Use the words in the box to complete the poem.
rocks
box
turtle
puddle
There was a little ______________________________________________________ .
He lived in a ______________________________________________________ .
He swam in a ______________________________________________________ .
He climbed on the ______________________________________________________ .
2 Draw lines to match the words that rhyme.
turtle
rocks
box
me
mosquito
puddle
flea
minnow
3 Write rhyming words that match the spelling patterns.
Some have been written for you.
_________________
me _________
_____flea
_____________________
____tree
______________________
It’s
_______your
_________choice!
__________
_________________
he _________
_____pea
_____________________
____see
______________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
4 Write six pairs of rhyming words.
_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
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Copyright © Blake Publishing 2009 TARGETING ENGLISH
Lower Primary TEACHING GUIDE
Work Sheet 2
Unit 1: Turtles and Wombats
Adjectives and Verbs
1 a Complete the sentence.
An adjective is ________________________________________________________________________________________ .
b Draw the turtle from the
poem The Little Turtle.
c Write some adjectives that describe the turtle.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
d Circle any word that is an adjective.
little
running
hard
slimy
swims
he
snapped
brown
patterned
hide
2a Complete the sentence.
A verb is _________________________________________________________________________________________________ .
b Draw the wombat from
the poem Weary Will.
c Write some verbs that tell what the wombat is doing.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
d Circle any word that is a verb.
fat
runs
eats
hairy
clever
digs
TARGETING ENGLISH Lower Primary TEACHING GUIDE Copyright © Blake Publishing 2009
looks
weary
he
sleeps
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Unit 1: Turtles and Wombats
Work Sheet 3
What Happens to Weary Will?
The story of Weary Will on page 2 is only the start of a longer poem.
Write an idea for what might happen next in the story.
Then what might happen?
Then what might happen?
Then what might happen?
Then what might happen?
Now, read and listen to all of Banjo Paterson’s poem and see what really happens!
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Copyright © Blake Publishing 2009 TARGETING ENGLISH
Lower Primary TEACHING GUIDE
Assessment
Work Sheet 4
(First name)
(Family name)
Animal Words
1 Colour in the box for the correct answer.
Rhyming words sound the same at the
a
beginning of the words.
b
middle of the words.
c
end of the words.
2Draw lines to join the rhyming words.
cat
fly
jump
ground
said
you
round
through
cry
bump
fed
mat
3Write adjectives around the kangaroo to describe it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4Write adjectives around the mosquito to describe it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 Write a poem about one of the animals above and use adjectives.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TARGETING ENGLISH Lower Primary TEACHING GUIDE Copyright © Blake Publishing 2009
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