5. To do part C3, students will have to refer to the poem ‘Cats’ on page 90. Ask more able students to do the task on their own. Less able students may need help. Provide them with the names of places, and perhaps how many times each preposition is used.
4. Read out the first line. Then ask four students to read out one line each.
3. Ask students to do Part C2 on their own. Remind them that all the words can be found in the poem ‘My Goldfish’ on page 90. Ask more able students to do the task without referring the poem. Tell less able students to find the words in the poem to complete what Peter says.
2. Review the answer and clarify any areas of uncertainty.
1. Ask students to do Part C1 in pairs. Encourage them to use a dictionary if necessary.
7. Have the class prepare this poem for choral reciting. Allocate different lines to individual students or pairs to create a dramatic impression. Ask one or two students to read one line only, e.g.,
S1: Cats
All: Cats sleep anywhere,
S2: Any table,
S3: Any chair,
S4: Top of piano,
This activity helps students to work as a team as they have to listen to their cues, which encourages them to work collaboratively.
8. Ask students which poem they like best. Encourage more able students to say why they like it, e.g., I like the poem about cats because they are my favourite animals.
Extension activity
For stronger classes, ask students to copy the poem ‘Cats’ into their books, leaving enough space to draw the different objects to illustrate where cats live and sleep. Encourage students to interpret the use of prepositions to prepare a correct visual presentation of the poem.
Part B
Teaching procedures
1 Read the words listed in the box in part B1 to the class. Ask students to repeat each one and to pay particular attention to the sounds of the final syllables.
2 Ask students to complete the sentences with the correct words. Encourage them to read the sentences out loud so that they can hear the sounds of the words. For weaker classes, you may need to read out the first word of each sentence slowly and ask students to repeat them before they start completing the sentences.
3 Ask less able students to work with a partner and take turns saying the rhyming pairs aloud.
4 Ask less able students to do the extra questions on page 91. For more able students, do not provide them with the extra gapped sentences and words. Ask them to look for other rhyming pairs in the poems themselves.
5 Ask students whether they think the rhyming words make the poems more pleasant to listen to. Accept all opinions. Then ask individual students what are the other roles of the rhyme in poetry. Elicit as many opinions as possible, e.g., makes poetry easier to remember, creates a beat at the end of each line, helps create a pattern of sounds and a sound rhythm, creates a tune, helps create the images, etc.
6 Explain the context and the instructions to part B2. Review the words in the box. Then ask students to complete the sentences with the correct words.
7 Ask two volunteers to read out the completed articles.
Ask more able students to find any other rhyming pairs from the words learned in other units. Give them a reward for finding one, two or more. This is a very useful pronunciation exercise as well as an activity which prepares students to use language creatively on their own.
Part C
6. Ask more able students to read the ‘Cats’ poem, first on their own and then with a partner. S1 reads lines 26-35 and S2 reads lines 36-46. Ask if any students have cats that like to sleep in unusual places.
5. Read the poem ‘Cats’. As you read the poem, try to use gestures and mines to illustrate the different impressions presented in the poem. Learn about the words ‘window-ledge’, ‘edge’, ‘drawer’, ‘lap’, ‘cardboard box’ and ‘frocks’.
4. For weaker classes, read the poem ‘My Goldfish’ and ask students to follow in their books. Explain the meaning of ‘miaow’ and ‘bubbles’. For stronger classes, ask two students to each read a stanza.
3. Ask students to find the adjectives in the poem which tell us about its characteristics, e.g., ‘cleverest’. Work through the meaning of ‘wonderful tricks’. Then ask them to identify the verbs which describe the dog’s actions (‘chase’, ‘catch’, ‘hunts’, ‘builds’, ‘bark’, ‘bite’ and ‘fight’).
Ask students some general questions to elicit details about the dog’s actions to generate some of the key verbs, e.g., what does the dog do?