Sea-dog

Sea-dog

Pencil and paperOnline interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about understanding the language used in a poem.
Read the poem Sea-dog by Ruth Paul (School Journal, Part 4, Number 3, 1995). Then answer the questions below.
 
 

Question 2Change answer

a)  What does the dog like most about the beach?
     

Question 2Change answer

b)  What is meant by, "that damp sandy border where elements meet"?
     

Question 2Change answer

c)  What is another phrase in the poem that has a similar meaning to "where elements meet"?
     

Question 2Change answer

d)  The poem describes some dogs, "swimming off to the other side of the sun".
     What does this phrase mean?
     

Question 2Change answer

e)  The poem says, "This hound's beach-bound".  What does "beach-bound" mean?
     

Question 2Change answer

f)  Write another phrase from the poem which shows the dog is "beach-bound".
     

Question 2Change answer

g)  "Swimming off to the other side of the sun" is an example of alliteration.
     Write another phrase from the poem which has an example of alliteration.
     
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pen and paper or online (with NO auto marking).
Copyright: 
Sea-dog - Text and images were first published by Learning Media Limited on behalf of the Ministry of Education © Peter Bland, Illustrations © Ruth Paul, 1995.
Reproduced with permission.
 
Source: School Journal, Part 4, Number 3, Learning Media, 1995.
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Thinking
Keywords: 
poetry, comprehension, vocabulary, alliteration, inference, language features, SJ-4-3-1995
Description of task: 
Students read a poem to explore the language it uses. SJ-4-3-1995. Text provided.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • recognise language features
  • infer ideas and information that are not directly stated in the text
as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Making sense of text: vocabulary knowledge, set 6
Reading for literary experience, set 5
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y8 (08/1999)
a) The smells/scents. moderate
b) Any 1 of:

  • The edge of the sea.
  • The place where the sea meets the land.
  • The tide mark.
 easy
c) "the edge of things". moderate
d) Any 1 of:

  • The dogs swim towards the sun/horizon.
  • The dogs swim straight out to sea.
  • The dogs swim a long way/for a long time.
 difficult
e) It wants to stay/stays on the beach. moderate
f) Any 1 of:

  • "He won't budge".
  • "We have to carry him back to the car".
  •  "Locked indoors he howls".
 difficult
g) Any 1 of:

  • "This hound's beach-bound. He won't budge".
  • "he howls at high tide".
 difficult