Making comparisons

Making comparisons

Pencil and paperOnline interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about identifying comparisons made in a poem.

In each of the following poems, two different things are being compared.

  • Write down the two different things being compared in each poem, and
  • explain all the ways in which the two things are shown to be alike in the poem.

This first poem has been done as an example.

a)
Road Cones
The orange road cones
are the hats of the witches
who live in the gutters,
the grates, and the ditches.
 
They come out in dozens
whenever it rains
to dance orange dances
in water-filled drains.
By Andrew P. Wood
i)  What two things are being compared?
 
Road cones and witches' hats
ii)  In what ways are the two things alike?
  • Road cones and witches' hats are the same shape.  
  • Witches' hats move when they dance and road cones move when the drains fill with water.

Question 1Change answer

b)
Lifeboat
Pukeko feather
floating on the water -
bright boat,
light boat,
lifeboat
to a ladybird
that's landed.
By Diana Noonan   
i)  What two things are being compared?
 and 
 
ii)  In what ways are the two things alike?

Question 1Change answer

c)
Muster
Slowly down the valley
The woolly flock flows.
A rippling mob of sheep,
Joined by more at every creek.
And as the valley widens,
The woolly river grows.
By Alan Bagnall     
i)  What two things are being compared?
 and 
 
ii)  In what ways are the two things alike?
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper or online (without auto-marking).
Copyright: 
"Lifeboat", "Muster", and "Road Cones" - published by Learning Media on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
Copyright © Diana Noonan 2001, and Alan Bagnall 1991 respectively.  Reproduced with permission.
Every effort has been made to contact Andrew Wood for copyright of "Road Cones".
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
poetry, personification, analysis, simile, metaphor
Description of task: 
Students are required to identify and interpret the metaphors in two short poems.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • use comprehension strategies
  • recognise and unpack figurative language
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: processing system, set 5
Reading for literary experience, set 5
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
    Y8 (09/2002)
b)

 
i)
ii)
A Pūkeko feather and a lifeboat/boat.
Any 1 of:
  • Both float on water.
  • Both carry "passengers."
easy
easy
c)
i)
ii)
A flock of sheep and a river/creek.
They both move down the valley/flow/ripple. [Main similarity]
Any 1 of:
  • They both grow/widen as they move down the valley.
  • Groups of sheep join the main flock, like creeks join a river.
easy
 
 
 
difficult
difficult