What could it be?

This task is about making inferences to predict what a poem might be describing.

You will read a poem in three parts, one part at a time.
After reading each part:

in the left hand box, predict all the things you think the poem is describing.
in the right hand box, explain how the evidence in the text, and what you know, supports your predictions.

Question 1Change answer

In the early evening,
I see a big ___________
with its eyes shining yellow.

Part 1

I think this poem could be describing any one of these things:	because:

Question 1Change answer

In the early evening,

I see a big ___________

with its eyes shining yellow.

It prowls for ages along the road

In the early evening,

I see a big ___________

with its eyes shining yellow.

It prowls for ages along the road

Part 2

Now I think this poem could be describing any one of these things:	because:

Question 1Change answer

In the early evening,

I see a big ___________
with its eyes shining yellow.

It prowls for ages along the road

and only stops to drink at Caltex.
I can hear it roar.

In the early evening,

I see a big ___________
with its eyes shining yellow.

It prowls for ages along the road

and only stops to drink at Caltex.
I can hear it roar.

Part 3

Now I think this poem could be describing any one of these things:	because:

Diagnostic and formative information:

Things to look for in student responses:

Inference

By the end of the poem:

does the student describe only some sort of vehicle. (Comment: 93% of students in the national trial did this.)
does the student describe some sort of vehicle but still include something living as a possibility?
does the student describe only something living?

Analysis and synthesis - for examples, see below

a) In Part 1, how much evidence does the student consider when making suggestions about what the object is?

b) In Part 1, does each suggestion fit with all the evidence?

c) In Part 2, does the student make a suggestion that considers all the evidence from both verses of the poem?

d) In Part 2, does the student make a suggestion that considers only some evidence from both verses of the poem?

Making connections - for examples, see below

a) Does the student show evidence of making links to prior knowledge to assist with making meaning?

b) Does the student show evidence of making a link to prior knowledge that has been unhelpful in making meaning?

Figurative language - for examples, see below

a) Does the student accept the use of metaphors?

b) Does the student question the use of metaphors?

c) Does the student not recognise metaphors?

Metaphor: When you say a thing is another thing, when in reality, it is not. For example, in this poem, a vehicle is said to have eyes and prowl.

Examples:

Analysis and synthesis

a) Part 1: 'A cat. Its eyes are yellow in the evening.' (Comment: This student used all three pieces of evidence. They have not included 'big' as evidence, and this has been accepted, because 'big' is a relative term, and can be used to describe things that are generally thought of as small e.g., a big mouse. However, when other students used 'big' as evidence, their suggestions were also accepted.) 'A monster because they're big.' (Comment: This student has only used one piece of evidence – 'big'.)

b) 'The sun. In the evening you can see the sun and the yellow eyes could be the beams. Tree. The yellow eyes could be yellow leaves.' (Comment: This student ensured each suggestion fitted all the evidence. Their belief that you would see the sun in the early evening was accepted.) 'A hay. Hay is big and yellow.' (Comment: This student has ignored the evidence about eyes and early evening. Note that, although it is not related to using all the evidence, this student's use of 'a hay' suggests that they do not understand the collective noun 'a bundle' or 'a stack' of hay.)

c) 'Cat. They prowl at night on the road. Their eyes shine in the dark.' (Comment: This student makes a suggestion that considers all the evidence from both verses.)

d) 'Sun. It's big and yellow.' (Comment: Although it was accepted that you might be able to see the sun in the early evening, this student has ignored the evidence about eyes,i.e., the word is plural, so it refers to more than one.)

Making connections

a) 'Toad. It could be a rhyming poem and toad rhymes with road.' (Comment: This student has used what they know about poetry to help them construct a response that can be justified at this stage of the poem.)

b) 'Sun. Because the sun shines yellow and hurts your eyes. Sunset. Because it hurts your eyes.' (Comment: This student has allowed their past experiences to dominate their reading. There is not enough evidence to justify the importance they place on the sun hurting their eyes.)

Figurative language

a) 'It's totally obvious because of Caltex, the petrol station.'

b) 'What do they mean about it [the vehicle] roars?' / 'They make it [the vehicle] sound like a lion.' (Comment: These students both put 'car' as their final response, but were still, perhaps, more comfortable with a literal rather than a figurative response.)

c) 'A lion. A tiger. I don't know why it would stop at Caltex.' (Comment: This student is confused by the figurative language.)

Next steps:

For students having difficulty with analysis and synthesis

Guide them through the following group assessment process:

a) Part 1: First, the teacher identifies a correct response in a whole class setting. They find the evidence in the text that supports it, i.e., start by modelling the process and confirming something that has been done right.

b) Part 1: In groups, students check their responses for supporting evidence, making sure no evidence is missed. They check that all responses fit all the evidence. (This will involve a lot of discussion as students justify their responses and work through the responses of others.)

c) Part 2: Repeat the process for Part 1 and check that the evidence from both parts is considered within each response.

d) Part 3: Repeat the process, checking that evidence from the whole poem is considered.

e) Pause, look, and think back: Students identify unresolved differences of opinion and points of interest.

f) Discuss any ideas raised as a class.

For students who do not accept metaphorical language

Guide them through the following group assessment process:

a) Explain that we use metaphorical language all the time but that because most of the metaphors we use are so common, they have no impact. For example, when someone is described as a 'pig' it doesn't cause us to stop and imagine a pig; and when someone is

described as an 'old bat' we don't imagine an elderly bat. Support the student to think of other animal-related metaphors we use in everyday language, e.g., 'your room's a pigsty', 'he's a rat', 'the pigs arrested him', 'you're such a pussycat', 'he has the heart of a lion', etc.

b) Go on to explain that poets aren't interested in using these everyday metaphors, that is, metaphors that don't cause us to stop and think. They want to make new metaphors that we have never heard before, metaphors that 'stop us in our tracks' (that's a metaphor, but one that has no impact because it's so common). They want us to imagine, to make pictures in our heads.

c) Go through the metaphors in the poem, e.g., the vehicle has yellow shining eyes; it prowls. Ask the student to talk about the pictures they have in their head when they read them. Finally, ask the student to read through the whole poem, thinking about how each picture in their head works together with the others to make an overall image of the vehicle as an animal.

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