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כפר הנוער יוהנה ז'בוטינסקי Yohana Jabotinsky Youth Town
בית ספר מקיף שש שנתי למדעים ואמנויות for Sciences and ArtsSix Year Comprehensive School
8th grade
Student:______
The poems we will read were written byShel Silverstein. Before we read the poems, I want you to find some information
about the poet.
Our work will be done in several steps.
Do your assignments and hand them in according to the due
dates given in each step. There is no need to do all steps at once
as we are going to work both online from home and in class.
Go to or
or any other site and do a search for Shel Silverstein.
Step I.due date: 27.11.05
Answer the following questionsin writing and bring the answers to the class:
- Where and when did Silverstein live? ______
______
- What are the dates of his life? ______
- Find a list of the books and poems he has written. Have you ever
heard of any of them?
Write the names of at least four of his collections of poems and
books.______
______
- What other talents did ShelSilverstein have?______
______
Step 2. due date: 4.12.05
Do the assignment in writing and bring it to the class together with the text of the poem you have chosen.
Choose and read any poem from the Appendix below (or
download any poem you found and liked). Thenwritea
review for it answering the following questions.
1. Content and meaning:
a. The poem I read is called:______
b.It talks about:
______
______
______
______
______
______
c. What is the tone of the poem? Serious or humorous?
______
______
______
d.Is there an underlying meaning? Explain your answer.______
______
______.
2. Structure:
a.What is the structure of the poem? Is it divided into stanzas?
______
b. Is there a regular rhythm or is it written in free verse?
______
c. Do the lines rhyme? What is the rhyming pattern?
______
______
3. Language:
a. Is the language clear? Simple?______
______
b. Are there any contractions? Give examples______
______
c. Can you picture what the poet is describing? What words helped you? ______
______
4. Recommendation
a. Did you like the poem? Yes/NO. Explain "why".
______
b. Would you recommend this poem to your friends? Explain______
______
Step 3. due date: 8.12.05
Read the poem "Obedient" (below) and do the following assignments in writing:
OBEDIENT
Teacher said, "You don't obey.
You fidget and twidget
And won't sit down.
So go stand in the corner now
'Til I say you can turn around."
So there I stood 'til it got dark
Without a whimper or a tear,
'Til everybody else went home.
I guess that she forgot me here.
And that was Friday, so I stayed
All through the weekend--bein' good,
And Monday was the first day of
summer vacation, so I stood
Through hot July and sticky August,
Tryin' to obey her rule.
Stood right there until September,
When--yikes--they closed down the school!
Boarded up the doors and windows,
Moved to a new one way 'cross town.
So here I've stood for forty years
In dark and dust and creaky sounds.
Waiting for her to say, "Turn around."
This might not be just what she meant,
But me--I'm so obedient.
obey / מציית
fidget/twidget / מתנועעבחוסר מנוחה
whimper / קול, צליל
sticky / דביק
Glossary:
Assignment 1 . Find pairs of words that rhyme.
Example: tear – here
* *
* *
Assignment 2. Answer the questions:
1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
2. Why did the teacher punish the boy?
3. What was the boy's punishment?
4. Did the boy go home? Explain.
5. Why does the poet feel as if he stayed in the corner for 40 years?
6. Do you think that standing in the corner is such a bad punishment?Justify your answer.
Assignment 3. Match the beginning of each sentence in column A to its ending in column B. What is this?
A B
1. Dear ____a. show you how obedient I am.
2.I'm sorry I ____b.disturb you while you were teaching.
3. I didn't mean to _____c. learned my lesson.
4. I have _____d. "Turn around"?
5. For forty years I have tried to _____e. fidgeted and twidgeted in class.
6. But when will you say _____f. Obie D. Yent
7. Sincerely, _____g. Miss Smith
Step 4. due date: 12.12.05
1. Write your comments about your work:
* Did you learn anything new during your work? * Did you enjoy the work?
*Did you easily find the necessary sites? *Did anyone help you with your Internet search?
2. Now collect all your assignments and put them into a file.
3. Be sure you have everything (see the Assessment table below).
4. Hand in your work.
Your grade will be given according to this Assessment Chart (be sure you use it while working to see that you are doing all of the tasks, and hand it in with your work at the end):
1. Answered all biography questions (1 – 4) – Step 1. / 20 points2. Wrote the websites used to find the information and included them into your work. / 5 points
3. Copied a poem, described it, included your opinion and explanation - Step 2 / 35 points
4. Did 3 assignments of Step 3 and added your answers to your "Silverstein file". / 25 points
5.Wrote your comments – Step 4. / 10 points
6. Worked well and handed all assignments on time.. / 5 points
Total: / 100 points
Enjoy the work.
Tatyana Appendix pages 6-11
Appendix
Favorite Poems by Shel Silverstein
1. Jimmy Jet And His TV Set
Shel Silverstein
I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet--
And you know what I tell you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
Almost as much as you.
He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From "The Early Show" to "The Late Show"
And all the shows in between.
He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.
And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screen.
And two knobs saying "vert." and "horiz."
Grew where his ears had been.
And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
So we plugged in little Jim.
And now instead of him watching TV
We all sit around and watch him.
2. Messy Room
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
3. The Little Boy and the Old Man
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.
4. Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
5. Channels
Channel 1's no fun.
Channel 2's just news.
Channel 3's hard to see.
Channel 4 is just a bore.
Channel 5 is all jive.
Channel 6 needs to be fixed.
Channel 7 and Channel 8-
Just old movies, not so great.
Channel 9's a waste of time.
Channel 10 is off, my child.
Wouldn't you like to talk a while?
6. Sick
"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
'I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-- that's seventeen,
And don't you think that my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wreched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my spine is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say that today is... Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"