English for Life Reader Grade 7 Home Language - Elaine Ridge English for Life

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a)The last line is in a stanza of its own. Suggest a reason for this.b)The poet describes the days that are coming as “green” days? What is the speaker referring to?
Pre-reading
The poem is told through the voice of a San hunter. Their language uses many click sounds and the words and sounds in the poem try to show this. Read the poem aloud to enjoy its sounds. Please note that Sydney Clouts wrote this poem in 1966 before the word “Bushman” was generally replaced by the word “San”.
During reading
1.Jot down in point form what happens during the poem

      Firebowl

      Sydney Clouts

      Kalahari Bushman fires flowing

      in the hollows of the desert

      click all night

      stick stuck upright

      click

      click

      of starlight

      bowstring

      toes of the eland

      thk thk big raindrops

      tk tk tk the sandgrains

      drinking.

      Sssskla!

      sparks of honey

      arrowheads

      we who dance

      around the circle

      around the circle

      spoor him

      find him.

      my arrow clings to the thick thick

      grunt of darkness

      my arrow sings through fire.

      we who dance we find

      the

      fire

      of the fire.

Firebowl.jpg
Post-reading
2.There are only two punctuation marks in this poem. Why did the poet use the exclamation mark?
3. a)Which of the senses does this poem appeal to most? Quote from the poem to support your answer.
b)What other sense does the poem appeal to? Quote words from the poem to support your answer.
4. a)What do you think the words “sandgrains drinking” mean?
b)What visual image is created by the words “sparks of honey”?
5.What do you think a “firebowl” is? Suggest another title for the poem.
Pre-reading
1.When do people usually sleep beneath the stars?
During reading
2.What is the name of this shanty town (township)?

      Shantytown

      Anonymous

      High on the veld upon that plain

      And far from streets and lights and cars

      And bare of trees, and bare of grass,

      Jabavu sleeps beneath the stars.

      Jabavu sleeps.

      The children cough.

      Cold creeps up, the hard night cold,

      The earth is tight within its grasp,

      The Highveld cold without soft rain,

      Dry as the sand, rough as a rasp

      The frost rimmed night invades the shacks.

      Through dusty ground

      Through rocky ground

      Through freezing ground, the night cold creeps.

      In cotton blankets, rags and sacks

      Beneath the stars Jabavu sleeps.

      One day Jabavu will awake

      To greet a new and shining day:

      The sound of coughing will become

      The children’s laughter as they play

      In parks with flowers where dust now swirls

      In strong-walled homes with warmth and light.

      But for tonight Jabavu sleeps.

      Jabavu sleeps. The stars are bright.

Shanty%20town.jpg

Post-reading
3.The word “cold” is used three times in the first stanza to bring home to us how hard life is in Jabavu township in winter. What other words make us feel sorry for the people in Jabavu?
4.The coldness in this poem is described as though it were a living person or creature (personification). What do the words “creeps” and “invades” tell you about how the people experience the cold?
5.The second stanza is a message of hope. List the differences between Jabavu now and Jabavu as it will be in the hoped-for future.
Pre-reading
1.How would a boy who is bullied feel about the bully?

      My parents kept me from children who were rough

      Stephen Spender

      My parents kept me from children who were rough

      And who threw words like stones and who wore torn clothes.

      Their thighs showed through rags. They ran in the street

      And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.

      I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron

      And their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms.

      I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys

      Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.

      They were lithe, they sprang out behind the hedges

      Like dogs to bark at our world. They threw mud

      And I looked another way, pretending to smile.

      I longed to forgive them, yet they never smiled.

      stripped – took off their clothes

      salt coarse – “salt” may refer to salty taste of tears or the expression to rub salt into an open wound; “coarse” to be rude

      lithe – strong, able to move easily

Post-reading
2.Explain what is meant by “children who are rough”.
3. a)Write out the common rhyme that starts, ‘Sticks and stones …’ Does the rhyme express the same view as the poem? Consider the simile in the poem “throwing words like stones”. Refer to the poem to explain your answer.
b)List in point form the other things the boy fears.
4.Copy the table below into your books then fill in the columns, using information from the poem. The first row has been done for you. Add more boxes if you need them:

The speaker's clothes, strength, words he usesThe clothes, appearance, strength, words used by the boys who were rough
ClothesSmart clothes, clean and never tornClothesRagged clothes
BehaviourBehaved rudely
Way he spokeWay

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