GESS Sec One Express/NA LITERATURE June Holiday Assignment

Read the instructions below carefully. Your grades from the submitted assignments will be included as part of CA2.

Part A

View the following videos (you will require an internet connection to do so).

1) 'Big Yellow Taxi' by The Counting Crows, a song about environmental destructionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99YP8Jmwhc8 2) A video about the destruction of animals’ natural habitats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS29dsOz1JQ&NR=1 

Now read the poem below carefully, and answer the questions that follow.You should type your answers in a Word Document and upload them in the AsknLearn Portal by 25 June.

The Day the Bulldozers Came

The day the bulldozers cameRooks were buildingCrazy egg baskets in the oaks;Green flies sizzled by the pondAnd a cold-eyed toadWaited for them.

The day the bulldozers cameSquirrels were scatteringUp tree trunks,And leapt from branches

That were hardly there.

The fox Stirred in his sleepAs the ground trembled.‘Haha!’ he thought,‘I’m quite safe, Deep down in the EarthNo one can get me here’.Then the bulldozers came.

David Orme

Note: Use the videos to help you in your answers. Your answers should be at least 300 words in total. Please write in paragraphs and quote from the poem in your answer (P-E-E).

1) What impression does the poet give of nature in the first two stanzas?2) Why do you think the poet has written this poem?3) How do you feel after reading the poem?

Part B

For students who have the book ‘Poetry for Pleasure’, please read Chapter 16—Limericks (pages 184-190).

A limerick is a funny poem of five lines, usually about a silly person. You can write about nearly anything you like, except that it should follow certain rules. Let’s look at this popular example:

An Old Man from Peru

There was an old man from PeruWho dreamt he was eating his shoeHe awoke in the nightIn a terrible frightAnd found it was perfectly true

o Limericks generally begin with ‘There was a….’ or ‘There was once a…’ or ‘There once was a…’.

o Notice that the 1st, 2nd and last line rhyme with one another; while the 3rd and 4th lines rhyme with each other.

o The 3rd and 4th line are also generally shorter than the other lines. o The last line is special because it is the funny one—the one that contains the

surprise or punchline.

Here are three more examples:

The Canoe-builder

There was a young man from CreweWho wanted to build a canoeHe went to the riverAnd found with a shiver,He hadn’t used waterproof glue.

A Lady Named Rose

There was a lady named RoseWho had an extremely long nose.When she walked aroundIt would drag on the groundAnd get tangled up with her toes.

A Young Girl from Gloucester

There was a young girl from GloucesterWhose parents thought they had lost herFrom the fridge came a soundAnd at last she was foundThe trouble was—how to defrost her.

Task:

Write your own original limerick. Decorate it with pictures, use fancy fonts, link it to a video, make it hilarious…go crazy! (but remember the rules!)

Submit it in the same word document as your answers to the ‘Bulldozer’ questions.

Upload your completed work to AsknLearn by 25 June 2011. Please send a message to your Literature teacher via GESSportal if you have any questions. Thank you.