Your+assignment

This is the assignment you will hand in for assessment: ** Writing ** Don't say you saw a bird: you saw a swallow, Or a great horned owl, a hawk, or oriole. Don't just tell me that he flew; That's what any bird can do; Say he darted, circled, swooped or lifted in the blue.
 * Animal Style **
 * Year 7 **
 * Melbourne **** Zoo Excursion **
 * Tuesday, April 28, 2009 **
 * http://bhsyear7english.wikispaces.com **
 * BE SPECIFIC **

Don't say the sky behind the bird was pretty; It was watermelon pink streaked through with gold; Gold bubbled like a fountain From a pepperminted mountain And shone like Persian rugs when they are old. Don't tell me that the air was sweet with fragrance; Say it smelled of minted grass and lilac bloom;

Don't say your heart was swinging; Name the tune that it was singing, And how the moonlight's neon filled the room.

Don't say the evening creatures all were playing; Mention tree toad's twanging, screeching fiddle notes, Picture cricket's constant strumming To the mass mosquitoes humming While the frogs are singing bass deep in their throats.

Don't use a word that's good for all the senses There's a word for every feeling one can feel. If you want your lines to be terrific; Then do make your words specific, For words can paint a picture that's real.

Maurice Applegate

Descriptive Writing: Using the five senses
 * Sight Sound Taste Touch Smell **
 * Divide your page into five even sections – one for each of the senses listed above ** . As you move around the zoo, record your experiences. What can you see? Hear? Taste? Smell? Touch? Remember to follow the advice of Maurice Applegate: BE SPECIFIC!

When you’re back at school, develop your notes and observations into one of the best pieces of writing you’ve ever done. Either: Ø Describe your day at the zoo, or a memorable part of it.

Or Ø Complete a diary of one of the animals you encountered, titled ‘My life at the zoo’. Include at least 5 entries. Writing poetry about animals It is Snake glides particularly through grass the particular way over they come pebbles stepping forked tongue warily working along the path never in dark speaking wrinkled but its stockings body and shabby whispers mini fur coats, listen. their weaving **Keith Bosley** Donald Duck Heads Ready To dip And snatch Your ice cream That appeals; That, And the way They browse dumbly brown In cattle-paddocks.
 * Emus Snake Glides **
 * Chris Wallace-Crabbe **

** The Eagle ** He clasps the crag with crooked hands Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls, He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. ** Alfred, Lord Tennyson **
 * To read more animal poetry to the Poetry Zoo at http://bhsyear7english.wikispaces.com/Poetry+Zoo

Ø Choose the animal in the zoo you find most interesting and sit and observe it for at least five minutes. Make notes about its appearance, its movements, facial expressions, actions and its enclosure. Could you compare an aspect of the animal’s appearance with something else? For example, Chris Wallace-Crabbe describes emu legs as ‘dark, wrinkled stockings’ and their feathers as ‘shabby mini fur coats’. Ø At school, turn your observations into a poem. You should discuss with your teacher what type of poem you wish to write.

Writing Stories Choose **one** of the following topics:

Two young children find themselves locked at the Melbourne Zoo on Christmas Day, the only day of the year the zoo is closed. The workers feed the animals early in the day so they can spend the day with their families. Thus, the children find themselves all alone…well, almost. How do they spend Christmas day? What adventures do the children experience?
 * ‘Christmas at the Zoo’ **
 * Write an entertaining children’s story ** . You may choose to present it as a picture story-book or comic.

You and your partner have been working undercover trying to infiltrate a Melbourne crime ring. The crime boss is tipped off by an informant as to your real identities. His chauffeur arrives to take you both for a ride. He refuses to yell you your destination. You soon realise something is wrong. When the car pulls up at the corner of Racecourse and Flemington Roads you make a run for it. You run towards Royal Park where it is difficult for the car to follow. You are being charged by armed men. There is only one thing you can do. You and your partner scale the wall of the Melbourne Zoo.
 * ‘Spies in the Night’ **

What happens next? **Write a spine-tingling thriller**. How can out two heroes use the zoo to their advantage to escape from their enemies?

Two of the greatest animal adventures of the 90s were ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Babe’. In these types of stories animals are the main characters and are given human qualities to help develop their personalities and the plot. Animals are great for adventure stories. They seem to have an ability to get in and out of awkward situations. Adventure stories usually involve a quest. The main characters are often looking for something, someone or some place. Once they have reached their goal, all will be well, but usually they have to get past the villain first.
 * ‘Animal Adventure’ **

** Writing for publication ** All Year 7 students and their teachers will select their best pieces of animal writing and prepare it for publication.

There will be a giant display of the writing, both in our classrooms and on our wiki, http://bhsyear7english.wikispaces.com/

Everyone is expected to contribute!