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Welcome students!
Today, we are going to discuss Section 2 of

the SEA English Language Arts paper.
Our focus will be on Poetry!
I hope you are eager to explore this with

me!
Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 3

Section 2: Comprehension – Poetry
• There are 10 questions on the poem which contribute 20
marks to the ELA paper
• Questions are based on three thinking processes
• Literal
• Inferential and
• Evaluation/Appreciation
• Vocabulary is also examined in context
Thinking No. of
Processes Questions
Literal Three (3)
Inferential Four (4)
Evaluation/
Three (3)
Appreciation
Literal Questions
• Ask students to recall information explicitly or openly

stated in the poem
• Can be answered directly and explicitly from the poem

Inferential Questions
• The answers are in the poem, but are not explicitly stated
• Connections between or among stanzas need to be made in

order to determine the answer
• You can work out the answers by considering the hints and
clues in the poem

Evaluation Questions
• You must think about the information presented and

write answers based on your assessment of the poem
• Your answers must be linked to the poem and based on

its details

Appreciation Questions
• Allow you to provide an answer based on your
emotional response and connection with the poem
(what you appreciate or do not appreciate about how the
author crafted the poem)
• Encourage you to weigh the information to arrive at

why you appreciate the poem or not

Let’s The Sea
read
this The sea is a hungry dog, And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,
Giant and grey. He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs,
poem He rolls on the beach all day. Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,
With his clashing teeth and shaggy And howls and hollos long and loud.
jaws
5 Hour upon hour he gnaws 15 But on quiet days in May or June,
The rumbling, tumbling stones, When even the grasses on the dune
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones!' Play no more their reedy tune,
The giant sea-dog moans, With his head between his paws
Licking his greasy paws. He lies on the sandy shores,
20 So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.
10 And when the night wind roars
By James Reeves
Comprehension of Poems
Lesson 1:
Answering literal questions
Literal items (answers are clearly stated in the poem)
Examples
• Give two phrases from stanza two that appeal to the sense of
hearing.
• Identify two phrases that are repeated in the poem.
• Identify the following figures of speech in the poem

i. Metaphor
ii. Personification
Literal Question
Give two phrases from stanza two that appeal to the

sense of hearing.

Question: Give two phrases from stanza two that appeal to the
sense of hearing.
Look for words
that indicate
sound Possible Answers:
(i) “the night wind roars”
(ii) “howls and hollos”/
And when the night wind roars “howls and hollos long and
And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,
He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs, loud” are words that appeal
Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs, to the sense of hearing.
And howls and hollos long and loud.
Here are the words that appeal

to the sense of hearing
Literal Question
Identify two phrases that are repeated in the poem.

Question: Identify two phrases that are repeated in the poem.
Where can I find the answer?

Possible Answers:
Lines 7 and 20
(i)“Bones, bones, bones,
bones”
Line 7- And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! ' (ii) “So quiet, so quiet”
Line 20- ‘So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.’ are the phrases repeated in
the poem.
Here are words
that are repeated

Literal Question
Identify the following figures of speech in the poem

i. Metaphor
ii. Personification

What is Personification?
This is when inanimate objects are given human qualities or behaviours.
Example
Example The
Thelightning
lightningdanced
dancedacross
acrossthe
thesky.
sky.
The lightning strikes

across the sky. It gives
the appearance of dance
movements which are
are associated with
human behaviour.

Identify an example of a metaphor in the poem.
The Sea
The sea is a hungry dog,
He rolls on the beach all day. Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,
With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws And howls and hollos long and loud.
Hour upon hour he gnaws
The rumbling, tumbling stones, But on quiet days in May or June,
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! ' When even the grasses on the dune
The giant sea-dog moans, Play no more their reedy tune,
Licking his greasy paws. With his head between his paws
He lies on the sandy shores,
And when the night wind roars So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.
By James Reeves 19
Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020)
Identify an example of personification in the poem.
The Sea
He rolls on the beach all day. Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,
With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws And howls and hollos long and loud.
The rumbling, tumbling stones, But on quiet days in May or June,
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! ' When even the grasses on the dune
The giant sea-dog moans, Play no more their reedy tune,
Licking his greasy paws. With his head between his paws
And when the night wind roars So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.
By James Reeves 20
Question: Identify the following figures of speech in the poem
i. Metaphor
ii. Personification
Possible Answers:
Example of a metaphor:
“The giant sea-dog moans,”
Examples of personification are: (Any one)

“He lies on the sandy shores,”
“he scarcely snores”
“… the grasses on the dune/Play no more their reedy
tune” Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 21
• The answers to literal questions can be found right there in the text.
• Look for key words in the question to signal where in the poem you
can search for the answer.
Stay tuned for Lesson 2!

Lesson 2:
• Answers are in the poem, but are not explicitly stated
• Connections need to be made in order to determine the

answer
• Consider the hints and clues in the poem to form your

responses
Let’s The Sea
return to
our poem The sea is a hungry dog,
Giant and grey.
He rolls on the beach all day.
With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws
5 Hour upon hour he gnaws
The rumbling, tumbling stones,
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! '
The giant sea-dog moans,
Licking his greasy paws.

He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs,
Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,
15 But on quiet days in May or June,

When even the grasses on the dune
Play no more their reedy tune,
With his head between his paws
By James Reeves
Inferential questions
(Answers are not clearly stated in the passage).
Examples
• Why is the sea compared to a hungry dog? Use details from the poem to support
your answer.
• Indicate two features of the sea which are suggested by the poet in the phrase
“Giant and grey” (line 2).
• Give a synonym for the word ‘gnaws’ in line five.
• Explain the comparison in the expression, “shaking his wet sides over the cliffs” in
line 13.

Why is the sea compared to
Inferential a hungry dog? Use details
from the poem to support
Question your answer.
28
The sea is being
compared to a hungry
Clue
The sea is a hungry dog, dog. It is a metaphor.
Giant and grey.
With his clashing teeth and shaggy Clue
jaws
Hour upon hour he gnaws Clue
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! ' Clue
Clue
Question: Why is the sea compared to a hungry dog? Use details from the poem to support your answer.
Details
• ‘Giant and grey’ Hint/Clue
• ‘Clashing teeth and shaggy • The sea is a hungry
jaws’ dog- metaphor
• ‘Gnaws the rumbling,
tumbling stones’
• 'Bones, bones, bones, bones’
Inference
This shows that the sea behaves
hungrily, crashing its
Hint/Clue
'teeth‘/waves against the shore • The actions of the
and trying to consume it like a sea and the dog
hungry dog when it sees bones are similar
Question: Why is the sea compared to a hungry dog? Use details from the
poem to support your answer.
Possible Answer:
The sea is compared to a hungry dog because of its behaviour.
In the first stanza, the choppy grey sea is likened to a hungry dog with
"clashing teeth and shaggy jaws." The waves roll and gnaw on stones
on the beach, similar to a ravenous dog chomping on bones.

Inferential Indicate two features of the sea
which are suggested by the poet
Question in the phrase, “Giant and grey”
(line 2).
32
Question: Indicate two features of the sea which are suggested by
the poet in the phrase, “Giant and grey” (line 2).
Look for features or

Where can I find the answer? characteristics of
the sea in the first
stanza

Indicate two features of the sea which are suggested by the poet in
the phrase, “Giant and grey” (line 2).
Clue
These words are
Giant and grey.
Clue describing the sea
He rolls on the beach all day. as a dog in terms
With his clashing teeth and shaggy of size and colour.
jaws
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones!’
Question: Indicate two features of the sea which are suggested by
the poet in the phrase, “Giant and grey” (line 2)?
Possible Answer:
The poet describes the sea as being a large and grey dog.
The word ‘giant’ indicates the size of the sea which is huge or
vast. The word ‘grey’ indicates the colour of the large body
of water.

Give a synonym for the word ‘gnaws’
Inferential in line 5.
Question
36
Give a synonym for the word ‘gnaws’ in line 5.
The sea is a hungry dog, Find the word in line 5

Giant and grey.
He rolls on the beach all day. Look for context clues before and
With his clashing teeth and after the word ‘gnaws’ that help to
shaggy jaws determine its meaning
The rumbling, tumbling ‘gnaws’ appears to be related to the
stones, action of a dog eating
And 'Bones, bones, bones,
bones! ' Think of another word that can
The giant sea-dog moans, replace ‘gnaws’
paws

Question: Give a synonym for the word ‘gnaws’ in line 5.
Possible Answer:
A synonym for the word ‘gnaws’ is bite, nibble, chew or crunch loudly with
one’s teeth.

Explain the comparison in the
Inferential expression, “shaking his wet sides
over the cliffs” in line 13.
Question
39
Question: Explain the comparison in the expression, “shaking his wet
sides over the cliffs” in line 13.
Let’s
And when the night wind roars explore the
And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud, clues
And howls and hollos long and loud. What does the
dog’s behaviour
indicate about the
behaviour of the
sea?
Question: Explain the comparison in the expression, “shaking his wet sides over the cliffs” in line 13.
Details
• Wind roars
• Stormy cloud Hint/Clue
• He bounds to his feet • The poet describes
• Snuffs and sniffs the sea on a stormy
• Howls and hollos long and
night.
loud
Inference
The image created is one of
noisy waves crashing against a
cliff and spraying water over it. Hint/Clue
This is similar to the image of a • The poet continues to
wet, energetic, noisy dog compare the behaviour of
shaking and splashing the water the sea to that of a dog.
off its wet fur. Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 41
Question: Explain the comparison in the expression, “shaking his wet
sides over the cliffs” from line 13.
Possible Answer:
The expression, ‘shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,’ continues the
poet’s comparison of the sea, on a stormy night, to a boisterous
dog. Through the comparison with the dog’s behaviour, the image
created shows the waves, in the sea, crashing violently against a
cliff and spraying water over it like a boisterous dog shaking its
body.

• Answers to inferential questions are in the poem, but are not
explicitly or openly stated.
• Connections need to be made in order to determine the answer.
• Consider the hints and clues in the poem.
• Use context clues to discover the meanings of words in the poem.
Stay tuned for Lesson 3!

Lesson 3:
Evaluation/Appreciation Questions
Let’s The Sea
return to
our poem The sea is a hungry dog,
Giant and grey.
With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws
5 Hour upon hour he gnaws
And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! '

15 But on quiet days in May or June,

When even the grasses on the dune
Play no more their reedy tune,
By James Reeves
Evaluation Questions
• You must think about the information presented and

write answers based on your assessment of the poem
• Your answers must be linked to the poem and based on

its details

Appreciation Questions
• Allow you to provide an answer based on your
emotional response and connection with the poem
(what you appreciate or do not appreciate about how the
author crafted the poem)
• Encourage you to weigh the information to arrive at

why you appreciate the poem or not

Evaluation and Appreciation Questions
•Is the sea presented as a safe place? Explain your response using
evidence from the poem.
•Do you prefer the mood at the beginning or at the end of the
poem? Support your answer with details from the poem.
•Is, ‘The Sea’, a suitable title for the poem? Give a reason for your
response, using information from the poem.
Is the sea presented as a safe
Evaluation place? Explain your response
Question using evidence from the poem.
50
Your vi
e
are req ws
uired
Question: Is the sea presented as a safe place? Explain your

response using evidence from the poem.
Think about the

When reading about
different ways in
the sea, do you feel
which the sea is
safe or unsafe?
described

Question: Is the sea presented as a safe place? Explain your response using
evidence from the poem.
Possible Answer:
Yes. The poem indicates that occasionally the sea is safe such as on
quiet days in May or June. In the third stanza, the poet suggests that
the sea is as a calm as a sleeping dog. This is shown in the lines:
“But on quiet days in May or June, …
So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.”

Possible Answer:
No. The sea is never safe. It appears menacing and frightening at

times. The idea that the sea has "clashing teeth and shaggy jaws," that
it "gnaws" and “moans" conveys a sense of fear. Even though calm in
stanza three, one cannot predict when a sea will change from being
calm to violent and dangerous.

Do you prefer the mood at
the beginning or at the end
of the poem? Support your
Evaluation answer with details from the
Question poem.
54
Search for details to compare the
mood at the start and at the end
Question:
Do you prefer the mood at the beginning or at the end of the
Look for evidence of mood change

How can we identify mood in a poem?
• Look for words that appeal to your emotions

• Look for words that appeal to your senses
• Examine the behaviour of characters
• Examine the setting of the poem
How do these make you feel?

Let’s go back to our poem
Examine the mood at the The sea is a hungry dog,
beginning of the poem. Giant and grey.
Hint: How do the With his clashing teeth and shaggy
poet’s words jaws
make you feel? Hour upon hour he gnaws
In the beginning, the words make me And 'Bones, bones, bones, bones! '
feel unsettled and even frightened
because the sea behaves roughly and
violently. This is seen in the following Licking his greasy paws.
words, ‘clashing teeth and shaggy
jaws’, ‘he gnaws’, ‘The giant sea-dog
moans’. Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 57
Let’s go back to our poem
Examine the mood at the But on quiet days in May or June,
end of the poem. When even the grasses on the
Hint: How do the poet’s
dune
words make you feel when Play no more their reedy tune,
describing the sea, at the end With his head between his paws
of the poem?
In the end, the poet’s words So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely
make me feel calm and peaceful. snores.
The sea is gentle and there is
barely any sound.

Question: Do you prefer the mood at the beginning or at the end of the
Possible Answer:
I do not prefer the mood at the beginning I prefer the mood at the end of the poem
of the poem since it is unsettling, violent which is peaceful and calm since the sea is
and even frightening. This makes me now gentle and quiet.
scared.
Evidence:
This is reflected in stanza one where the
sea is described as having "clashing teeth Evidence: “With his head between his paws
and shaggy jaws," that it "gnaws" and He lies on the sandy shores,
“moans" like an animal. So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores”.

Is, ‘The Sea’, a suitable title for the
Evaluation poem? Give a reason for your
Question response, using information from
the poem.
60
Question: Is, ‘The Sea’, a suitable title for the poem? Give a
reason for your response, using information from the poem.
Think about the

words, images and
your understanding
of the poem Use details
from the poem
to create your
response

Possible Answers:
Yes. The title is suitable since the entire poem is focused on the sea. I
appreciate the way the poet compares the actions of the sea to that of a
dog. There is evidence of this in the lines, ‘The sea is a hungry dog, Giant
and grey. He rolls on the beach all day.’ The poem describes the sea when it
is both rough and calm.
The title is not suitable because the poem seems to be more about an
animal than about the sea. This does not make sense to me. The sea is very
different from an animal and does not,‘…rolls on the beach all day.’ neither
does it have, ‘clashing teeth and shaggy jaws…’ The title is supposed to
reflect the main idea of the poem.
In this series of lessons we examined
• Literal Questions- Answers are stated explicitly in the poem
• Inferential Questions- Connections need to be made across stanzas in order to

determine the answer
• Evaluation/Appreciation Questions- Answers are based on the reader’s

judgement or emotional connections to the poem
Remember
Justify your answers for Inferential and Evaluation/Appreciation questions and
support them with details from the poem

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Helping students to connect and

Today, we are going to discuss Section 2 of

I hope you are eager to explore this with

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 3

Literal Three (3)

Inferential Four (4)

• Ask students to recall information explicitly or openly

• Can be answered directly and explicitly from the poem

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 6

• Connections between or among stanzas need to be made in

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 7

• You must think about the information presented and

• Your answers must be linked to the poem and based on

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 8

• Encourage you to weigh the information to arrive at

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 9

• Identify two phrases that are repeated in the poem.

• Identify the following figures of speech in the poem

Give two phrases from stanza two that appeal to the

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 13

Here are the words that appeal

Identify two phrases that are repeated in the poem.

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 15

Where can I find the answer?

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 16

Identify the following figures of speech in the poem

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 17

The lightning strikes

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 18

Examples of personification are: (Any one)

Stay tuned for Lesson 2!

• Connections need to be made in order to determine the

• Consider the hints and clues in the poem to form your

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 25

15 But on quiet days in May or June,

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 27

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 31

Look for features or

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 33

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 35

The sea is a hungry dog, Find the word in line 5

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 37

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 38

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 42

Stay tuned for Lesson 3!

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 45

15 But on quiet days in May or June,

• You must think about the information presented and

• Your answers must be linked to the poem and based on

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 47

• Encourage you to weigh the information to arrive at

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 48

Question: Is the sea presented as a safe place? Explain your

Think about the

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 51

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 52

No. The sea is never safe. It appears menacing and frightening at

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 53

Look for evidence of mood change

Curriculum Planning and Development Division (2020) 55

• Look for words that appeal to your emotions