WL3014
Washday for the clouds
By Bev Kemp
The sky is drying
his shape-changing sheets
on the west wind today.
He rinsed the sheets
last night, and pounded them
on the thunder stones.
Tomorrow, when the sheets
have aired,
there will be dragons
and castles in the sky.
Source: '100 New Zealand Poems for Children', Illustrated by David Elliot, Edited by Jo Noble.
Random House, 1999.
Read the poem and answer the questions below.
a)
This poem says that clouds are like sheets. What are two ways clouds are
like sheets?
i)
_________________________________________________________
ii) _________________________________________________________
b) This poem gives clues about what the weather is like at different times.
Draw pictures or write in words on the chart below to show what the
weather is like at different times in the poem.
Time
Weather
Last night
Today
Tomorrow
c)
In this poem the sky is described as if it is a person. What does the sky do
in this poem which makes it seem like a person?
____________________________________________________________
d) The end of this poem says "there will be dragons and castles in the sky."
What does this really mean?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
WL3014
Scoring:
2 marks
(1 mark each)
Answers/Responses:
a)
Any 2 similarities, e.g.,



b)
1 mark
They are white.
They fly/move/change shape in the wind.
They are soft/thick/woolly/fluffy (i.e.,
flannelette sheets).

They cover the sky/are big.

They are thin.
Last night – any 1 of:


Y4 (11/00)
2 correct –
difficult
1 correct –
easy
moderate
Rainy/wet
Stormy/thunderstorms
1 mark
Today – Windy/west wind
moderate
1 mark
Tomorrow – any 1 of:
moderate



1 mark
c)
cloudy
fine/sunny/warm.
windy
Any 1 of:
difficult


1 mark
d)
Drying his washing.
Rinsing his sheets.
Any 1 of:



moderate
The clouds will look like dragons and
castles.
There will be clouds in the sky.
The clouds will form pictures in the sky/will
make shapes.
Total: 7 marks
Strand
Writ
Function
CloseR
Level
2
Resource type
BCR
Process
Explore/Think
WL3014
Keywords
Poem; comprehension; personification; metaphor.
Description
Students explore the language of personification and metaphor in the poem called ‘Wash day
for the clouds’. The questions require the students to think about the metaphors and
personification.