Exercise 1 

Complete the poem. Try not to refer to the text. 

Exercise 2 
Complete the bridge map with the antonyms to the words given. 

1. Word: true Antonym: ______________ 

2. Word: sharp Antonym: ______________ 
3. Word: forgot Antonym: ______________ 
4. Word: awful Antonym: ______________ 

 
Exercise 3 

Read the following statements and state whether they are “True” or “False”. 

1. The persona recollects the memories of her grandmother as she looks at the 
photograph. 
(___________)   
2. The persona’s grandmother is still living with her. 
(___________) 
3. The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman. 
(___________) 
4. The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies. 
(___________) 
5. The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death. 
(___________) 
6. In the photograph, the grandmother will always be alive. 
(___________) 

Exercise 4 

Answer the following questions based on your understanding of the poem. 

1. How old was the persona when the photograph was taken? 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
2. Which line in the poem tells us the grandmother has become forgetful? 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
3. The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman. 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
4. The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies. 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
5. The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death. 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
6. Give one moral value one can learn from the poem. 
__________________________________________________________________________ 

Exercise 5 
Answer all the questions. 

1. List down 3 themes of the poem? 

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
2. Give 4 moral values that are found in the poem. 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
3. How do you think of the persona feels towards her grandmother? Support 
your answer with evidence from the poem. 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
4. “A picture speaks a thousand words” is a common proverb. How would you 
relate this to the poem “The Living Photograph”? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 

Exercise 6 

Read the questions carefully and answer all the questions. 

1. Sometimes an elderly member of the family is sent to a nursing home. Do you 

agree with this practice? Provide your reason. 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
2. If you were to take care of your grandmother for a day, what would you do 
to make her experience an unforgettable one? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 

Answers  
Exercise 1 

 
1. Shirt   9. Awful  
2. Skirt    10. Unthinkable   
3. Smile    11. Three  
4. Holds   12. Living 
5. Death   
6. True    
7. Hunched   
8. Soup  
Exercise 2 

1. false  
2. dull   
3. remembered   
4. Beautiful 

Exercise 3 

1. True 
2. False 
3. True 
4. False 
5. False 
6. True  

Exercise 4 

1. She was three years old 

2. The line, “her soup forgot to boil” 
3. The word “unthinkable” 
4. In the first stanza, the grandmother is strong and healthy in the photograph 
while in the second stanza the grandmother is older and ill. 
5. The poem is about how a photograph immortalises a person. This is illustrated 
in the poem where in real life, the grandmother is dead but with the 
photograph, she will always be remembered by the persona. 
6. The poem teaches us that we must spend time with our loved ones because 
when they pass away, all that will be left are the memories of the time spent 
together. 

Exercise 5 & 6 

-Accept all correct and acceptable answers- 

 
 

1. List two items ‘grandmother’ wears in the photo. 

a) _____________________________________________________________ 
b) _____________________________________________________________ 
 
2. What do you think the writer is referring to in the phrase ‘the awful place 
grandmothers go? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
3. Why do you think the writer’s ‘small grandmother’ is ‘tall’ in the photo? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
4. In the first stanza, what does the word ​there​ refer to? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
5. Which line tells you that the writer and her grandmother come from different 
ethnic background? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
6. How old was the writer when the photo was taken? 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
7. Why do you think the writer says that her grandmother is tall in the photo but 
later became ‘small’? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
8. Quote evidence from line 14 to line 16 that the photograph was taken a long 
time ago. 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
9. Explain the meaning of the word ‘crinkled’. 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
10. How do these lines make you feel about photographs of people you love? 
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
  

Answers 

1. a) pleated skirt 
b) flat shoes/white broderie anglaise shirt 

2. The writer is referring to death. 

3. I think it is probably because the photo was taken when the writer’s 
grandmother was younger. Her back was not rounded and hunched 
then, so she looked tall. 

4. It refers to the photograph. 

5. ‘white hand in black hand’ 

6. She was three years old. 

7. I think she says that because at the time the photo was taken her 
grandmother was younger. Her back was straight therefore she 
seemed taller. It could also be because the writer was very young at 
the time (only 3 years old). As her grandmother grew older, her back 
became ‘round and hunched’. So she appeared ‘small’. The writer 
would also have grown bigger and taller too, therefore her 
grandmother no longer appears tall to her. 

8. The persona says that the photograph was taken when he/she was 
three years old. 

9. Wrinkled 

10. (accept all logical answers)