CLIL A  Unit 5
Focus on Literature: Poetry
1 Read the poem ‘Bed in summer’ by
Robert Louis Stevenson. Then choose
the correct option for 1-4
Bed in summer
by Robert Louis Stevenson
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
1 There are two verses in the poem.
A verse is:
A a part of a poem similar to a
paragraph
B one complete sentence
2 How many lines are there in each
verse?
A eight  B four
3 ‘Tree’ has one syllable and ‘hopping’
has two syllables. How many syllables
does each line have?
A eight  B nine
4 ‘See’ and ‘tree’ are rhyming words.
Which word rhymes with you?
A play  B  blue
1 PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
2 Read the poem again. Are the sentences true (T)
or false (F)?
1 The poet is describing the night time.
2 He can hear people outside.
3 He wants to be outside.
4 He wants to go to bed.
3 Read another poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Choose the best rhyming word.
1 A you B me C him
2 A up B home C out
At the sea-side
by Robert Louis Stevenson
When I was down beside the sea
A wooden spade they gave to (1) …
To dig the sandy shore.
My holes were empty like a cup.
In every hole the sea came (2) … ,
Till it could come no more.
4 Read the information about similes. Then read the
poem again and answer 1 and 2.
Poets use similes to ‘paint a picture’ for the reader.
Simile: The poet compares two things with the words
like or as (e.g. as white as snow).
1 Which line in the poem has a simile?
2 What two words is the poet comparing?