“MY BED IS A BOAT”by Robert Louis Stevenson

My bed is like a little boat;Nurse helps me in when I embark;She girds me in my sailor's coat

And starts me in the dark.

At night I go on board and sayGood-night to all my friends on shore;

I shut my eyes and sail awayAnd see and hear no more.

And sometimes things to bed I take,As prudent sailors have to do;

Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake,Perhaps a toy or two.

All night across the dark we steer;But when the day returns at last,Safe in my room beside the pier,

I find my vessel fast.

METRE

HOW MANY STANZAS DOES THE POEM HAVE?

FOUR

HOW MANY LINES DOES EACH STANZA HAVE?

FOUR

PRONUNCIATION

FIND RHYMING WORDS IN THE POEM. WRITE THE PAIRS

1. boat - coat2. embark - dark3. say - away4. shore – more

CAN YOU FIND A PATTERN IN THE RHYME?

5. take – cake6. do – two7. steer – pier8. last - fast

a – b – a - b

VOCABULARY

1. to embark

2. to gird3. sailor4. shore5. to shut6. prudent7. slice8. to steer9. pier10. vessel

GUESSING MEANING FROM CONTEXT

a. person who navigates ships.b. to guide the course of a boat, vehicle,

etc.c. to get on a boat, a ship or an airplane.d. careful, judicious.e. to equip, to prepare for action.f. thin, broad piece.g. ship, boath. to close.i. the land on or near a lake, sea, etc.j. platform over water used to access

ships, boats, etc.

1c – 2e – 3a – 4i – 5h – 6d – 7f – 8b – 9j – 10g

VOCABULARYFIND WORDS RELATED TO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES

1. PEOPLE2. SAILING3. SENSES4. MEANS OFTRANSPORT

1. nurse, sailor, friends2. embark, on board, shore, sail away, steer, pier 3. eyes, see, hear4. boat, vessel

CAN YOU FIND ANY OTHER CATEGORIES IN THE POEM?

CREATIVE PROJECTS

INDIVIDUALLY: CHOOSE 1, 2, 3 or 4

1. make a drawing related to the poem (it can be a scene, a place, a feeling…), or

2. make a PowerPoint presentation of the poem, or3. make your own version of the poem changing at least 10

words, or

4. write something about the poem (why you liked it or not, what you like best and why…)

IN GROUPS OF FOUR:

1. practise reciting your favourite stanza of the poem2. perform or dramatise the poem to the rest of the

class