Maasai Poem (Write an African Inspired version of Benjamin Zephaniah's Nature Trail) | Laddingford St Mary's C of E Primary School

Just like we are familiar with the animals in our back gardens robins, sparrows, hedgehogs, frogs, toads and bees, the Maasai also share their land with wild creatures. Except in the case of the Maasai, those creatures are a little larger and sometimes a lot more dangerous. Imagine waking up in the morning and seeing an elephant, giraffe or lion walk past your house!

Activity

Read this poem by Benjamin Zephaniah about all the animals that he has found in his back garden. Notice that every pair or even lines rhymes with each other e.g. lines 2 and 4 (frog and log), lines 6 and 8 (snail, trail) and lines 18 and 20 (buzzing and humming). He also uses alliteration (using lots of words that start with the same letter e.g. line 18 - busy bees come buzzing. Write your own version of this poem about all the wildlife the Maasai might see as they look beyond the kraal of their manyatta. You can chose whether you want it to rhyme or not.

Nature Trail Poem.pdf

Challenge

Perform your poem for an audience. You could make an audio or video recording of you reading your poem, or perform it live via face-time to your friends and family. Remember to speak loudly and clearly, pausing at punctuation and varying your tone and pace.