# A Show of Clouds

## Overview

In this chapter, children explore their imagination through the poem *A Show of Clouds*. The poem describes the shapes the speaker sees in the clouds, such as a bear, a ship, and an elephant. The poem encourages children to lie on their backs, observe the sky, and use their creativity to imagine different things in the clouds. The chapter also includes observation activities, speaking practice, vocabulary building, drawing, listening, and phonics exercises.

## Key Topics Covered

### 1. Poem: A Show of Clouds

- The child lies on their back and looks at the sky.
- The clouds appear in the shapes of different things:
- A big white bear looking down.
- A ship sailing on a white sea.
- An elephant waving its trunk.
- The child expresses joy in imagining what they want to see in the clouds.

### 2. Observation and Speaking Activities

- **Cloud Watching**: Children are encouraged to sit outside and observe the clouds.
- **Speaking Prompts**:
- "When I look up, I see ___"
- "When I look down, I see ___"
- "When I close my eyes, I see ___"
- **Colours of Clouds**: Children are asked to identify and tick cloud colours — white, red, black, grey, green, blue. (Only realistic colours should be encouraged, though imaginative ones can be accepted.)

### 3. Reading Comprehension

- **Q1**: What animals did the child see in the poem?
- Answers include a bear, an elephant, and a ship (imaginary).
- **Q2**: What do you see in the sky during the day?
- Examples: sun, birds, planes.
- **Q3**: What do you see in the sky at night?
- Examples: moon, stars, clouds.

### 4. Writing and Drawing

- **Dot-to-Dot Activity**: Join the dots in alphabetical order and colour the picture.
- **Creative Writing**: Fill-in-the-blanks style responses based on observations.

### 5. Listening and Phonics Practice

- Focus on the **‘ck’ sound** as in the word “back”.
- Words practised:
- back, lack, pack, jack, rack
- tick, pick, flick, thick
- duck, pluck, muck, truck

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## New Words – Simple Definitions

| Word | Simple Definition |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| lie | to rest in a flat position |
| bear | a large wild animal with thick fur |
| sea | a large area of salt water |
| sailing | moving in a boat with the help of wind |
| waving | moving hand or trunk from side to side |
| sky | the space above the Earth where clouds and stars appear |
| back | the rear part of your body or surface |

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## Practice Questions

### Easy (3)

1. **What colour are most clouds during the day?**
**Answer**: White
**Explanation**: Clouds look white in sunlight.

2. **Name one animal the child saw in the sky.**
**Answer**: Bear
**Explanation**: The cloud looked like a bear to the child.

3. **What do you see in the sky at night?**
**Answer**: Stars
**Explanation**: Stars are visible in the night sky.

### Medium (2)

4. **What did the child think the white sea was?**
**Answer**: The clouds
**Explanation**: The clouds looked like a sea with a ship sailing on it.

5. **Why does the child enjoy looking at the sky?**
**Answer**: Because they can imagine different things in the clouds.
**Explanation**: It is a fun and imaginative experience.

### Difficult (3)

6. **How does the poem show imagination?**
**Answer**: The child sees shapes like animals and ships in the clouds.
**Explanation**: The clouds are used like pictures in the sky.

7. **What is the effect of lying on your back to look at clouds?**
**Answer**: It helps you focus on the sky and imagine freely.
**Explanation**: It encourages calm and creativity.

8. **Write your own line: "As I lie on my back, looking up at the sky, I see ___."**
**Answer**: I see a dragon flying high.
**Explanation**: This shows personal imagination.

### Very Difficult (2)

9. **Why do you think the poet used animals in the poem?**
**Answer**: To connect with children’s imagination and playfulness.
**Explanation**: Children often relate to animals and enjoy fantasy.

10. **What can cloud-watching teach us about creativity?**
**Answer**: It helps us use our imagination and see things in new ways.
**Explanation**: It turns ordinary clouds into stories and images.

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