Curriculum Connections Page
The poem is divided into sections according to the mood of the tapir (1 -- shame,
low self-esteem; 2 -- fantasy/dreaming, pride through imagination; 3 -- pride
in self, high self-esteem. Challenge students to suggest a tempo for reading
each section that matches the mood. Have them read the poem again (with or without
the beat) to reflect the mood by varying the tempo.
And the ultimate challenge... Can you and your students put the poem to music.
You don't need to be musicians or able to read and write music - just sing the
words! Change the tempo, make a pattern by singing the first line, then repeating
and varying the pattern. Try it - you'll like it! And it can be lots of fun.
Even if you are not musical yourself, you might find that there are some students
in your class who will take the ball and run with it if you just give them the
chance. You might even get away without singing one note yourself! But, alas,
if need be, you can always pass the activity on to your colleague down the hall, the school
music teacher.
Creative Writing Idea: As blatantly as a tapir's trunk protrudes from its face,
one line in each of the first three stanzas and in the fifth stanza extends
beyond the rest. That's by design - a manipulation of the way the poem is placed
on the page to produce a visual cue that connects to the subject of the poem.
So, though it may not be as obvious as in other poems in Amazin' Amazon Animals, this poem
qualifies as a 'concrete' poem. Sometimes when students write concrete animal
poems, they put the words in the shape of the animal. But, if their poems are
guess-who poems, as these are, they might need to be more subtle
so they don't give away the animals. If your students have written guess-who
animal poems (see the Amazin' Amazon Mystery Animal Curriculum Connections page), have them
change the poems into concrete poems focusing on one physical characteristic
of the animal - or on another physical clue (i.e. where the animal lives, or something,
like a car for a jaguar or a tank for a tarantula, that students compared the
animal to in their poem.
Note that, besides giving a visual clue, the way the stanzas are placed on
the page also gives clues about the poems' mood changes. Discuss this with your
students. Where are the words when the tapir is down, dreaming and proud? How
could this relate to the meaning/be interpreted?
Happy To Be Me! Writing Activity: In this poem, the tapir eventually comes
to accept his different appearance and appreciate who he/she is, mainly because
it realizes that all animals are different and that, in its being different,
it's also unique. Have students research tapirs in greater depth. An excellent
place to start is The Tapir Gallery, which can be found at http://www.tapirback.com/. This site has loads of tapir facts and photos, information on projects in South America that are aimed at saving tapirs and
an opportunity to join 'Club Tapir' so you can be a part of the
effort.
After your students have done their research, have them write 'Happy To Be
Me!' essays in which they imagine they are tapirs and explain why tapirs are
'cool' and why they are happy to be tapirs. Next, have them write 'Happy To
Be Me!' essays about themselves, explaining why they, as individuals, are cool
and why they are happy to be who they are. If they are so inspired, have them
put their essay about themselves in poetic form, using the 'Happy To Be Me!'
tapir poem as a model.
Science/Writing Connection: Here's another neat idea: On the Internet,
visit 'The
ABC's of the Rainforest' [http://www.abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/habitats/rain_forest/]
. Go to "Rain Forest Animals (N-Z)." One of the 'T' pages is about
the tapir. Using this site as a model, assign each student a letter, have them
choose and research a corresponding animal or rain forest plant, then have them
make up an ABC book with their own drawings of the animals/plants and interesting
facts about the animal/plant under the drawing. To keep with the theme, students
could choose characteristics of the animal/plant that make it unique. They could
then start their caption, "I am a _______. I'm happy to be me because I can/I
have ______. When the pages are complete, put them together, make a cover and
a title, like 'Happy To Be Me ABC's of the Rain Forest,' and display your book
proudly.
BACK TO TAPIR POEM BACK TO TAPIR PHOTO INDEX OF POEMS