Grade 7 English TOURIST ATTRACTION SITES:KENYA – READING:POETRY Notes
English: Reading — Poetry (Grammar focus)
Topic: Tourist attraction sites in Kenya — For learners aged 12. Read the short poem below and use it to study English grammar.
A short poem about Kenya's sites:
🏞️ Dawn breaks over Maasai Mara, elephants walk in calm.
🏔️ Mount Kenya stands tall, clouds touch its head.
🐘 At Amboseli, wind moves the acacia trees.
🦩 Lake Nakuru wears a coat of pink by the shore.
🏝️ We rest on Diani, sand warm under feet.
⛵ Sunset colours Lamu; we watch, quiet and glad.
Grammar points to notice (use the poem lines)
- Nouns — names of people, places, animals or things. Examples from poem: Maasai Mara, Mount Kenya, elephants, sand, sunset.
- Verbs — show actions or states. Examples: breaks, walk, stands, moves, wears, rest, watch.
- Adjectives — describe nouns. Examples: tall, warm, pink, quiet.
- Pronouns — replace nouns. Example: we, its, my/your (not in every line but see “we”).
- Prepositions — show position or time (in, over, at, on, under, by). Examples: over Maasai Mara, at Amboseli, on Diani, by the shore.
- Articles — 'a', 'an', 'the'. Example: the acacia trees, the shore.
- Punctuation — full stops (.), commas (,), and semicolons (;) mark pauses and sentence ends. Poetry can use commas and breaks to control rhythm.
Highlighted words in the poem
Example line: Dawn breaks over Maasai Mara, elephants walk in calm.
- Nouns: Maasai Mara, elephants
- Verbs: breaks, walk
- Adjective / state word: calm
- Preposition: over, in
Exercises (try these before checking answers)
- List 5 nouns from the poem (place names count).
- Underline the verbs in these lines: "Mount Kenya stands tall" and "Flamingos paint Lake Nakuru pink." Write the base form of each verb (e.g., stands → stand).
- Pick one line and change all verbs to past tense. Write the new line.
- Find the prepositions used in the poem and write one example sentence about a Kenyan site using a preposition (e.g., "We walked along the shore of Diani.").
- Change this line into a question: "We rest on Diani, sand warm under feet."
- Find and correct punctuation or capitalization if needed in this sentence: "sunset colours lamu we watch quiet and glad".
Answers (click to open)
1) Five nouns: Maasai Mara, Mount Kenya, elephants, sand, sunset. (Other correct answers: Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Diani, acacia trees)
2) Verbs and base forms:
- "Mount Kenya stands tall" → stands (base: stand).
- Example added line: "Flamingos paint Lake Nakuru pink." → paint (base: paint).
3) Verbs to past tense (example):
Original: "Mount Kenya stands tall." → Past: "Mount Kenya stood tall."
Original: "Elephants walk in calm." → Past: "Elephants walked in calm."
4) Prepositions and example sentence:
Prepositions in poem: over, at, in, on, by, under.
Example sentence: "We walked along the shore of Diani in the morning."
5) Change to a question:
Statement: "We rest on Diani, sand warm under feet."
Question: "Do we rest on Diani, with sand warm under our feet?" (Or shorter: "Are we resting on Diani with warm sand under our feet?")
6) Correct punctuation/capitalization:
Given: "sunset colours lamu we watch quiet and glad".
Corrected: "Sunset colours Lamu; we watch, quiet and glad." (Capitalise "Sunset" and "Lamu", add semicolon and comma for rhythm.)
Quick grammar tips for reading poetry
- Poems may use short phrases or commas instead of full sentences — still find nouns and verbs.
- Check verb tense: is the poem in present, past or future? This helps understand time in the poem.
- Look at prepositions to see where things happen (over, at, on, under, by).
- Practice turning lines into questions or past tense to learn grammar changes.
Use local place names and simple sentences when you practise. Try writing one short poem line about a Kenyan site and then label the nouns, verbs and prepositions in it.